The Dismal Swamp Route…

I know some of you were actually wondering if I, the Captain, would ever write something, well here it goes…

We started out of Norfolk a little later than most of the other boats and went through our first opening bridge (of many more to come). This is nothing new to us, as we have bridges at home, but hearing everyone calling the bridge tenders on the VHF by bridge name I was wondering what bridge we were approaching. After successfully making our way thru the initial maze of bridges – 5 bridges in 7 miles - we approached the split of the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) to either take the Virginia Cut or the Dismal Swamp Canal. We had already decided to take the Dismal on the way down, so we made the sharp right turn and headed for the canal. The first thing you run into after about 4 miles is Deep Creek lock. After that you get to a little draw bridge and then about 20 miles of motoring STRAIGHT down the canal, which is only about 60 foot wide at it’s widest, with only one turn about half way down. You have to constantly pay attention because there are stumps and logs floating in the canal which can do quite a job on the bottom of your boat and overhanging trees which can rip off your masthead wind instruments. We didn’t see much in the line of wildlife but the leaves were changing colors. We spent the night at the North Carolina visitor center dock with most of the other boats which locked through with us. The next morning we continued on to the lift bridge and lock on the south end of the canal. After that, we wound down the Pasquotank River into the town of Elizabeth City a most welcoming community. We were even greeted by the Mayor and they had a wine reception for all the cruisers. The weather has turned bad here so we have been waiting it out for a couple days. As you can see from the mileage board, we have a long way to Key West!

Well now you can see why I don’t write many of these because I just ramble on and on….

The Captain
11/2/08 – 11/5/08

P.S. You can check us out on the harbor web cam at http://www.discoverelizabethcity.com/, we are the last boat you can see.