Mellowing Out at Mallows Bay

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Combining a history and nature lesson with a kayak trip, on a beautiful fall day, with one of my best buddies…what could be better? This was the case a couple of weeks ago, when my friend and kayaking companion, Arlene, and I set off for Mallows Bay, Maryland, the home of the – ooh spooky! – Ghost Fleet.

What is the Ghost Fleet, you ask? Well, as our kayak and history guide from the excellent Atlantic Kayak Company explained to the group of about 12 intrepid kayakers, it started out as a bunch of wooden and iron ships built for the U.S. Navy during World War I. Due to the fact that the Navy needed a lot of ships fast (the goal was to build 1,000 of these in short order) the ships were assembled kind of slap-dash, and not always by the most experienced ship builders.

So, from the very beginning, they had their problems. And, not too many of them actually got to see service during the war. After the war, most of them were towed to languish sadly in Norfolk, VA, slowly decaying to the point of uselessness. Their fate was to be scrapped for any usable metal, and then removeded to a shallow bay on the Maryland side of the Potomac to be burned.

The problem, or really the good thing for us today, is that the heavy ship bottoms sunk in the mucky bottom of Mallows Bay, so what remained below the water line just kind of slouched there, slowly returning to, or being made into homes for, nature. (The remaining metal was also gleaned by locals hard hit by the Great Depression, so they helped feed many a human family during that dark period.)

Today the “bones” of the ships, in various stages of on-going decomposition, have bushes, trees, and grasses growing in their centers, and are home to all manner of wildlife. Birds, beavers, bees – and lots of other things that don’t start with the letter “b.”

A guided tour of some of the most interesting ships makes for an eerily lovely paddle. Especially during low tide (yes, the Potomac is tidal!) one can marvel at the size of the ships by noting their outlines, look for evidence of the teaming life, and learn interesting factoids.

This is a highly recommended trip for those in the DC area who like being out on the water, speculating on the way nature takes over what people abandon, and imagining the lost majesty of these vessels…now ghosts of their former selves, and totally appropriate for Halloween season! Enjoy some snaps of the experience, though somehow my photos taken from kayaks are less than stellar. But, you’ll get the idea…

Our tour started with a fun mini-lecture (with illustrations!) from our guide, explaining the history of the Ghose Fleet.
Then we proceeded to the launch, seen here. They have a great easy in, easy out kayak dock, very appreciated for us “older” kayakers. The ship seen in the distance is a newer addition to the Ghost Fleet. The Accomac saw service during WWII, and later as a passenger ferry.
This is the sort of ship remains you see most of, a sort of raggedy collection of wood and bolts, sunk into the mud, with nature taking over. It’s quite fascinating, really, though it might not look like much here!
You can paddle very close to the ship remains to get info from the guide about construction, where beavers built their homes, and trying to catch a glancing at smaller migratory birds, etc.
Though we didn’t see any actual river otters (we were told they sometimes do), I appreciated that our kayak was an Old Town Otter model! We did see eagles a couple of times, as well as a kingfisher, the ubiquitous cormorants, and some small warblers in the barberry bushes having a fall feast. The tree colors were a bit subdued but pretty, and the sky was the most marvelous blue as seen here.
One last shot of the tallest part of one of the wrecks (can’t recall which one) which makes a good landmark and gauge for the tide height. Really a memorable trip on the best possible day!

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