We anchored off of Lewes to recover from our sail down the coast of New Jersey and to use as a launching point for our run up the Delaware Bay to the C&D canal to enter the Chesapeake. We picked up some high winds along the way so decided to sit and wait a couple more days until conditions were favorable to make the run.

Smith’s Forge

The anchorage was great, just off of Cape Henlopen State Park. There were 3 other sailboats there and room for over a hundred so we had plenty of privacy. The ferry going in and out was far enough away not to be an issue. We’d see small fishing boats go by every once in a while, but we really had the anchorage to ourselves. To us and the dolphins anyway. The anchorage seemed to be just well protected enough that we’d see pods swimming around multiple times a day – we even watched one leap out of the water to provide some entertainment.

 

dutch influence remains

Though it was a long dinghy ride, we decided to head into Lewes for one day. It’s over a mile into town, but the inlet is lined with condos and every square inch of shore is lined with slips. It’s more of a motor boat town (lots of small power boats for fishing charters), but there were a fair number of sailboats too. There’s a nice new dinghy dock in a newly renovated park just 2 blocks from the center of town.

 

Original fisherman’s cottage – looks like our home!

Lewes (pronounced like ‘Lewis’) was founded by the Dutch as a whaling station in the 1600’s. There’s a fair amount of history remaining despite the fact that the settlement didn’t last long and a local native tribe of Lenni Lenape massacred the bunch. The town was later rebuilt and given to the British, before bad luck struck again and Captain Kidd visited at the end of the 1600’s. And then there was the bombing during the War of 1812. The ‘cannonball house’ still proudly bears the scar from a cannonball that struck it. Through the years it never lost its seafaring touch, though now it looks to be aimed more at tourists (not complaining).

Lewes historical park

We wandered through the usual few blocks of cute shops full of clothes I can no longer afford, & then walked to the Zwaanendael Museum. The museum was built in 1931 in memory of the original Dutch settlement. It’s part of a lovely park that also includes one of the original houses from the town. Built in 1730, it looks not all that dissimilar to our house back in New Jersey.

 

 

 

 

Cocktails & apps; fresh focaccia back on board before setting sail again

We continued to wander through town enjoying the architecture – lots of small cottages, all well preserved. A few blocks north was a small but well stocked market so I did some provisioning. Then we headed back downtown. The local Mexican restaurant, Agave, opened for lunch at 3. We got there 5 minutes early to find a line from the door around the corner and down the block. Luckily when the doors opened there was room for everyone. We grabbed seats at the bar for a margarita and a beer, and really tasty food. The portions were huge – big enough to be leftovers for dinner the following night.

A different way of enjoying the sunset. See how great those ratlines can be!