The Dismal Swamp Is Anything But Dismal!

Tuesday, July 12 - We left the Alligator River Marina on July 7 and cruised north on the Albemarle Sound.  Since the Albemarle Sound is a substantial body of water, we had "battened down the hatches" because we were anticipating some rough water part of the way.  So much for the 1 ft. waves that were predicted!  The waves quickly grew to much larger waves and we were also suddenly in beam seas. The boat was rockin' and rollin' and things were flying throughout the boat as the captain tried to maintain our course.  And, of course, there were crab pots everywhere to dodge.  Captain Carey did an excellent job navigating our way through the rough water and crab pots. Crab pots are particularly hard to spot when the water is rough and some of the crab pots are dark brown or black!  All crab pots should be painted a neon color so they are more easily visible.  There are no pictures to share, but we had a bit of cleaning up to do when we found calm water again!  Nancy soon learned that putting things away for rough water now means to empty the upper bunk in the second stateroom!  It felt like we were back on Lake Michigan, minus the crab pots!

After leaving Albemarle Sound we found much calmer water as we entered the Pasquotank River as we headed to north Elizabeth City.  Our fellow Loopers had warned us of hundreds of crab pots to watch out for, but fortunately there were not many in the river.  Apparently, prime crab season is in May so we missed it.  

We passed by a Coast Guard Air Station that had a huge building where blips are assembled and housed.  We didn't see any blimps, but here's a picture of the building.

                                                        Blimp Hanger

We had been to Elizabeth City by car when we did our trip to the outer banks.  We had the opportunity to stop and dock on their free wall, but decided to continue on another 5 miles and find an anchorage.  As it turned out, we found a GREAT anchorage behind Goat Island.  It was such a beautiful anchorage, so peaceful and quiet.  The anchor set on the first try - always a plus - and we had plenty of water.  No chance of going aground.  It was a peaceful, hot night on the river.  Fortunately, with our generator we were able to run our air conditioners.

                                        Peaceful Anchorage Behind Goat Island

The next morning we headed into the Great Dismal Swamp.  It sounds like a horrible place.  Who would want to visit a dismal swamp?  But, it ended up being one of the highlights of our Loop!  As we cruised the Pasquotank River towards the Dismal Swamp, the river turned very windy and narrow in places.  There were cypress tress everywhere - and a lot of duckweed!  Then we came up to a tree that had fallen, blocking most of the river.  Fortunately, we were able to squeeze past it on the left side of the river.  It was in our favor that the side of the river had about 7 feet of water.

                                                   Fallen Tree Across the River

                             Cruising the Pasquotank River Towards The Dismal Swamp


Historical information about the Dismal Swamp:  In the late 1600's, the Dismal Swamp was a vast wetland covering over a million acres.  For centuries American Indians used the swamp as hunting and fishing grounds but found the area too wet to live in.  Early explorers thought the swamp should be drained and converted to agricultural use.  Early attempts proved unprofitable and efforts turned to harvesting the timber in the swamp.  The Dismal Swamp Canal was completed in 1805, providing the means to move timber out to market.  By the 1800s, most of the hardwood trees were logged out, but commercial logging continued in the swamp until the 1960's.  The Nature Conservancy purchased land from the timber company who owned the swamp.  In 1974, the State of North Carolina acquired the land and created the Dismal Swamp State Park.  During the time of slavery, the swamp offered a refuge to runaway slaves.  Some of these slaves lived in colonies deep within the swamp.  Others used the swamp as a resting place on their journeys to freedom.

There are 2 locks to go through at either end of the Dismal Swamp Canal.  We entered through the South Mills Lock at the south end and exited the canal through the Deep Creek Lock at the north end. 

                                         Mileage Sign at the South Mills Lock

Once in the canal, it is basically a no wake zone so you don't hit floating deadheads.  The water depth was about 8-9 ft (comfortably higher than the maintained 6 foot minimum).  Can you imagine that we are now happy with just 8 feet of water?  We locked through with 3 other boats so boat traffic on the canal was at a minimum.  Our night was spent tied up to a free wall at the Dismal Swamp Visitors' Center.  The canal was very narrow, but the view was beautiful!

                             View Directly Across from Tug LeeLoo on the Free Wall

As one would expect, there were lots of bugs - both biting and interesting!  We saw lots of butterflies, dragonflys and many other bugs we didn't recognize.  We took a walk through the swamp and found a lot of cypress knees growing.  The walk was a short one because of the biting bugs!

                                     Lots of Interesting Bugs in the Dismal Swamp!

Midway through the canal, we crossed over into Virginia.  

                                              We Made It To Another State!

On Sunday, after we departed the free wall at the Visitors' Center, we cruised along the Dismal Swamp for several hours.  For most of this time, we did not see another boat.  It was very beautiful, calm and peaceful.  We sat on the bow of Tug LeeLoo while steering with the wireless remote for the autopilot.  To sum up our trip to the Dismal Swamp, it is anything but dismal!  There was much we did not see because we did not venture deep into the swamp. From our view on the bow of Tug LeeLoo, the swamp has its own beauty.  Seeing it from a boat is a lot different than seeing it along the shore. 

                                   Captain Carey Steering Tug LeeLoo on the Bow

After we left the Dismal Swamp, our next challenge was the Elizabeth River which empties into Chesapeake Bay.  We went from a very narrow and shallow canal to a very wide and deep river with lots of bridges.  We cruised along until we found the Ocean Yacht Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia.  We have had a lot of fun here.  One day we took the ferry across the river to Norfolk and spent the day at the Nauticus Maritime Museum where the USS Wisconsin (BB64) is located.  We took a 2 hr. Navy Base Cruise where we went past all the big Navy ships and submarines.  Our marina is right across the river from the Norfolk Navy Base so we hear bugles playing taps and revelry, and occasionally the Star Spangled Banner.  Very cool!

                                      Tug LeeLoo Docked at Ocean Yacht Marina

                                                             Navy Ships

This is our fourth day in Portsmouth.  It has been very hot and humid here, but we are staying cool with our air conditioning!  Tomorrow, July 14, we leave at 7:00 a.m. for Deltaville Virginia, about 50 miles up the Chesapeake Bay.  On Friday we will cross the bay to Crisfield, Maryland.  The farther up the bay you go, the narrower it becomes, so it is easy to cross back and forth from one side of the bay to the other.

Our cruising plans include visiting Tangier Island (via ferry from Crisfield), Cambridge, Oxford, St Michaels, and then Rock Hall.  These towns are all on the eastern shore of Maryland.  Then we will cross over to Annapolis, where will stay for a week or more.  After Annapolis we will visit Solomons Island, Maryland and then likely head up the Potomac River to Washington, DC.  Hopefully the weather and water on the Chesapeake Bay will be favorable.