It was with considerable sadness that I read over my journal entry from my first trip to Mallows Bay. This was from back in the days before blogs, when I kept a physical journal of my kayaking adventures in a handsome journal. Written by hand, in cursive. The entry was from September 2000. Wow, nineteen years ago. David Moore led the trip. On this particular date David’s father had just passed away and, I note in my journal, when we stopped at the northernmost shipwreck at Sandy Point he pulled out a bottle of wine for all of us to toast his dad’s memory. David himself passed away last year, hence the melancholia.
My journal entry from that trip began, “I’ve got to stop taking David Moore seriously.” Indeed, while he did a lot for the kayaking community (the Pirates of Georgetown, the group with which I’ve been kayaking for 20 years, would have fizzled in its second season if not for Dave), he always was one to be dramatic about the dangers of the conditions. He had so over-hyped the challenges of the Potomac River crossing from Chopawamsic Creek to Mallows Bay that as a fairly new paddler I almost backed out of the trip. Needless to say, it was fine. I also noted in my entry that we stopped mid-river on the way back to do rescue practice, a great idea which is seldom done on trips anymore.
I’ve visited Mallows Bay any number of times since then. It’s always impressive to see the so-called “ghost fleet” - it consists mostly shipwrecks barely visible at the waterline (many of the ships were burned to the waterline), but here and there a few larger structures protrude above the water. I’ve read that it’s the largest ship graveyard in the Western Hemisphere. Most of the ships there are as a result of it’s having been used as a dumping ground for ships that were built as transports during World War I. Built in a hurry as transport ships for the war effort, they were low quality, obsolete by the time they were launched, and were delivered too late to be of use in the war (an early example of what has since become a recurring defense contracting story?). After the war the unwanted ships were scuttled. While that single event contributed a large number of ships, apparently Mallows Bay served as a dumping ground for ships long before and after that episode. Apparently there’s a Confederate ship there, some Colonial era longboat, and the rusting hulk of a 1920’s ferry marks the entrance to the bay. Surprisingly, the wrecks have been a boon for the local ecosystem, providing habitat for birds and fish alike. The area recently received a designation as a protected marine sanctuary, and over the years they’ve developed a park right in the bay, complete with boat launch, benches up on a bluff overlooking the river, a hiking trail, and more.
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| Outline of a ship at Sandy Point |
We didn’t launch from Mallows Bay Park, as that doesn’t make for much of a kayak trip. Instead, we launched from the Virginia side of the river at Hospital Point boat ramp, which sits within the Quantico Marine Corps base. To get there you actually have to stop and show ID to the Marines on guard at the base gates. I’m not sure what this accomplishes, since they don’t actually check your ID against anything, but at a minimum it gives them a chance to eyeball everyone who drives onto the base.
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| Ships in the bay |
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| Bird life |
There were seven of us: my regular paddling buddies Tall Tom (who led the trip), Rob, Jim and Al, plus people I either hadn’t met or knew only vaguely: Todd, Erin and Carl. Overall the group came from as far north as Baltimore and as far south as Richmond. We launched at about 0930 (since we launched from a military base I had to express that using military style time). We crossed the river - once again, no big deal - and stopped first at Sandy Point, site of the only shipwreck you can get out and walk around on. From there we paddled a few more minutes to a place where we were able to get out and climb up a bluff to get a view of the bay. Then we continued and explored the various wrecks in the bay. Then we landed and took a break at Mallows Bay Park.
When I first paddled here there was no park - the land around Mallows Bay was still private. Every year the park gets a little better - new this time were brochures identifying a number of the different wrecks.
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| Watery grave |
As we started to gather up Al took the opportunity to relax by floating in the river. Al is an avid yogi and when he floated in the river he lay perfectly still, perhaps in a meditative state. He was so still that the park caretaker joked, “when you leave you’re gonna take that body with you, right?”
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| Al washed up |
When we got back on the water we explored a little up the creek at the back of the bay, but it was pretty clogged with hydrilla, so we headed back. The breeze had died off so it was hot on the way back, but it was an easy trip.
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| In the creek |
Mallows Bay is always a good trip, and this was no exception. Thanks to Tall Tom for organizing!
