August 01

Today is Barb's birthday.  I promised her a trip up the Dismal Swamp Canal for her birthday, so that's what we're doing today.  Before I go into the details of the day, let me tell you about the Dismal Swamp Canal.  From Norfolk to the Albemarle Sound, there are two choices of routes.  The main ICW, used by deep draft boats, commercial traffic, and fast powerboats is the Virginia Cut.  Sailboats with drafts of less than six feet, trawlers, or other powerboats who don't mind going slow can choose the Dismal Swamp route.  The distance is almost equal for either route.  Quoting from the Waterway Guide Mid-Atlantic Edition:

"The historic and beautiful canal offers an alternative route form the more heavily traveled Virginia Cut.  You may see a deer on the sparsely developed shore or an occasional bear swimming across.  Many spots are heavily draped with several varieties of grapevines.

The canal's construction began in 1793, taking 12 years to complete with slave labor.  It served as a major commercial artery until it was badly damaged in the Civil War.  In the late 1800s, the canal was rehabilitated, and vessels moved lumber, shingles, farm products and passengers between Norfolk and inland Virginia and North Carolina.  By the 1920s, commercial traffic had subsided and the canal was sold to the Corps of Engineers for $500,000.

Today, recreational boaters cruise past a number of historical sites on the Dismal Swamp Canal.  Astride the Virginia/North Carolina border is the site of the Halfway House Hotel (circa 1820), a popular spot for marriages, duels and those escaping the law.  Edgar Allan Poe is said to have written "The Raven" during a stay at this hotel.  Boats today follow the same course as Jane Adam's Floating Theatre, which inspired Edna Ferber to write "Showboat"."

Based on this description, I wanted to do this route.  I was worried about the depth of the water though.  I had also read that when you enter the locks, the lock tender asks your depth and if it's more that six feet, he warns you to proceed at your own risk.  As it turned out, depth was never a problem.  There are several obstacles requiring timing on this route.  Five opening bridges and two locks.  Two of the bridges are easy because they work in conjunction with the locks.  The first bridge is just a few hundred yards from where we are berthed.  I had called the bridge on the radio last night to be sure I understood the opening schedule.  They open on demand except between 7-9 AM and 4-6PM for rush hour.  During those two windows, they will open twice on the half hours.  So, we need to be there before 7:00 or do 07:30.  We need to make one of those times or we will miss the lock schedule that I'll describe later.  We set the alarm and are up at 06:00.  We have coffee and make ready to leave.  About 06:45, I call the bridge to make sure they will open before we even untie.  The bridge operator tried to make me think he was doing me a favor to open before 07:00, but said to come on.  So, we quickly untied and we at the bridge by 06:50.  The traffic arms went down, the bells rang, the siren blew, and the bridge did nothing.  Next thing you knew the traffic arms went up and the cars went.  The bridge tender called on the radio and said he had a problem and to hang on.  A couple minutes later we did the drill again with the same results.  The tender came on the radio and apologized again.  He said he would have to go downstairs and check some circuit breakers.  I was very polite and said we'd wait.  It was now after 07:00.  About 07:05, he tried again.  Same result.  He came on the radio and said he would have to call somebody.  I told him I would back off and wait and for him to call on the radio when he wanted to try again.  So, we moved away from the bridge and waited.  He called me a few minutes later and said a man was on his way and he thought he'd be able to get me through at 07:30.  I said OK.  About 07:20, the bells started ringing, and we watched from a distance.  Sure enough, this time one side of the bridge started to go up.  The tender called me and asked if I could fit through with only half open.  I said I sure could and we were on our way.  I thanked the tender  after we passed and wished him a better day than he had so far.

For the next twenty miles or so, the route follows the Pasquotank River.  The depth is anywhere from twenty to twelve feet according to the chart.  There are homes scatter along the way, and it is quite scenic.  About halfway to the first lock, the river gets narrower, and shallower (about nine feet) and it has lots of duckweed on the surface.  It was very weird motoring through this swampy looking water at almost full speed.

The actual Dismal Swamp Canal is fed by a lake, and it's water level is controlled by two locks which raise and lower you about eight feet.  The lake is higher than sea level.  These locks only open four times a day, at 08:30, 11:00, 13:30, and 15:30.  So, by leaving Elizabeth City before 08:00, we should make the 11:00 opening of the first lock and then 15:30 opening of the second one.  If we missed either of these, we would be spending the night in the canal, which would probably be hot and buggy.  As I mentioned earlier, the depth had not been a problem, although I was watching it closely.  About two miles before we got to the first lock at South Mills, we suddenly lurched forward and almost stopped as we hit something underwater.  I quickly looked at the depth and it was 13 feet.  As we hit, the boat rose up and over whatever we hit.  And then we resumed our speed.  We looked back and now saw branches sticking out of the water that had not been there before.  We apparently hit a submerged tree and as we passed over it, we rolled it a bit.  The cruising guide warns of hitting submerged wood, but that was more than I expected.  It certainly had our attention.

A couple miles later, we arrived at the South Mills lock.  I hailed the tender on the VHF and told him we were there for his 11:00 locking.  We had almost an hour to wait, so we dropped the hook right there n the canal.  Barb went below and cooked us some French toast for brunch.  About fifteen minutes after we had been there an second sailboat showed up and anchored behind us.  At 11:00, the lock tender told us to get ready and enter when the lock gates opened.  We did just that and threw a bow and stern line to the lock tender about ten feet above us.  They way locks work is you have a bow line and a stern line, and you tie them to the boat, then loop them around a bollard on the lock and hold the other end so you can adjust the slack as you go up or down.  After both boats were secure, the gates were closed and the water started pouring in raising us eight feet.  The tender opened the gates at the other end and we motored off.  The lock tender jumped in his truck and drove about half a mile down the road to open the draw bridge down the way.  This whole thing was a one-man show.

Once through the lock, we now were actually in the Dismal Swamp Canal.  The water here was only about 7 to 9 feet deep, but fairly consistent.  We kept seeing floating pieces of wood, and avoided them.  We also saw numerous pieces of wood sticking out of the water which appeared to be stationary.  We avoided them also.  What was very unnerving though  were the twenty or so times we hit things we never saw.  Sometimes there was just a loud thud, sometimes it sounded like something hit the prop.  None were anything like the big tree we hit, but it was still ugly.  I wonder what my new bottom paint looks like now. 

We arrived at the bridge before the Deep Creek lock about an hour before the 15:30 locking.  There was a place here where one boat could tie to the side to wait, so we did.  When the other boat arrived, we invited them to raft up to us instead of anchoring.  They were a bit hesitant, but did.  The couple on that boat were Bob and Patsy.  They retired a few years ago from Philadelphia and now have a place in Florida as well as Philadelphia.  They were bringing the boat north and going to keep it in the Chesapeake.  We chatted while we waited for the lock.  I had called the lock tender and he told us that if nobody was going southbound, he would be down to open the bridge and let us in at 15:30.  This was good for us as they always lock boat into the canal before those leaving it.  At 15:30, the tender called and said he was on his way down to the bridge and to get ready.  We untied and passed the bridge as soon as he got there.  He drove back to the lock before we got there and had it open and ready for us.  This lock will lower us eight to twelve feet, depending on the tide.  The lock tender was very friendly and helpful, and by 16:00 we were on our way.

We now only have ten miles to go to Norfolk, but there are two more bridges that won't open until 17:30.  So, when we get to the first one, we have to wait almost an hour.  This time, we are in the deep main shipping channel and have to just sit and drift and motor around a little.  By 17:30, there is also a barge waiting to pass, and we follow him under the bridge.  The second bridge is about two miles down, and we get right through it since it is after 17:30.  The marina is only another mile or so.  As we motor on up the channel, we pass numerous Navy boats, a docked container ship, a large bulk carrier with tug boats, and two police Zodiacs.  We also notice an armed guard on a building roof along the waterway.  When we got the marina, we hailed them on the radio and they gave us a slip assignment. 

Once secure, Barb called her brother to let him know we were here.  He got to the marina in about a half hour and took us back to his house.  We showers and enjoyed dinner with Jim and his family.  We stayed up until almost midnight chatting. 

GPS N 36-49.922 W 76-17.757  Miles made good this leg 51. Total miles covered 1956.

August 02

We got up about 08:00 and had breakfast with Jim and Lou Anne.  Mid morning, Jim took us to see the Navy base.  His served in the Navy on a carrier and still works for them as a civilian.  Because of security these days, we were only able to drive around and see the ships from the parking lots near the docks, but it was still cool.  There were three aircraft carriers in port, four submarines, and numerous other boats. 

From the base, we went to downtown Norfolk to tour the Wisconsin, which was the last of the Iowa class battleships.  It was built for WW II, used again in Korea, and then recommissioned for the first Gulf War.  Although it is now docked and open for tours, the tours are limited to outside, because it is being kept in a state where it could be called on again under short notice.

While the Wisconsin was neat, what really got my attention was the boat tied up at the condos next to it.  Felicita is a 210 foot sailboat.  Built in 2003, it is owned by an anonymous Englishman and is available for charters for about $200,000 a week.  The two masts are 200 feet tall.  You can check out more about it at or here.  Maybe if I win the lottery...

After touring the Wisconsin we spent some time in the Naval History Museum.  Mid afternoon, we went back to Jim's house, stopping for Mexican food along the way.  The food was good, but it was not like Mexican food in the southwest.  After visiting a little more back at the house, Jim brought us back to the boat with a stop at a grocery store. 

Back at the boat, we started preparing to leave tomorrow.  We will be going offshore from here to NY in about three days.  The latest tropical depression was just numbered but looks like it will be heading out into the Atlantic, so off we go.

GPS N 36-49.922 W 76-17.757  Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 1956.