Day 22: Colonial Bch to Washington DC

Today, we depart the State named for the English 'Virgin Queen' and enter a State named after an English baron's wife (well, we actually entered Maryland yesterday but then we left it again to enter Colonial Beach). The city of Washington sits in a 'federal district' landlocked within the State of Maryland, of course, just as Canberra in Australia sits landlocked in the Australian Capital Territory within New South Wales. We'll go about 70 miles today. For the last several days we've been traversing territory very familiar to our captain, who spent some years as a railroad manager in these parts, specifically Virginia's Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula.'

We pick our way out of Monroe Creek, again dodging around crab-pot lines, and take up a northerly course out into the Potomac... still broad at this point. It will not remain so as we venture further towards Washington D.C. and our marina located in the Washington Channel, just south of the city centre.

The narrowing of the Potomac commences as we pass beneath the 2.7 km long Potomac River Bridge (officially--take a deep breath--the 'Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge'). The deactivated Morgantown thermal power station chimney stacks are a feature as we pass. 'Narrower', but still between 3 and 5 miles at this point.

As we have, all the way, we see a lot of waterfowl and other birdlife. The Potomac River here is still very much a tidal estuary. Fantastic.

We slide past George Washington's home on the hill at Mt Vernon, beneath the President Wilson Woodrow drawbridge (you have to give 12 hrs notice of the need to raise it and they will only do it between midnight and 0500), and past the Washington National (Ronald Reagan) Airport. Our passage up into the Washington Channel includes passing over the wreckage site of the utterly tragic crash that occurred on 29 January after a collision between an airliner that was on final approach to the airport and a military helicopter.

We had benefitted from a following tidal current on our run up the Potomac, and--unexpectedly early--were tied up at the Capital Yacht Club Marina before 3.00 pm. We three thus hastened to get off the boat, leaving Preston to wash it down, and headed a block away to catch a BigBus Hop-On/Hop-Off while there was still time. Our tour around DC included being stopped at an intersection for a Secret Service cavalcade headed for the White House; about 10 motorcycles with sireens wailing and blue-and-reds flashing, followed by a couple of black police Chev Surbitons (the ones you see on CIA movies) and a further anonymous 6 or 8 Surbitons and two police cars. No, it wouldn't have been POTUS (travelling by road through DC), but could have been the Vice-Pres or one of the favoured new departmental heads (Rubio/Bessent/RFK Jnr et al). We were all so entranced that we quite forgot to get our cameras out 😖.

We had purchased 48-hr BigBus tickets, so we'll return tomorrow for the bit we missed when the tour abruptly finished at knock-off time outside Union Station. We have three full days here... it'll be a blast.

We have dinner on-board tonight.Read more