ICW: Dismal Swamp and Elizabeth City, NC

10/01/2012 => Dismal Swamp Canal/Dismal Swamp Welcome Center

0630:  The Dismal Swamp contains 2 locks, one at the north end and one at the south;  both operate on a specific time, and we wanted to get into the mid canal marker, Dismal Swamp Welcome Center, at a reasonable time.  The first lock opening we wanted to catch was the 1100, otherwise we would be waiting until 1430…so we hauled a bit early, before the sun rose, actually!  Hampton to Dismal Swamp was about 4 hours for us, through a heavily commercial travelled area:  think of the East River, just with more barges.  We sailed by Norfolk, VA:  Mike completely geeked out, as in the naval yard there were 3 in-service Air Craft Carriers (USS Harry Truman, Abe Lincoln, & Yorktown) and 1 WW2 retired carrier in dock.  The main channel runs right behind them, not at ALL like up north (if you are within 500 yds, a small but heavily armed boat comes racing out you…or if you are even closer, they shoot first ask questions later). 

Dismal Swamp/ICW sign!!

We did very well on time…until we got to this bridge not 2 miles from the Lock entrance…our guide(s) said this was an “on demand” opening, barring any train traffic…however, the bridge lady was not having it!  Even (2) commercial tugs requested openings, and yet she replied “I only open at the bottom of the hour.  Next opening is at 10:30”…which didn’t make any real sense to me, but whatever.   As we waited, another 2 sails lined up behind us…so we were curious if they would go the Swamp, or take the other route, known as the Virginia Cut.  Technically, the Virginia Cut is about 10 mi shorter than the Swamp, but it is in a heavily industrial area:  and we were almost swamped coming through the little stretch of commercial channel we just came through, this was not an appealing thought for us! We got through the bridge at 1045…and with 1.5 mi to go, we didn’t think we would make the 1100 Lock!!  Just as we were about to call the Lock Master to see if he would hold off, one of the sails behind us beat us to the radio:  Lock responded he would hold, as there was no North Bound boats coming through right now!! Mike quickly responded to the Lock that we would be there as well, so at least it better to hold the lock for 2, rather than one. 

 

I was not sure what to expect from a “lock” as I have never been in one, and neither has mike.  We pulled into a large basin, about 30ft wide with steel walls rising 10’ over our boats deck.  The lock master greeted us with a grunt, a hock and a “hand me your bow line” before looping off the bow to the upper steel piles, throwing the line back at me and moved onto the stern, stating we will be rising 8’, so pay attention to your lines…very friendly man, I tell ya!  The sail who radio’d ahead of us lined up to our stern, receiving the same treatment from the master (at least it wasn’t just us J).  As the lock gates behind us both began to close, we struck up a conversation with the sailor behind us.  The man mentioned he has seen us before, so of course we asked where figuring it would be in Solomon’s, Annapolis, etc.  He surprised us with “The Atlantic Highlands”!  We stayed there our first night out (see first blog entry!) over a month ago!  I think both Mike and I were stunned that anyone would remember our boat from that far out!  This boats name was Sweet Pea, sailors name is Doc, from Atlanta and on his way home.  As the lock began to fill, all conversation stopped, particularly from him:  manning the lines is tricky by yourself.

The lock fills fairly quickly causing the swift current pushing boats to the steel bulkheads or away.  As you rise, the lines need to be tightened constantly to make sure you don’t bash your boat, or swing around completely.  I manned the bow, so was able to see the water rushing in:  pretty cool sight, but if you have any claustrophobia, or fear of water (I do actually) it is a bit …frightening!  Ha. I tried to video it, but not sure where the file went!  Pretty sure the camera ate it.



Lock filing up

 

As the lock doors opened, we officially started our InterCoastal Waterway adventure!  The Canal cuts through a National Park:  Dismal Swamp.  It’s not a “swamp” like i would have thought, all boggy and stinky!  It’s really a wild life refuge!  The canal is only about 30 ft wide with trees/moss/gross creatures on either side.  We were told to keep a look out for black bears and bobcats crossing the canal (not that they would even come near us, but more for fun aesthetics!).  There is no sailing in the swamp, only motoring to not cause a wake…which as we are not exactly speedy, this was fine with us!  Sweet Pea tied off right after a car bridge (same lock master has to run ahead and raise the bridge), which boggled us!  We weren’t sure if he was having problems or not, but when he didn’t respond on the radio we kept going anyway.

We were told the controlling depth of the canal was 6’0; due to constant beeping of the depth finder, we just turned her off completely! (Hoping we would be ok).  The canal is maintained by Army Core of Eng, however there are a lot of deadheads (rotting tree stumps) and branched throughout the water:  a constant watch is required.  We did hit a shady branch, but didn’t do any damage…minus its alarming sound on our hull J. 

The Dismal Swamp Welcome Center is free dockage for all boaters wishing to stay over: however space is a bit limited and it can become crowded, hence our rush to get the 1100 Lock.  We arrived at the dock around 1530, and while most of the space was taken (a lot of small sails, and 1 motor boat) there was a bit of space right in front of this Cat…but nowhere near enough for us to dock.  We pulled alongside the Cat, and mike asked if we could “raft” off him; I wish someone would have gotten a picture of my face!    I have NO clue what “rafting” is! Haha!  For those like me, its when one boat will tie off to a dock/pier/mooring; a second boat will tie off to the moored boat. The Dismal Swamp has little to no current or tide rise/fall, so this is ideal at this location.  The Cat was the only boat that would be able to hold us, so new experience again, just filled with them today!  Once we were rafted, we hoped over this man’s boat onto the dock…to about 4 other men, all ready to talk and greet us!  Our raft buddy whose man I have forgotten, but his boat was Ming was a solo cruiser…and so were the other 3 men!  They had all done this route many, many times!  The most memorable is a late 40’s man, with thick bottle glasses, red skin, and the most awesome ‘monk’ hair line, complete with horrible hat tan!  Ha. We mentioned having come in with Sweet Pea to the swamp, but he pulled off right after the bridge…Apparently, we babies to the ICW didn’t know that there is a dock after that bridge, located right across a parking lot to a Food Lion and Chinese Buffett, a very popular stop for ICW vets…damn it!!  

Mike and I went in search of a shower…to find out there was none! AHHH, this would be my 2^nd day of no-shower…starting to NOT be happy about that!  But we shall attempt (ha.) to make the best of the situation, right? 
An hour later, Sweet Pea pulls up and comes to the same conclusion we did:  raft up!  As again, the Cat (and us) were the only boat(s) worth holding onto, he rafts to us.  The major problem with this would be when people need to leave in the morning:  Sweet Pea and we wanted to catch the 0830 south end lock, so we knew we would be okay…but what if Ming wanted to leave early?   I guess these things work themselves out somehow if he did!

Stuck in the middle with you

 

There were many bike trails/hiking paths around the Welcome Center.  To stretch our legs and Salts’s, we took off for a bit of a hike.  This particular route was actually a 3 mi “boardwalk” through the actual swamp area itself.  Both Salty and I were not really feeling the area.  In fact, once we were enclosed in the foliage, Salty’s back hair started prickling; her ears went straight up, tail between her legs and in a partial crouch.  She pulled us through the trail!  As I was pretty sure she smelled something I didn’t hesitate to keep along with her pace!  As we were half way through the loop we came upon an info sign: 

Enough Said...

By the time we got back to the dock, the sun was about to set and 2 new boats were pulling up to the dock; another sail like Sweet Pea and a smaller motor boat.  They both held off behind our triage, not sure where to go.  Mike, Doc, and Ming ran into the lounge to grab the other boat captains to see how we could arrange the boats for the night.  I was amazed at some of the gall of the smaller sails to NOT want to move!  It’s not that us bigger boats are more entitled to a space, but its harder for us (and more dangerous) to stack up verses the more maneuverability and lighter weights of the smaller vessels!  We decided to have the new sail (called Galileo) raft off of Sweet Pea for the night, as they too were to leave early.  We figured if the small boat in front of Ming could move back just a bit, the motor would fit at the dock.  You would have thought we asked the small boat to leave for the night; he was such a grump about moving back 3’! He caved under the pressure though! I do have to admit it was amusing to see 4 sails all over 35’ stacked up at the end of the dock like that though!  Our fellow sail buddies were all going onto Elizabeth City tomorrow!  We would have friends in the “harbor of hospitality”!  We stayed out on the dock, talking and telling stories with most of the boaters!  The motor boat was a retired couple, with the cutest, most excitable man ever!  He was just too precious and soo happy to be doing the ICW!  They had to stop last year’s journey due to his heart problems and were just picking back up that day!  We wished them luck, as they along with about 5 other boats would be making the journey later on tomorrow for the 1100 lock. 

 

10/02/2012 => Elizabeth City, NC

0650:  Prior to leaving, we hoped off to use the facilities.  As I came back to the boat, Ming and the Monk-cute dude were talking.  They told me they had a present for me, as it was our anniversary:  Ming had cut a wild rose bud from the area!  Thought this was just super sweet!  All 4 of us were off and down the canal!  Sweet Pea took the lead, with us, Galileo, and Ming following.  It wasn’t far to the lock, only about 1.5 hours.  As we approached the lock, the red light was still on:  we saw Sweet Pea at anchor.  We radio’d him to ask if this is what we should do as well, in which he agreed.  We had to wait for at least another 30 minutes to be able to enter.  We set our anchor:  I went down to do some dishes; Mike stayed in the cockpit reading some of the material the center had given us.  Occasionally, I would look out the companionway for whatever reason; 20 minutes in, I could see trees perfectly…a little too perfectly actually.  I climbed out and saw we had swung clear across the canal and was now en-route to hitting into Sweet Pea!!  In a not to calm voice, I grabbed Mike not sure what the hell to do!  He looked up from his reading, completely at a loss to why we even moved!  Sweet Pea was swinging too, but in the opposite direction of us (meaning coming toward our swing).  Mike quickly hoped up to the anchor while I started the engine and put her in gear.  Doc came out to his bow and was very friendly about the whole thing, saying it is okay if we have to bump, they must have done the North end lock early, causing the “current”.  In a very tricky maneuver, we just barely brushed by Sweet Pea and grabbed onto the Lock steel bulkhead…and there we chilled until the lock master came, ha.  Good times!  This did mean we would once again be in the lead at the lock! 

This time the lock was lowering 10’: much easier on the phobia to see the water rush out!  Once we were able to go, we told Doc (and anyone else who wanted) to pass on a head of us, as we were a little slow with the motor.  Doc went on a head, but the rest stayed behind us.  He was a great “plow”!  He would radio back to us all if he saw something in the water to avoid, or if there was anything interesting to look at! 

Mike started to notice our engine running little hot, followed by Ming hailing us on the radio that our back was smoking more than letting water out:  shit.  This means something caught in the fresh water intake!  To not tempt fate, we pulled off letting the others go on to try to fix the problem.  Mike is awesome and had us under way in about 30 minutes….although, sitting dead in the water for 30 minutes meant drifting.  The bank got closer and closer.  To NOT end up aground or have our mast/stays stuck in the trees, I did the only thing I could think of:  grabbed the dinghy oar and started paddling.  The amusing part of this:  the paddle is 3’9, the deck to the water line is about 4’6…so yea, I hung over the side of the boat, paddled 3 paces, got up and ran to the other side to lay back down, paddle 3 times and repeat!  I must have looked like a complete idiot, but hey that little bit was enough to keep us off the shore line/out of trees!

Around 1330, with only an hour or so to go before a port, I lost it!  I felt soo gross and dirty:  the humidity combined with not showering for 3 days…lets just say I was not a “pleasant” person to be around, both aromatically and emotionally.  Also, as it was my anniversary, I remembered that day 2 years ago and got even more upset!  As we came into the river from the canal, I was ready to grab some of the river water in a bucket and start bathing!!!   Mike was kind enough to point out the evil larva video that circulated a few years back about worms from river water bathing growing in breast tissue and filled my bucket with the precious water from our holding tank.  Please be aware that technically we do have a “shower” on board…it’s a small shower head attached to the sink in both the heads..but as the sink spews horrendous water at low pressure from them, I was not ready for that either!  So, alas I sat on deck and hand washed…in a bathing suit, fyi!  Not the most pleasant experience but I did feel so much better afterwards at least!

Elizabeth City, NC is nicknamed "the Harbor of Hospitality" for its eager want of ICW travelling boaters.  Most of their docks are free, with perhaps the only “cost” being to eat at a local restaurant.  We had the option to dock at the city docks (renowned for its poor location in SW winds) or pull up alongside Jennet’s Brothers Food Distributor’s….since neither had a shower facility, we chose the Jennet Brothers (def helped that it is a pull alongside dock and our friends from the previous night were there) which requested boaters to eat out at a restaurant that they supply nearby.  We had already chosen to go out for our anniversary that night, so this was no hardship!  We were tied off by 1400 and greeted by our fellow sailors, asking questions about why we had stopped.  Doc, from Sweet Pea, offered to have a Wine and Cheese cocktail hour on his boat for 1700, which we completely agreed too!  Mike wanted to go see the city dock area, as well as check into the Elizabeth City welcome Center.  They told us of the showers at a local gym..for 5.00, one person, one shower.  I felt this to be INSANE and refused.  Mike took the shower while Salty and I roamed the “city”.  I feel bad for this town, as you can see it once was a great/quaint little hamlet!  I am guessing with the recession, many of its stores had to move on to better locationsL.  The lady at the Welcome center told Mike she would see about getting us into the Christian Academy nearby…for free the next day.  Also, the local supermarket would come if you called them, pick you up from the main dock area, and drive you back to your boat when finished, free of charge!  We were very excited about doing that tomorrow! 

We got back a little before our first cruisers Wine and Cheese to prepare for our night: as it was our 2^nd Anniversary, I chose to dress up a bit!  Felt weird to actually put on makeup, brush my hair and wear earrings, ha!  My earrings were “your sooo awesome presents” from Mike when he was in Vancouver:  a 3” sliver of real jade!  I had never worn them yet, so was happy to have the occasion to do so!  I made my cheese/cracker/mustard tray for our cocktail hour, hoping it wasn’t too little or too much!  Sweet Pea is an 30 yr old Island Packet of 35' length...and gorgeous! Doc was a gracious host with Box wine (seriously, this is the norm for cruisers...I just haven’t got myself to do it yet). We met more in depth the couple aboard the Galileo as well!  We tried to leave Salty out on deck of our boat but within 25 minutes, she was inside the cockpit with the rest of us:  she is such a pain and had jumped off the boat, walked across the dock, and hoped right into Sweet Pea!

Around 2000, we left for dinner at Cyprus Creek Grill, a local fav for seafood and home cooking.  Our meal was…good, but not all that wondrous.  I think for us, it was more the getting off the boat for a meal and celebrating our night anyway that made the night out fun!

10/03/2012  Elizabeth City, NC and the Rose Buddies

Well, we may have celebrated a little too much last night and didn’t wake up until Galileo knocked on our haul to ask if we wanted to go to breakfast with them…around 0830, ha!  We declined, but were really happy they would have included us!  We quickly got up and called for the market pick up, wanting to get that out of the way as early as possible.  As we waited in the city dock parking lot, a late 70’s man pulls in.  He got out of his car, trumped over to mike with this mean look on his face and said “Now see here, what’s with you trying to take my girl for” then put his arm around me.  Thank the Lawd he started to laugh, cause I wasn’t sure what we would have done if he was serious!  Haha!  His name is Gus, he is a something or other for the town of Elizabeth…and then he proceeded to tell us all about how he did this or that, was a strikingly handsome blond hair, blue eyed, half Cherokee Indian Life guard while growing up…and that his uncle was governor of this here state, and his other uncle was the best weather forecaster in the country during 1970’s!  He was a sweetheart actually, if not a bit long winded.  As the day went on and we met more and more locals, they all knew exactly who Gus was! Ha.

That afternoon was soo humid and gross!  Salty and I stayed in the park for free electric and wifi, while Mike changed our oil;  riveting I know, but we pretty much had explored the town by 1300!  As promised, we went back to the Welcome Center for the possibility of free showers;  Susan at the center had se t up with the Academy for us to go!!! SOOOO happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She also informed us that tonight they would be doing the Rose Buddies at 1700:  a free wine and cheese for all boaters, hosted by the city!  We quickly ran off to the Academy, where we were shown to our showers by the President of the University!  Then barely made it back to the Rose Buddies!  The deal with the Rose Buddies:  http://www.elizcity.com/rose/

As our first night there, only brought 4 new boaters into the harbor, you can imagine our excitement to see 5 new cruisers pass under the swing bridge earlier that day! This is one of those experiences every cruiser talks about, and we get to experience it!  Originally, or so the tails are told, Fred Dunning would supply box wine and cheese wiz…to be eaten at your own risk.  Today, the local waterfront restaurant, Grouper’s supplies the box wine, beer, and munchies, as well as a small location off its outdoor seating.   We had about 15 people (and one adorable black puppy) assembled.  A former mayor, and avid boater, got up to talk to us about the Rose Buddies, the town, and some fun stuff to expect from the upcoming ICW.  After the spiel, we got to talking to the other boaters, one in particular:  a late 30 something couple from Toronto, en route to the Caribbean.  They too, had left a month ago (…sad how slow our boat is L).  They had stopped along the Hudson in the city for 2 days, to explore and re-provision.  I think Mike and I both looked at them funny when they said “re-provision”!  I known for a fact that where the transient dockage locations along Manhattan are no where close to a good food store or the ONLY West Marine in the city (sorry Whole Foods lovers, but shopping there in general, particularly on a budget is NOT part of the equation…)  The lovely nice lady who works for the city, and got us free showers was still there, post talk, and smoking a cigarette…so I went to join her:  her son is in his senior year at Marymount…majoring in Dance/Theater…and “he is not gay”…that was HER exact quote…seriously.  HA!  That didn’t even cross my mind to be honest, but thought was funny and sad she felt is necessary to mention.  Anyways, I had fun talking to her about where his new apartment is (127^th and Lenox, ekk) and some places she visits when seeing him! 

We are unsure of our new destination for the morning!  We thought to head for Roanoke, Is..the famous place of the disappearing town back in the early settlers time.  However, we are hearing such conflicting reports for us to get there without a problem!  We shall see what tomorrow brings!