Mattawoman Creek, MD

We were welcomed by a stunning sunrise on Thursday, October 7.

Jonny took Archie for one last beach walk while Steve and I had a leisurely morning.

We pulled up anchor by 10:55 to continue our cruise up the Potomac. It was an absolutely beautiful day on the water, partly cloudy early on becoming sunny as the day wore on.

While Stephen  was on a conference call we passed by the Ghost Fleet on the Maryland side of the river. The fleet of 1000 wooden ships was commissioned during World War I. The contracting and building of them were plagued by incompetence and as a result only 264 of them were ever built.  They were scuttled after the war and 140 of them eventually wound up in Mallows Bay. The Ghost Fleet is considered to be the largest collection of wrecks in the Western Hemisphere.

We arrived at our anchorage on Mattawoman Creek by 3:30.  What a pristine setting!  There were woods all around and a lovely park with a couple of fisherman. The waters were very still, so much so that sea grass was growing in clumps which we tried to avoid.

We took Archie in for a walk in the park where he was able to run free.  There was a small boat marina nearby and some hiking trails.  A couple of small cabins dotted the landscape available for campers to stay in.

Some historic placards described the significance of the area. Most notable was the information about Captain John Smith’s three expeditions all around the Chesapeake.  He was responsible for the creation of extensive maps of the area surrounding the bay that are still quite accurate to this day.

We had cocktails on board and a delicious crab cake dinner.  It was a lovely evening with an incredible sunset.  Stephen spent his last night on board with Jonny and he regaling us with their tall tales.