I was added to a group page on Facebook in March, The 2013 Great Delaware Kayak Tour. Jeff Wildonger has invited you to his group page was the notification. I was intrigued, knowing Jeff’s affinity for the Delaware River and Bay. In past conversations he refers to the area as his church. I contacted him and asked if there was anything DSF could do to help. He was planning on kayaking the entire
Delaware coast from PA to Fenwick Island. I mentioned he could do this to raise money for a charity, as well as increase awareness of the environmental conditions in the Delaware River and Bay. I wanted to accompany him on this journey, I knew he would need a chase vehicle, and supplies. Jeff has dreamed of making this trip a reality for some time now, and I am glad we can help. He plans on an 8 day excursion following the tides south …
Day 1: PA Line to Delaware City 19.8 Miles
Day 2: Delaware City to Woodland Beach 20.5 Miles
Day 3: Woodland Beach to Port Mahon 12.5 Miles
Day 4: Port Mahon to Bennett’s Pier 10.9 Miles
Day 5: Bennett’s Pier to Broadkill Beach 17 Miles
Day 6: Broadkill Beach to Cape Henlopen 9.7 Miles
Day 7: Cape Henlopen to 3 R’s or Coin Beach 11.6 Miles
Day 8: 3R’s or CB to Fenwick Island MD Border 11 Miles
Trip Total : Approximately 113 Miles!!!
I asked Jeff what made him interested in doing this trip ….
At 16 I fell in love with the Delaware Coast. With the new found freedom of a driver’s license, I was able to explore almost every inch of it. After each excursion, I would carefully study a USGS map of the area that I had just visited. There were always places I couldn’t get to on foot that piqued my interest, so with little hesitation and no experience I bought a kayak. My all-time favorite area of Delaware to explore is the land around Woodland Beach and with a kayak, there was nothing out of reach. I quickly covered nearly every creek, gut, and ditch within a day’s paddle from Woodland Beach that first year. I enjoyed the marshes and back bays for their serenity but the rush of paddling the Delaware Bay is what hooked me. I have long envisioned that the ultimate kayak trip in Delaware was to paddle the outer coast in its entirety over the course of several days. Along the way I would have the opportunity to document the beauty of Delaware’s coast and also see its ugly side. I anticipated camping along the way and having depots were I would store supplies and pick them up along the journey. After careful course plotting and reviewing tidal, lunar and historical wind data, I decided to attempt this trip on June 21, 2013. After posting a Facebook page announcing this to friends and asking for some help with logistics, the kind folks at Delaware-surf-fishing.com offered to help me out with all the logistics for this trip. DSF asked if I was doing this for charity and if I was, they offered coordinate the fund drive. I was blown away! Not only would I get to finally scratch this off my bucket list, but I could raise money for a good cause. It didn’t take me long to pick the Justin W. Jennings Foundation as the beneficiary. I had gone to school with Justin and played little league baseball with him as a kid. Justin was diagnosed with cancer in 1998 and after a long, brave battle; he succumbed to the disease on June 25, 2000. In memory of Justin and his lifelong desire to help others, Justin’s Beach House was founded. It is a place where families with cancer can have a place of respite and enjoy some family fun time away from doctors and hospitals.
Jeff it is my pleasure to help anyway we can, and I am looking forward to this trip. If anyone would like to donate to Justin’s Beach house on behalf of the The 2013 Great Delaware Kayak Tour just click on this link. We are also offering space on the kayak for sponsor stickers, and these are filling up fast, please send me an email for any interest sponsoring this trip, use the contact link at the top right of this page. All costs are being covered by DSF and Jeff personally. All monies collected are being donated to Justin’s Beach House. You will be able to follow the progress of Jeff’s trip via his Facebook page and DSF’s page as well. I will have daily updates posted as we move down the coast of Delaware on DSF’s website. We have a few other cool things we are doing for this trip that will be announced as we near the launch date.
Fish On!!
Rich King