Dismal Swamp Canal

Up at 5:00 am and lines gathered at 6:00 am. We are off... the "Companion" & "Traveler"!!!
Leaving Pelican Marina at Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River, NC and heading through the Dismal Swamp Canal to the ICW into Portsmouth, VA.

What a peaceful morning it was! The water in the early sunrise was so calm and still, with awesome reflections. After a few miles on the Pasquotank River we took the cut off for the Dismal Swamp heading for our first lock at South Mills. There are two locks and bridges along the way that open only at certain times. That is why it is critical to time the passage correctly depending on whether you want to stop half way at the Visitor's Center in NC and spend the night at their free dock (no power though) or continue straight through in one day to Portsmouth, VA (a total of about 51 miles). The weather was good and we chose to do the entire route in one day.

Sunrise on Pasquotank River

Not a ripple in the river 

God's Creation

"Companion's" Reflections

In The Dismal Swamp Canal

A Very Long Canal

By the way, whose idea was it to take the Dismal Swamp on Friday the 13th????
The Dismal Swamp Canal is very dark because of all the tannic acid given off by the cypress trees and decaying leaves of other vegetation, and after a while your hull gets a big brown mustache. Being that the DSC traverses through the National Wildlife Refuge, we were quite disappointed when we only saw a few turtles and a few birds. The area is known for bear sightings as well as large snakes??? Kathrin, always looking for adventure! :-)

We passed through the South Mills Lock & Bridge and decided to pull over at a Virginia public dock along side the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail. (A trail that runs 8.5 miles along side the waterway for accommodating horse owners, runners, walkers, bikers and boat owners). We had time before the next Lock & Bridge openings so we ate lunch and stretched our legs a bit).

"Companion" & "Traveler" in the DSC

SM  Lock - Water Will Raise Us 8ft. 

Water Filling Up South Mills Lock

Lock Fully Filled

Welcome to VA on the DSC

Barb Chillin on the DSC

Curious Captain Ron

After the Deep Creek Bridge & Lock we joined the ICW again and headed north for Portsmouth. WOW, what a shock!!! After being on the Dismal Swamp Canal with no boat traffic other than us and only peace & quiet, you turn back onto the ICW where all hell breaks loose! (tons of boats, shipyards, congestion, merchant ships, freighters and Navy Ships as you get closer to "Mile Marker 0" between Norfolk & Portsmouth. AIS's going off all the time. (Automatic Identification System is an instrument that identifies vessel names, their position and speed. So it sounds off an alarm when another vessel in area is detected)

We pulled into Tidewater Yacht Marina after a 10 hour travel day at 4:00 pm on Friday 6/13. Just in time for a cold one!  :-)

Little did we know that our new AC would crap out on us on Saturday morning..... UGG
With the Lord's blessing we had a few cool days so we were able to sleep with the windows open and a slight breeze. At first we thought the problem was the pump. So Ron installed a new one but that did not work. After an AC guy checked things out it was determined the controller board was defective. The part is being over-nighted from the manufacturer and is scheduled to be installed Thursday. We have moved to the forward cabin which has AC for overnight sleeping since the temps have jumped up much higher. (98 degrees expected today!) We now also have a spare pump, if anyone is in need. :-)  Heading out this morning to catch the ferry and explore Norfolk.

After a few days in Portsmouth of cleaning, sight seeing and lots of laughs Barb & Rob headed out on Tuesday morning for a nice anchorage at the entrance to the Chesapeake. Their final destination is Sandusky. We look forward to our paths crossing again...whether on water, in Florida or perhaps Costa Rica???