Coast Guard Boarding !

SATURDAY- Hauled anchor at 10:15AM. It was a beautiful sunny day for cruising but the flooding filled the river with logs and debris to dodge. Approaching the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, a regatta also filled the river with at least 30 large sailboats, changing course (tacking) ceaselessly. Mike was dodging the abundant wood & logs and now the sail boats.

A Coast Guard boat passed slowly, then radioed us, announcing their desire to make an onboard “recreational boat” safety inspection, right then! They said “Maintain your course/speed and we’ll come alongside.” Mike explained he couldn’t maintain course because the sailboats had right of way. They agreed, saying we should meet them on the other side of the race/regatta, near the bridge. Two very courteous officers boarded as we moved. While boarding they called out, “One Over!” then, “Two over!” After checking our documentation, manuals, fire extinguishers, life jackets, noise makers (horns & bells), holding tank & pumpout records they said all was well and even complimented us on our preparation, including our ship’s log. That felt really good! We received a document of inspection and they left.

That was all the excitement we needed today. Moving slowly to avoid the massive river debris, we finally anchored at 4:00PM in Mattawoman Creek and promptly took a nap.

Dragon fly "Love Bugs"

Debris in water from flooding rains of the past few days.