November 2nd, 3rd, 4th till............
On Sunday we left Norfolk, with all it's warships and bustle, and following a number of other sailboats headed down the south branch of the Elizabeth River. Went through a number of bridges that were already open but two had to be radioed and waited for. One we waited for at least a half hour so there was a lot of circling and trying not to drift to places you don't want to be. Just before it opened the reason we were waiting became apparent and Christopher was delighted. A train! A 'Norfolk and Southern 'engine to pulling it. "Finally" he said, and he didn't mean the bridge opening. Ever since we had been in the vicinity of Norfolk he had expected to see a 'Norfolk and Southern' engine and there had not been any. Now we could move on.
After the bridge the boat traffic could go two ways, the Virginia Cut or the Dismal Swamp. You have to have a draft of less than 6 feet to go down the Dismal Swamp, and we had been told that if we could do it we should. So we headed off down Deep Creek toward the lock of the Dismal Swamp canal. First of all the lock was a different experience from the ones in the Erie Canal. It only runs four times a day so there were already boats waiting when we got there, but the lock master fit everyone it, with boats rafting up together. After we left the lock it meant 12 or 13 boats were all headed down this narrow canal. "A parade!" exclaimed Christopher. What a difference from Norfolk! The tannins in the water make it brown like tea, not a muddy brown. Apparently bacteria doesn't grow in that environment so historically this water was valued for it's healthful properties. The canal was lined with trees in colour. The day was warm so it smelled like a warm fall day when you are kicking your feet through piles of raked leaves. There's no place to anchor along there and with the short daylight it is too far to complete the canal, so most of this parade stopped at the Dismal Swamp/North Carolina Visitor centre. There is a dock with room for about 4 boats to tie up and then everyone else rafts up to them. By nightfall we were 15 boats rafted together. The visitor centre is also the visitor centre for the highway. Across the canal was a brand new visitor centre for the Dismal Swamp State Park, lots of great information about the swamp. To get there there was a pontoon bridge they put out when no boats are coming.
We were up early Monday as many of the inner boats on the dock wanted to make the first lock opening at the end of the canal, so we all ended up heading out early. A little too early I think, twelve boats arrived at the lock over a hour before it opened! More dancing around in circles, some boats anchored to wait. When we got through the lock the canal eventually opened up to the Pasquotank River. "This is a long swamp" Christopher was commenting. The destination was Elizabeth City. A very welcoming city, it provides 2 nights free dockage to boats. The tradition has been when there are more than 4 boats there there is a wine and cheese party for the boaters put on by the city. So, with about 20 boats there, everybody was looking for it last night, but it didn't happen. We'll let you know if it happens later today! Most people go out to eat to show appreciation to the city for the free dock, so we joined a bunch at a local restaurant and ate the catch of the day, flounder.
Today Christopher and I are at the local library catching up on some school work and this blog. (Having a little trouble getting pictures on right now so may have to put them on another day) Dave is taking advantage of this time to change fuel filters and do some other maintenance jobs that are due. Our next leg of the trip includes crossing the Abermarle Sound, which apparently can range from peaceful to nasty depending on the direction and strength of the wind. The boat docked next to us has done the trip 18 times and they are contemplating waiting until Friday for the conditions to be favourable, so we'll see how long we stay. I'm not sure what will happen later today when the next batch of boats arrives from the Dismal Swamp, because none of yesterday's bunch left today. I hear that during last week's gale warnings there was a lot of rafting up of boats to accommodate everyone. Everyday is a different experience!
On Sunday we left Norfolk, with all it's warships and bustle, and following a number of other sailboats headed down the south branch of the Elizabeth River. Went through a number of bridges that were already open but two had to be radioed and waited for. One we waited for at least a half hour so there was a lot of circling and trying not to drift to places you don't want to be. Just before it opened the reason we were waiting became apparent and Christopher was delighted. A train! A 'Norfolk and Southern 'engine to pulling it. "Finally" he said, and he didn't mean the bridge opening. Ever since we had been in the vicinity of Norfolk he had expected to see a 'Norfolk and Southern' engine and there had not been any. Now we could move on.
After the bridge the boat traffic could go two ways, the Virginia Cut or the Dismal Swamp. You have to have a draft of less than 6 feet to go down the Dismal Swamp, and we had been told that if we could do it we should. So we headed off down Deep Creek toward the lock of the Dismal Swamp canal. First of all the lock was a different experience from the ones in the Erie Canal. It only runs four times a day so there were already boats waiting when we got there, but the lock master fit everyone it, with boats rafting up together. After we left the lock it meant 12 or 13 boats were all headed down this narrow canal. "A parade!" exclaimed Christopher. What a difference from Norfolk! The tannins in the water make it brown like tea, not a muddy brown. Apparently bacteria doesn't grow in that environment so historically this water was valued for it's healthful properties. The canal was lined with trees in colour. The day was warm so it smelled like a warm fall day when you are kicking your feet through piles of raked leaves. There's no place to anchor along there and with the short daylight it is too far to complete the canal, so most of this parade stopped at the Dismal Swamp/North Carolina Visitor centre. There is a dock with room for about 4 boats to tie up and then everyone else rafts up to them. By nightfall we were 15 boats rafted together. The visitor centre is also the visitor centre for the highway. Across the canal was a brand new visitor centre for the Dismal Swamp State Park, lots of great information about the swamp. To get there there was a pontoon bridge they put out when no boats are coming.
We were up early Monday as many of the inner boats on the dock wanted to make the first lock opening at the end of the canal, so we all ended up heading out early. A little too early I think, twelve boats arrived at the lock over a hour before it opened! More dancing around in circles, some boats anchored to wait. When we got through the lock the canal eventually opened up to the Pasquotank River. "This is a long swamp" Christopher was commenting. The destination was Elizabeth City. A very welcoming city, it provides 2 nights free dockage to boats. The tradition has been when there are more than 4 boats there there is a wine and cheese party for the boaters put on by the city. So, with about 20 boats there, everybody was looking for it last night, but it didn't happen. We'll let you know if it happens later today! Most people go out to eat to show appreciation to the city for the free dock, so we joined a bunch at a local restaurant and ate the catch of the day, flounder.
Today Christopher and I are at the local library catching up on some school work and this blog. (Having a little trouble getting pictures on right now so may have to put them on another day) Dave is taking advantage of this time to change fuel filters and do some other maintenance jobs that are due. Our next leg of the trip includes crossing the Abermarle Sound, which apparently can range from peaceful to nasty depending on the direction and strength of the wind. The boat docked next to us has done the trip 18 times and they are contemplating waiting until Friday for the conditions to be favourable, so we'll see how long we stay. I'm not sure what will happen later today when the next batch of boats arrives from the Dismal Swamp, because none of yesterday's bunch left today. I hear that during last week's gale warnings there was a lot of rafting up of boats to accommodate everyone. Everyday is a different experience!
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