Sept 16 Another anchorage and Washington DC

 Thurs Sept. 15  -  58 miles

After a peaceful night at anchor, we were treated to another colorful sunrise.   That made up for not having a viewable sunset last night as cliffs and trees were in the way. 

Nothing like a beautiful sunrise to start a chilly morning

Lifted the anchor at 8:30 and headed out of Breton Bay.  Quite a nice anchorage we'll probably use again on the way down the Potomac and finally do that dingy ride to Leonardtown we had hoped for on this trip.   A couple of interesting things today.  As we're heading up the main channel of the Potomac, we hear a radio call. "Hailing the northbound vessel on the Potomac passing the Wicomico River".  Well, we're in that general vicinity but it's a big area and so we disregard the call.   About 5 minutes later we hear another call. " Hailing the northbound vessel on the Potomac passing the Wicomico River between markers 17 and 18.".  We're right alongside those markers so know he's calling us, but there's not another vessel in sight.   He informs us the Middle Danger Zone is off limits today and tells us we need to head towards the Maryland shore.  He gives explicit directions for continuing north while staying out of the danger zone.   Come to the yellow can "M" and pass it on your port. I'll be there.  From there head to the Swan Point Shoal Marker.  Pass it on your starboard. Then head to yellow ""O".  Pass on your port.   Finally head around the red buoys 30 and 32.  After that you're clear to use the normal channel. All very friendly and professional. Martha jots down all the instructions and we set our new course on the chartplotter. The charts show areas called the Lower Danger Zone, Middle Danger Zone and Upper Danger Zone.  Not sure what was going on there today, but we never saw any activity while passing through.  Up the river a bit we pass the tow "Capt. Tim" headed southbound with a load of sand.  Radio silence as we pass on the "1's" - port to port. 

"Capt. Tim" was about the only other boat out today

Next up was passing Mallow Bay.  I had seen on my chartplotter  markings for a huge number of wrecks in the bay. As we passed by several remnants of wooden vessels could be detected along with the rusting steel hulk of the Accomac. I had read decades ago in an old Chesapeake Bay magazine about the Ghost Fleet of the Potomac.  The largest collection of wrecks in the western hemisphere with over 200 boats left here spanning over 300 years.  The majority were wooden ships built for WW1 that never saw active duty and were finally scuttled and burned here.  Now part of a marine sanctuary. Link to more information below.

  Ghost Fleet of the Potomac, Mallows Bay | National Trust for Historic Preservation (savingplaces.org)

After that we finally passed the Marine Base at Quantico on our port as we started turning slowly to starboard and our anchorage for the night in Mattawoman Creek.  Good anchorages on the northern part of the Potomac are a bit harder to find.  This was not looking ideal with some exposure to the steady NW winds and a very shallow entrance. We followed the chartplotter closely and idled in finally settling on a spot with 7' depth and sufficient swinging room.  The wind settled down by nightfall and we even had another boater join us in the anchorage.  We use an anchor alarm to inform us if the anchor drags in the middle of the night.  It's always interesting to see to see how the boat drifted around during the night. 

Full 360 swing on the anchor with tide, current and wind

Journey for Sept 15

Fri Sept 16 - 29 miles

A cool morning as we woke up in Mattawoman Creek to the gentle rocking and buzz of numerous bass boats leaving the creek from a nearby ramp.  First morning in the 60's we've had so generated a little mist rising off the water as the sun rose over the tree line. 

Mist rising on a cool morning at sunrise

Shorter cruise today with our final destination set as the Capital Yacht Club in Washington DC.  Nice scenic cruise as we pass by some of the historical landmarks of VA and MD.    We pass by Washington's homestead Mount Vernon, sitting nicely atop a bluff overlooking the river.  One of these days we need to go for a visit.

Mt, Vernon

Next up is Ft. Washington which guards a very narrow stretch of the Potomac and was instrumental in protection during the War of 1812 forcing the British to advance on Washington by going up the Patuxent River and then overland to burn Washington.

Ft. Washington - protected enemy ships from reaching Washington

Then it was under the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge and a slow no wake idle zone by Alexandria's waterfront before finally reaching the Washington Channel and our destination. It's part of the newly redeveloped riverfront in DC referred to as The Warf.  A bit pricey but it's in the heart of everything. In fact, Sen, Joe Manchin has a boat called "Almost Heaven" on the next dock over from us.   Made the news when some kayakers were harassing him on it during the Build Back Better budgeting debates. 

Passing under the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge
Alexandria just ahead on the left.  Washington Monument in the distance

We're looking forward to spending a few days here visiting with family as my nephew and family are here.  They visited us and the boat in Charleston, but we were never able to get them out for a cruise.  So, we'll make that happen while here!!.

Journey for Sept 16