At the close of the term on Saturday, we began planning some fun for the weekend.
Sunday Sail Upriver
Sailing north of the Delair Railroad Bridge, one sees a side of the Delaware River that is reminiscent of Lake George. We sailed a few hours and as it neared time to drop the hook, we looked into Dredge Harbor to find a spot next to what we call Heron Island. This has been a favorite spot since one Easter Sunday a few years ago when we were the sole witnesses to the nesting herons flying back and forth carrying twigs and passing them beak to beak like relay sticks as the mates built their nest together. Unfortunately Dredge Harbor was already packed with power boats and sailboats who got there first this holiday weekend. We continued looking for a place to take cover from the wakes of the tankers, tugs and barges that know no holiday. With waning light, we tucked behind the sandbar that has snagged us one too many times and found a quiet place to watch the sunset and have dinner.
The next morning, it was hazy and humid with the sun filtering through. We sailed back toward Philadelphia past the stately homes lining the river. This quiet stretch of the Delaware makes me feel transported to another place. We love to sail past the charming Riverside Yacht Club and look at the many sailboats bobbing in the mooring field or the lasers up on the racks ready to be put in for their chance at Wednesday night races. The Merit, an old sailboat Peter and his brother Andy owned years ago, is tethered to a mooring ball there and each time we go by, we check to see if it's still there.
Sailing to Philadelphia
Once under the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge the industrial side of the Delaware River becomes apparent. Tugs stand by to escort tankers in and out of docks or churn the water as they pass us on their way to the next job, reminding us that this is very much a working river.
As we move down the river, closer and closer to Philadelphia, the history of the city blends with the new development of the riverfront. Penn Treaty Park peaks out from behind the old PECO building with its rusting coal car railhead jutting out in the river. The park pays homage to the legend that William Penn stood here and met with the Leni Lenape to purchase land (not sure of the accuracy of this, but so the story goes). Nowadays the park serves as space for picnics, running, fishing and of course the Shad Fest every spring. Just past the trees, the year-old Sugar House casino recalls the sugar industry which once thrived on the river; sugar is a not-so-subtle theme in the casino’s architecture. The two tall reflective condo buildings built a few years ago mostly serve to get in the way of seeing City Hall (located west of the river by 15 blocks) where the statue of “Billy” Penn is dwarfed by the giants around him: the Comcast Center, both the Liberty Place towers, the Bell Atlantic building, and the Mellon Center stand out among the older stooped skyscrapers of earlier decades. Old and new commingle as my own history is written here and added to this city.
