WASHINGTON D.C.

So here I am sitting on the flybridge, looking at the sunset and the Washington Monument as I write this.

Sunset from the flybridge

We had only planned on getting up to Mattawoman Creek on the Potomac, but we lucked out with the weather and water conditions. Most of the day we had a tailwind, the waves were from the stern, pushing us and allowing the boat to surf a bit and we had a flood tide helping our progress up the river by a knot or two. We made such good progress that we decided to keep on going all the way to DC. We pulled into the Washington Channel by about 2:30 PM and soon had the boat anchored.

Along the way, we passed Mount Vernon, Fort

Mt. Vernon

Fort Washington

Washington, Alexandria and many, many very large and very expensive-looking homes on the riverfront. I was a bit surprised by the lack of boat traffic on the river as it is quite large and seems like it would be a good transit way. Perhaps what is produced in Washington DC doesn’t have much of a market!

Tropical Storm Ana hasn’t bothered us much, although we hit a very strong downpour for several minutes today. We normally pilot the boat from the flybridge, which is only covered by a canvas, so when we saw the deluge coming, we headed down to the lower helm, inside. Although we were dry, and out of the wind, the rain was so heavy that we couldn’t see anything out the windows. I grabbed my rain jacket and headed back up to the bridge, getting soaked, but at least being able to keep the boat in the channel.

We had considered going to a marina here, rather than anchoring out, but, neither of the two marinas in the area had any space. One of the marinas, Capital Yacht Club, does allow boaters who anchor out to use their facilities (nice lounge, bar, showers, etc.) and provides internet access, both for a small daily fee.

We are definitely back in a major metropolis. Tour boats pass by regularly, the train runs nearby and blasts its signal horn as it passes, National Airport is right across the river with jets taking

Evening helicopter fly-by

off regularly, a major bridge (with major traffic) is a few hundred yards down from the boat and we seem to be right under the DC helicopter flight path (mostly military aircraft flying at about 100 feet altitude). Even with all of this, I don’t think I am going to have any difficulty sleeping tonight after the last couple of long days…