The Great Dismal Swamp

It's official!  We have now started the next leg of our ever-changing trip!  We have started the ICW!

For those of you who are not familiar, the ICW is the intra-coastal waterway which makes it's way from Norfolk Virginia to Miami Florida.  It is a popular route for boaters heading south, as it allows you to stay inland and off the open ocean if you wish.  As the hurricane season technically lasts to end-November, it provides some safeguard in that respect as well, as many boats work there way south in November.  We have opted for this route for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, we have been enjoying 'gunk-holing' our way down the east coast of North America, absorbing the history and culture of the various regions we have sailed and are looking forward to continuing doing the same. This is hard to do when you are offshore!  Secondly, the Gulf Stream is a powerful flow of water heading north, so you are more likely to use that to your advantage heading home in the spring if you choose to go offshore.  That said, we are planning some offshore passages of 1 to 2 days, weather permitting, as there are some good, large craft inlets along the coast.  If you sail offshore, but reasonably close to the coast, you can avoid the current flowing north.  So, if all the stars line up, we hope to have a mix of inside motoring and outside sailing en route to Florida.

We left the Sunset Creek Boatyard in Hampton at 0700, as planned, waved good-bye to our new friends, Earle, and Bill and Lydia, and headed out to Hampton Roads Harbour.  Our timing was excellent, as the normally busy harbour was very quiet, with only a couple of other 'snowbirds', two fishermen, and a tug sharing the waterways with us!  Passing the huge naval base in Norfolk, we entered Elizabeth River on the south side.  Gradually, traffic increased as we travelled through the city of Norfolk, with more south-bound cruisers, ferries, tug boats, and cranes, all slowly coming to life in the early hours of the morning!

Norfolk Naval Yard

Ooops!

ICW mile marker 0.0

At 9:15 we passed ICW mile marker 0.0, and raised our coffees in a salute!  All was going according to schedule as we approached our first bridge that would have to open for our passage.  The guide book had said it was closed between the hours of 0600 and 0800, but neglected to say that afterwards it only opened on the hour!!  We had decided that we wanted to take the Great Dismal Swamp Canal to Albemarle Sound, as opposed to the 'main' route (the Virginia Cut), and we knew that the next opening for the lock which would put us in the canal was 11:00, so waiting for the 10:00 opening of the bridge was going to make things a little tight!  Oh well, 'c'est la vie'!  We had decided on the Great Dismal Swamp route because, although it is somewhat shallower, with a controlling depth of 6', and a little slower (speed limit of 7 mph), it was also supposed to be prettier, and, as a result of the depth and speed limits, quieter.  Although we have accepted that we are now part of a large crowd of boaters heading south, we had hoped, by choosing the alternate route, to 'take the road less travelled'!  While we were waiting for the bridge to open, we heard on the radio that the lock on the Virginia Cut was broken down, and now ALL boaters heading south were going to have to take the Dismal Swamp route, or wait for possibly two weeks for the repair of the Great Bridge Lock!!  Oh No!!  So much for 'the road less travelled'!!!

As we passed under the Gilmerton Bridge, we all swung right and headed toward the Deep Creek Lock, which would take us to the Dismal Swamp.  We radioed ahead to the lockmaster that there was a whole herd of us approaching, so he waited for us, leaving the lock open until it was full!  Three abreast, and four deep!  All things considered, everyone was in good humour as we rafted up to each other for the 9' ride up to the canal height.  All this traffic made for a late lock-through, so three of us decided to take advantage of the free dock immediately past the lock and before the next bridge, and stay the night, hoping to wait out the crowds. (At that point, we still didn't know how long the Great Bridge Lock would be down).  As the day progressed, more boats came through the canal, and by evening, four more boats had pulled up for the night.  One of the boats was a couple from Napanee!!!!  We've travelled thousands of miles, only to tie up beside someone who lives 30 minutes from us!!  They are a very nice couple who had come down through the Erie Canal and were also heading for the Bahamas.  We took advantage of our early stop and went for a walk on the trail of a park right beside the dock.  The fall colours are in full swing here, so it was pretty in the woods, and nice to anticipate a pretty drive down the canal tomorrow!  We learned of some of the new flora on our walk, trying to spot water elm, sassafras, loblolly pine, american holly, and fraser magnolia!  There was also a very old and neglected gravesite surrounded by a decrepit iron fence.  It looked like a family plot, but the stones were almost all broken and worn down by time.

locking through at Deep Creek...the start of the Dismal Swamp

dock at Deep Creek lock

park at Deep Creek lock

Loblolly Pine

Fraser Magnolia

The next morning dawned sunny and we all enjoyed our coffees, chatting to each other from our boats and on the dock, waiting for the boats in the 0830 lock to come out so we could join them as they progressed to the bascule bridge.  We were now 12 boats travelling the canal together, and as we headed under the bridge, I felt like a bunch of ducklings, following the mother duck down the canal!!  It continued sunny all morning as we motored our way through the dark, tea-coloured water.  There are so many trees and logs in the water and lining the shore, that the water has been stained from all the tannin.  The canal is beautiful, and not 'dismal' at all!  In fact, the name comes from the old term for a swamp, which is a 'dismal'.  As we travelled along the canal, fall leaves drifted down from the trees surrounding us, landing in the water and on the boat.  It really was a lovely ride!  The lockmaster had advised us to travel at about 5 knots and we would make the second lock in time for the 1:30 opening.  In fact, we arrived at the South Mills bridge and lock at about 12:30, but here again, the lockmaster was accommodating, and opened the bridge early, allowing us all to pass under and enter in to the lock early!  As a result, by 1:40, we were out of the canal and on the winding Pasquotank River.  We were also now in North Carolina, having passed the state line just before the Visitor Centre on the canal.

waiting for the Deep Creek bridge to open

Pictures of the Dismal Swamp Canal
 

NOW we felt like we were in a swamp!!  Still lots of trees growing out of the water, but a large number of them appeared to be dead.  It was also clouding over, which added to the whole 'dismal' quality about it!!  There were a few possible anchorages on the river, but we had decided to try to make Elizabeth City, as the weather was going to make a turn for the worse, and we felt we would rather be 'stuck' in Elizabeth City than in an 'iffy' anchorage on the river!  Elizabeth City if well-known for it's friendly reception to boaters travelling through.  We felt this town deserved some time and exploration!

Upper Pasquotank River photos

We missed the 4:00 opening of the bridge at the town, and were a bit concerned, as the bridge was supposed to be closed until 6:00, when it would be well and truly dark and hard to find a dock!  Once again, the bridgemaster accommodated us by opening the bridge at 4:30 and again at 5:30 for the stragglers!

Tying up was our final adventure of the day!  Fortunately for us, a wonderful gentleman stopped to take our bow lines while George and I tried to 'lasso' the posts at the stern of the boat with our stern lines!!  Essentially we had to tie the boat in between four posts, bow in to the town dock....two bow lines on the two forward posts, and two stern lines on the two stern posts!  After successfully 'catching' our final stern post and securing the boat, our 'mystery helper' went on his way, and we realized that '16' was not the number of the slip, but the width of the slip, so a little wide for us!  Next time we will aim for the slip with '13' on it!!  We went for a quick walk, but decided things looked like they were shutting down, so headed back to the boat for supper and an early night!  The next day we woke to rain, so spent the morning reading and writing on the boat and enjoyed a 'leisurely' breakfast and a full pot of coffee!  After the rain stopped, we walked up to the town museum which gave the history of the town.  Here again, we are in the heart of 'Civil War' country, with Virginia and North Carolina being among the last group of states to join the Confederates.  This part of the country was comprised mostly of 'subsistance' farmers who essentially grew enough to provide for their family and traded what they had left over for other essentials they couldn't provide for themselves.  As a result, most people here did not have slaves, and in fact a number of blacks that lived here were 'freemen' who had earned their freedom.  The minority of people were the plantation owners that we typically associate with the south, who did have up a large number of slaves.  Their crops were, of course, tobacco and cotton, but there were also flax crops to weave in to linen, corn, rice, peanuts, and sweet potatoes.  Pig farming was also very important here, as a pig could be slaughtered in the winter, the meat salted and dried, and then it would feed the family throughout the winter.  The smokehouse became a very important structure on the farm and was often locked, as it could make the difference between surviving the winter or not!

We also learned about the shad boat.  This was a boat designed locally to ply the many canals and rivers in the area.  It was a shallow draft with sails, and was used to transport goods from place to place.  The canals made a big difference to the people here, as they could bring commerce back and forth between the larger cities and smaller towns without having to confront the forces of the Atlantic!

Shad boat display at the museum

Afterward we wandered in to town, looking for something to eat.  We found a nice little bistro cafe, but otherwise, the town was very quiet, with lots of closed buildings.  There was also an art store, The Arts of Albemarle, that was very nice which highlighted local artists, so we were able to pick up a couple of items!

On our return to the boat we were invited for the famous wine and cheese party sponsored by the town on the dock and roses were handed out to the ladies on the boats!   This is a nod to the famous 'Rose Buddies', two gentlemen who used to greet the boats as they arrived in town with roses for the women! The mayor spoke and welcomed us to the town and pointed out some of the highlights.  The people here really have been very friendly, and you can't beat the price of the dock!!  But the town itself did not impress us too much, as it is really looking a little run-down.  However, that said, they are working hard to improve and are promising bathrooms, showers, and laundromat by next spring!!!

 When we were in the museum, we learned about the James Adams floating theatre that used to ply the waters here, and would come in to town and tie up to the docks that we were sitting on!  The book and then the movie 'Showboat' was based on Edna Ferber's experience riding on the boat for four days one summer!  The town still has a strong theatre community and puts on lots of local productions on the stage above the Arts of Albemarle.  Wandering through the town, we both thought wouldn't it be fun to have the showboat still here!!

Finally, the Visitor's Centre also provides free bicycles, so we took advantage of those on Thursday, as the winds were predicted to be strong and there was a small craft advisory out for the morning.  We will stay here one more day, and then head across the Albemarle Sound on Friday.  Our bike ride took us along the Pasquotank River and past some lovely homes.  Upon our return, I did another quick trip to the grocery store and then we both visited the fabulous book store right across from the Mariner's Wharf park!  Good way to finish the day!!

the Pond House Inn.....beautiful spot!