Mallows Bay Article

[obsession18]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ls-MOVING.html

[RonCat]

Moved 20 miles? Think about how far up or down river that is. Caught plenty of fish in there.

[potomacbassin]

Did they mean 20 feet or inches?

[HalBrown]

Every time my school teachr daughter goes out with me she wants to go to Mallows Bay and spends more time taking pictures than fishing. What I want to know is where the hell have they moved to so I don't whack one.

[mikesxpress]

20" maybe? 20 feet not happening.
They burned them to the water line in 1924 and less some minor salavge work done in the 1940's to recover steel, they have remained undisturbed.


https://sometimes-interesting.com/20...f-mallows-bay/

[HalBrown]

Mike, that is what I was thinking. Look at the storm surges they have endured. I am sure the keels are really mired in mud, sand and plant growth.

[yj99t04]

This article got me thinking about other areas on the river that have old ships. In particular, what about the wrecks on Arkendale? Are they just ships that ran in to something and sank, or were they part of something like the Mallows ships/barges?

[RockvilleMDAngler]

This article got me thinking about other areas on the river that have old ships. In particular, what about the wrecks on Arkendale? Are they just ships that ran in to something and sank, or were they part of something like the Mallows ships/barges?

These were the same ships that are in Mallows Bay. A large fleet of wooden steam ships built to get troops to Europe in WW1. They were obsolete when built, horribly constructed, and the vast majority never sailed. None crossed the Atlantic. The main problems with the ships was that wood was used from all over the country and the different sources of wood had varying rates of expansion so they leaked the moment they hit the water. The second problem was steam ships were not only obsolete in 1917, they had not been made in 20 years and those who had made them were all retired or dead so these steam engines were made by people who had no idea what they were doing and the results were catastrophic. After the war the government could not find buyers for these leaking rat-filled monstrosities so they were sold to Western Marine and Salvage Company who moored them in Arkendale and brought them up one-by-one to Alexandria to be salvaged for scrap. When the price of scrap plummeted, it become a losing proposition to move them from Arkendale but a new problem arose... during storms it was common for one to break free and impede shipping so they were filled with rock/dirt/sand/whatever. The fill held several in place but not all and soon the price of scrap raised again as WW2 began. Western Marine and Salvage Company then decided to haul them (with the exception of a few which they could not dislodge from Arkendale that remain there today) to Mallows Bay where they had constructed a gate/dam and pump so they could bring each ship into the Southeast corner of the bay, through the gate/dam then close the gate/dam and pump out the water and burn the ship leaving the scrap behind. This worked a grand total of 3 times before the price of scrap again fell and the remaining ships were left in Mallows and again filled to prevent them from clogging the shipping lanes. They have remained there ever since.

[yj99t04]

Thanks for the info. The river is full of cool stories.

[Islands]

Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay by Donald G. Shomette - copyright 1996 is a great book telling the history of these old vessels and more of the area. It also includes a diagram showing the location of each vessel based on a survey that was done of the area. Have to admit that was the reason I originally purchased the book and is helpful if you wish to venture around the wrecks to fish. As far as these vessels moving, if they didn't move during Agnes I would seriously doubt anything would move them now.