Gotta Smile!: Remote Anchorages and Busy Cities

July 7 – 16, 2012

Jennifer and JAC flew into Richmond, Virginia, rented a car and drove to the marina. They arrived just in time to take us on errands: Costco, Battery Plus, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target and the grocery. We really know how to show guests a good time! We hadn’t been to the grocery for a little over three weeks. We were totally out of fresh vegetables, fruit and milk.

The next morning Brian cleaned the boat exterior while Jen and I took the rental car back. Did you know that some Avis locations will drop off and pick up? Just another option. We left Chesapeake headed for Portsmouth immediately going through a lift bridge and lock. It’s a short trip to Portsmouth -- only 13 miles. Our course took us past a portion of the Norfolk harbor. This is the busiest port we have ever been in: a naval base, repair base for destroyers, and a heavily used commercial shipping center. It was a short but very interesting passage. Each of us kept exclaiming “Wow, look at that one!” Every ship seemed bigger than the last.

As far as you can see ships line the shores.
Heavy rain for a couple of hours.

JAC wanted to hold her brother's hand.
He said, "I love her, but she's at an annoying age."

We had hoped to walk through the historical section of Portsmouth and have dinner as soon as we arrived. For the third day in a row, temperatures were in the low 100’s with extreme humidity. About 5:00 we ventured out. It was smoldering. Sitting in the restaurant we couldn’t cool off fast enough. To quicken the cool down, we dribbled ice water down each other’s backs. It helped… After dinner, we did walk past some of the historic homes. Portsmouth was founded in 1752 by a
wealthy ship builder. The shipyard was
ordered to be burned at the beginningof the Civil War to keep the confedercy

Talk about the hot seat!
Sit on black metal that has been in 100+ degree
sun all day.

from capturing it. In 1855 1/3 of the residents of Norfolk and Portsmouth died from the yellow fever epidemic. Back at the boat it was time for our annual Captain Ron film festival. We had watched it earlier in the trip with Christopher. Now, he wanted his Mom to see it.

Until we started crossing a portion of the Chesapeake, neither Brian or I realized just how big it really is. It is 200 miles long, 30 miles wide and 46 feet deep. More than 150 rivers drain into it. For two days we were in five foot waves that were slamming against our starboard bow. Brian was the only one that didn’t feel the effects of the rough water. However, both nights we found beautiful quiet anchorages. The dingy took us to a beach where we found shells and JAC got to put her feet in salt water and sand for the first time. After dinner the second night, we went for a ride in the dingy to check out the neighborhood. At a small marina we found the Active Captain boat. Active Captain is a program that interfaces with our navigation and posts information about anchorages, marinas, hazards and local knowledge. It is a huge asset as we travel in unfamiliar areas.

Active Captain boat.

We decided to go to Washington DC. It’s a good place for Jennifer to fly out and there are plenty of interesting sights along the way. Once again we were surprised at how wide the Potomac River is. The entire Potomac River is in Maryland. Virginia’s state border is the western shore.

A belated birthday party for Jennifer.

We had never heard of Mallow’s Bay until we passed it and read some notes. It is the largest concentrated shipwreck fleet in the western hemisphere. A graveyard for 235 ships – mostly wooden cargo steamers – that were too expensive to keep afloat. After they were stripped for salvage, they were systematically sunk in this bay. Additional information and photos are on ---------- http://boneinitsteeth.blogspot.com/2011/07/mallows-bay-ghost-fleet-of-potomac.html?=1

Take my word for it -- this is Quantico!

If you read Patricia Cornwell mysteries, you are familiar with Quantico. It is the location of a Marine Corp Base, FBI Academy, FBI Laboratory, Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the

U.S.

Drug Enforcement Agency. Come to think of it – you might have heard of it for lots of reasons.

George Washington’s home, Mt Vernon can easily be seen from the river. In 1858 it was purchased from his family by a group of patriotic women for the purpose of preserving the estate. The Mount Vernon Ladies Association is a private, non-profit organization that still maintains it in trust for the people of the

United States

. During the Civil War, soldiers of both armies visited the estate to honor the first president.

A fort has been on this site for over 200 years. The first Fort Washington was built in 1809. The area is now a National Park.

Alexandria City Marina.
The Torpedo Factory -- now an art gallery.

In 1669 Scotsman John Alexander bought the tract of land that is now Alexandria for six thousand pounds of tobacco and Cask. We were fortunate to reserve a slip for the night. We didn’t arrive until 7:30. As soon as we were docked we hopped off and walked into the busy historical downtown which is adjacent to the marina. We saw enough to assure us that we wanted to see more the next morning. Brian and I had attended a wedding in town years ago and remembered what a fun place it was. Friday morning we were off for breakfast at La Madeleine and

Time for a trim.

haircuts for the guys. After walking through some of the neighborhoods, Brian and Christopher went to The Torpedo Factory to see if there really were any torpedoes there. Jennifer, Jac and I did some quick, but productive shopping. Our slip was promised to someone else, so we had to be on our way by 3:00.

Can anything be as much fun as a trolley ride?

Next stop Washington DC – only five miles away. When we called for a slip on Friday, there were none available at the Capital Yacht Club. They told us we would have to anchor mid-river and dingy in. But, when we arrived, they had a slip we could use for three nights. Perfect! It is still blazing hot with high humidity. What looked like a short walk to the National Mall, of course, was much further than anticipated. Dinner, cool-down and a rest in China Town at Legal Seafood. The next morning we purchased tickets for the double decker

tour bus that let us hop on and off at all of the sights. It felt like we saw every one of them. Jennifer and the kids were on a nine o’clock flight Sunday night so we had time to go to the Smithsonian’s Air and Flight Museum in the morning. During our stay in DC we had some great meals, but our best seafood was on the wharf just beyond the marina. The fish market was there with a walk-up kitchen on a barge. Kind of scary to look at, but so good to eat! Since there was no place to sit and eat, and, once again, it was dripping sweat hot, we carried our food back to the air conditioned boat.

We are so glad that we decided to make the trip up the Potomac. It turned out to be a great week of anchorages, history and the excitement of a big city with plenty of memorable moments for each of us.