“A day of ordinary experience... if experienced truly, is enough to change everything.” - Thomas Merton

James Jackson

May 29 - Philadelphia to Bristol We slipped out of the marina right around 14h, timing our departure with the inbound tide. The sky was surprisingly clear above us, even though clouds and scattered showers had been forecast. I was solo on First Light. Louis and his wife Shelby made their way aboard Indefatigable. We had decided to aim for 5 knots SOG, which the current gave us easily. Between tide and engine, I held between 5 and 6 knots, with about 4 knots through the water. Winds were predicted to be light. As we left, the water flattened out and the sky opened into that bright, backlit blue that never fully commits. Clouds built in from the southwest as we made our way upriver, but we only caught a few brief sprinkles. The worst of it stayed behind us. I tried to sail early on. I raised full main and jib and shut down the engine. Wind was there at the start, about 5 knots, but it dropped steadily over the next hour. Modern autohelms are good in most conditions, but in this light air, with following current and eddies from the river bends, piers, and bridge embankments, it became impossible to rely on. At one point, while I was cleaning up the cabin, the off-course alarm went off... when I looked around, I was literally side-on to the current. Once the wind dropped to 1-2 knots, I furled the jib and brought the motor back up. I let the main catch what little following wind there was, which added a bit of apparent wind and gave a small boost. Louis tried staying under sail with his code zero, but couldn’t make consistent headway. He fell behind by a couple miles, caught up, tried again, and fell back again. The river was full of debris... logs, branches, big half-submerged trees floating and drifting mid-channel. Delaware torpedoes. Nothing dramatic, but enough that I had to keep scanning just ahead of the bow constantly. One container ship came downbound with two tugs. It had a rather blunt and fat bow... like a pug sniffing its way through the channel. I passed her on a straight stretch, and as I looked back, I saw her take an ungraceful 20-degree turn, nearly crossing out of the channel. Groundings aren't unheard of in the upper Delaware, and it's pretty easy to see why. Jet skis and small motorboats plied the river up and down, throwing wake and noise as they went... but everyone is friendly on the river, waving as they pass. We arrived at Bristol without incident. I tied up in my spot for the boat show and started tidying up. Indefatigable arrived shortly after I secured my lines, and I helped Louis into his spot just in front of my bow. As we finished up, another sailboat, an older O'Day with signs of being a liveaboard, came downriver and pulled into the dock across from me, starboard-to. The captain leaned over the rail and looked at First Light. “She's beautiful... I’m almost embarrassed to be pulling up next to you.” We talked for a bit. Friendly guy. He regaled Louis and Shelby with stories of his boat history and admired Indefatigable as well. My buddy boaters and I grabbed post-trip drinks at King George II Inn and made some plans for how to show the boats.

Boat & Crew

First Light

O'Day, 322

James Jackson

Owner

Trip Updates

Mahogany and Steel boat and car show

May 30, 2025 6:28 PM

39.9546, -75.1345

Heading to the Mahogany and Steel boat and car show buddy boating with Indeflagitable