This day ranged from terrifying to blissful.
I awoke at 5 a.m. and thought heavy rain was falling, so I got up to put the hose from the rain-catcher into the tank, but when I stuck my hand out the window, there wasn't any rain at all. Puzzled, I returned to the aft cabin. The sound of rain was louder than ever. I washed my face, put on my glasses, and looked outside with a flashlight. To my dismay, the noises I was hearing were caused by ice forming around the boat. We didn't know if we'd be able to get out or not, but by daybreak, the tide was carrying most of the ice up-river. We left the dock at 7, intending to go to the fuel dock at James Creek Marina and get diesel, as we only had about ten gallons left. The center of the river appeared to be free of ice, but when we got out there, there was ice all over. It looked thin, so Roy tried to go through it, but it turned out to be several inches thick. We soon had to stop and back out. We had no recourse but to return to the dock and take two jerry cans to a service station in the blue wagon to get diesel. Then we tried to head south, hoping we'd be able to get more fuel farther down the river, but as soon as we got under the bridge, we were dismayed to see a solid sheet of ice covering the entire river. We had no choice but to turn back. I talked with the D.C. Harbor Patrol on the VHF to find out what conditions were like up there. They said the ice was an inch thick in the entire Washington Harbor, so that eliminated any chance of going there. The John Glenn Fireboat came on and said that if necessary, they would break a path through the ice for us, but we'd probably be better off staying in Alexandria. A very nice man also came on the air and advised us to go to the City Docks in Alexandria, so we headed over there. The inner slips were full of ice, but we were able to tie to the end of the dock. What a relief to be tied up safe and sound! The ice had severely damaged our hull.
The City Docks turned out to be a lot nicer than they had looked from land the other day, even though they're not floating. We have 30 amp electricity, and there's a large building with the deceptive name of "Torpedo Factory" that is open to the public and has restrooms, a drinking fountain, a public phone, and even telephone directories. The Torpedo Factory is actually a famous art center. Many artists rent space there to create and sell their art. There's also an art school there.
I phoned around to try to find out what the conditions were farther down the river and on the bay. Apparently, this is a govern-
ment holiday, so I had a hard time finding a human being. Finally talked with the Coast Guard Officer of the Day in Washington, but he didn't know anything about the ice, so he transferred me to the Coast Guard in Baltimore. They gave me a number to call for the Coast Guard at the mouth of the Potomac. I called them, but they were unaware of ice on the river. They told me to call back in two hours.
We were nearly out of drinking water, so Roy trundled our two five-gallon water jugs to the Torpedo Factory in the blue wagon. The janitor was very nice and let us fill the jugs in the utility room. Roy made three trips and filled the tank. While he was doing that, the Fireboat stopped by and talked with him. Then the boat went under the bridge, tested the ice, and said it was impassable. So we're here at least for the rest of the day and possibly for the winter. However, the temperature is supposed to climb into the 40's tomorrow, so maybe the ice will melt. It's been in the teens and 20's all week.
When I phoned the Coast Guard again, they said there was no ice south of the 301 Bridge and the Bay was completely free of ice, but they had no information for the northern portion of the Potomac. They advised me to phone Coast Guard Baltimore.
There's a bunch of eating places next to the Torpedo Factory, so we went there for an all-you-can-eat pizza lunch. We wanted to get as much diesel as possible while we're here, so we had phoned for a cab to pick us up at 2:30. After lunch, we carried ten diesel cans out to the curb and waited for the cab. When it hadn't shown up by ten to three, I phoned again and was told the cab was on its way and would be there in a few minutes. When it hadn't arrived by 3:15, Roy went to the corner and flagged the first cab that came along, but the driver was reluctant to put the diesel cans in his cab even though he had plenty of room. He said we'd have to pay $10 in addition to what was on the meter. We'd have paid it if he'd been pleasanter, but he acted as if he didn't want to take us, so we said forget it. Soon, we hailed another cab. This driver was very nice. He helped put the cans in the trunk, drove to the station, waited while Roy filled the cans, loaded them back in the trunk, and drove us back to the Torpedo Factory. And all he charged was what was on the meter.
So the day ended well after all. We have plenty of fuel and water, we're warm and safe, and tomorrow we might be able to get out of here.
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