This blog entry will be rather long, I am trying to cover our adventure from our second night stop until our final berthing at our home port. Hope that the photographs will entertain.
Sunday afternoon we laid over at the Colonial Beach Yacht Marina, at Colonial Beach, VA. Below are a couple of photos of that layover:
The top left photo is of a small houseboat (sort of the size of an old fashioned outhouse), on one of the docks of this large marina. The second top phot is of a view across the stern of that small houseboat toward the back of the marina.
The photo above is a shot from the dock where we were berthed looking aft toward an old 1920’s yacht that at one time was a Presidential yacht that we were told was the Lady Ann. She was in rather decent shape considering her age, but certainly could have used a few thousand dollars (tens of thousands actually) in at least some cosmetic changes. The Bride and I went to the onsite restaurant for this marina and had some very delicious seafood for our supper. We earlier had visited the marina office and settled our bill for the transient berth and we were then ready to depart at our schedule, rather than others.
Monday morning, October 17, 2016, broke with a nice sun coming over the horizon. The skies were lit with a warm reddish/orange glow and the clouds were puffy and innocent of bad weather. We cast off lines and found the treacherous current in the Colonial Beach Yacht Marina had not abated. Leaving the dock was an exciting adventure. Problem was compounded by the fact that the channel out of the marina is rather narrow and the water clearance in several spots is less than 2 feet (we draw a minimum of 4), so we watched the depth sounder instrumentation with great concerns and I thought I was in a slalom environment from moving port to starboard, and starboard to port.
Finally the water depth was deep enough that we could breathe again and we turned out of the “creek” leading to the marina and into the main channel of the Potomac. We had finally, on the third morning, actually left with first light. Now that we know how to do it, perhaps next season we will be more successful with out planned departures. The biggest thing it to ensure that you have performed every prep task possible before you retire for the night. Making sure that your transient dock fee is paid the night before is also important, as we discovered that most marinas have a 8:00 to 8:30am opening time. Not good for getting away at first light.
Daylight on the Potomac moving from the marina entrance.
Anyway, back to the journey, we moved away from the marina/creek and into the main channel of the Potomac only to be confronted by more crab and fish pots/traps all through the channel. Had to ply those areas very carefully, with Char watching for these floats as well. Seemed only a few minutes after we cleared one pot area, we were seeing another batch further up river. Now understand that I don’t begrudge these fisher folk the right to earn a living, but putting hundreds of these pots and their floats in the main navigation channel seems a bit much. I am sure that the large ships that come up the Potomac do not watch the pot floats like we did, so I wonder how many of these crab or fish pots get dragged away by these large ships.
As we began to increase our speed, passing the town of Colonial Beach, we were looking forward to passing under the Harry Nice Bridge (US 301). We motored well, making about 11 knots, up the Potomac, and dodging flotsam and wood dangers (tree limbs, even a 2×4 plank), making our voyage rather interesting. Finally in the distance we spotted the 301 Harry Nice Bridge, and this marked a significant milestone on our trip as we were well up the Potomac and truly going to make our home port that day.
The above are views of the Bridge, our approach shown in the upper left, a closer view out the bow windows, then on the lower left, passing under the bridge and finally the view from our stern as we left the bridge behind. We motored on up the Potomac, and as with most rivers it was a winding, curving passage. We saw lots of nice scenery but nothing really worth photographing on that section.
As we drew nearer to the DC metro area we began to see interesting locales. The three photos below are of Fort Washington which is on the Maryland side of the river. It was a military post from the early days of our nation and a few years ago was turned into a national park.
Across the river, was another national heritage treasure, the home of our first president, George Washington. Mount Vernon is a site well worth a visit if you are ever in our national capital area.
After we passed Fort Washington and Mount Vernon, we knew that home was just a short distance left in our voyage. Our next landmarks were the National Harbor Resort and Marina on the Maryland side and the view of the Wilson Bridge, and our gateway into the upper Potomac and HOME!
As we motored up to and through the Wilson Bridge, Alexandria, VA appeared on our port bow. As we closed on the Wilson Bridge, a water taxi carrying passengers from Alexandria to National Harbor passed us astern.
Alexandria in the distance, and you can just make out the George Washington Masonic Temple above the skyline. The next photo is a close in view of Alexandria and the Torpedo Factory which is a repurposing of a WWII facility into a crafts mall. The bottom show is of the one of the buildings that make up the US Naval Research Laboratory.
As we passed by Alexandria, the small white buoy markers along the way warn boaters to go slow and “Don’t Make Wakes”. The next pictures are of our view as we made another turn up the Potomac toward our Capital Yacht Club berth.
The upper left photo is a view as the turn into the Washington channel, you can just see the top of the capital in the right background. The building on the upper right is unknown to us but we believe is part of the Army post at the point where the Anacostia and the Potomac meet. And finally the bottom picture covers the Haines Point, a DC park, a view of the Washington Monument to the left and the Capitol building to the right. At this point we were almost home. The CYC dockmaster had already stationed himself on the dock where we would tie up and we could finally say that the Misty Lady was almost home.
This next group of photos are of our final stopping place, the Capital Yacht Club.
The left most picture was taken as I brought the stern of the Lady snugged to the dock and our dock master was making her midship lines fast. Following this, I shut down both engines and we were home! The middle picture is a shot from our stern down the dock to the foreground. And the right most picture is a bow on shot of the Lady finally secured to the temporary berth. As soon as a regular slip is available to us we will move her into her “forever” home berth.
The top left picture is a shot down the fairway between the A and B docks and shows a small portion of the redevelopment that is currently being down for the Washington Waterfront. The small building with the yellow walls is the new Yacht Club house, currently under construction. The top right picture shows some of the yachts on the B dock and a view of the Washington Monument along side the cranes of the construction.
The bottom left picture is one of a family of Malard ducks who make the Yacht Club their home. Next is another view of the Monument, the B Dock yachts and the construction cranes. The next view is of the bridge and a glimpse of the top of the Jefferson Memorial. And finally the last picture is of a large yacht that arrived the next day after we did. This yacht is 109 feet long and takes up the entire length of the B Dock “T”.
Thought you might like a couple of pictures of our views from the Misty Lady at night. The upper left is a picture of the Washington Monument, the upper right is a shot from the maintenance barge looking down the A dock toward our berth at the end. The lower left is another view of the Washington Monument from the after deck of the Lady. The lower right is a photo looking back down the channel to the Gangplank Marina and one of the very large tour boats that make this marina their home. The boat to the side in this picture is a large Catamaran Sailboat. They left the Club around noon today heading home, somewhere down south of here. Probably Florida.
Whew! That was a lot folks but now we are home and will have some topics to discuss of life aboard a yacht in the Washington Winter! Oh Joy!
Stay Tuned. It could get rocky for a while.
Misty Lady Thought and Comment 
Great news that you have “reached your destination”! Thanks for sharing the story of your odyssey, warts and all. I’m still angling for an invite to your “yacht blessing”. Best to you and Char!
LikeLike