First some brief, interesting information about the location of my photo….
The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) was first cut through Delaware & Maryland privately in the 1820’s to connect the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay at 10 foot wide with four locks, for use with teams of mules & horses to pull barges and vessels. It was then purchased by the U.S. Government who over the years performed several expansions.
Today the C&D Canal is 14 miles long (22.5 km), 450 feet wide (137.2 m), and 35 feet deep (10.7 m).
It provides a shortcut of about 300 miles for ship traffic between the Port of Baltimore and the northeastern United States cities & Europe. It is the only major commercial canal in the U.S. that is still in use and is adequate for two-way traffic for most oceangoing ships.
The C&D Canal is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District. Their project office is on the canal in Chesapeake City, Maryland. This is also the location where a “changing of the pilots” takes place for both directions of ship traffic.
As a ship passes through this area without stopping, a Maryland pilot boat launches & maneuvers alongside the ship while a United States Coast Guard certified pilot boards and the other leaves the ship using the ship’s pilot ladder. Dangerous in itself, bad weather and strong currents can add to the risks. Maritime skills are a must!
Alongside where the pilot boat launches is the famous Schaefer’s Canal House restaurant that opened in 1935. We have dined at this restaurant numerous times over the last 30 years, their food and atmosphere are both awesome. There is also hope each time to see the changing of the pilots. We’ve seen it many times, including a few weeks ago when we went to dinner there where we had window seating. 🙂
Lo, and behold, a red ship and red pilot boat! Shame on me for only having my cell phone camera, as my brain was thinking, oh boy, my “Red” challenge. 🙂
For those who have interest in ship particulars, this 2016 vessel, the Chem Barcelona, is an oil/chemical tanker that is approximately 476 feet (145 m) long and 79 feet (24 m) wide, and draws 22 feet (6.7 m). It flies the Liberia flag and it’s homeport is Monrovia. I just checked on the location of this ship, it just departed the Port of Houston, Texas, and is headed out into the Gulf of Mexico.
A last photo, here’s Schaefer’s restaurant from the other side of the canal I took in 2002 at sunset. See the pilot boat in the bottom right corner waiting for the next ship to pass through.
You can see it’s pretty awesome to have this type of entertainment during dinner!
