Day 234 June 5 38 mi Elizabeth Dock Dismal Swamp Deep Creek VA

6:30 AM departure.....55 degrees....Cruising through the canal early in the morning with a mist rising off the water makes you feel as though you have gone back in time.

The ICW follows the wild, almost swampy northern headwaters of the Pasquotank River for 14.5 nautical miles to South Mills.  We need to be there by 8:30AM to make the first lock.

 

 

Leaving Lamb's Marina

 

 

 

JB Frog from Golden CO anchored last night

 

 

Isn't this a pretty sight

 

 

They do not have neighbors

 

The Pasquotank River is winding, narrow with tall cypress and mistletoe festooned gum trees that give area an eerie splendor.  We are cruising some of the most undisturbed and natural grounds on the entire intracostal.

 



 

It's just Rik, Nancy and Saddi

 

 

When we reach Turner Cut we are almost to the South Mills lock with about 10 minutes to spare.  If we don't make this opening we have to wait until 11AM.  When we get there we find a sailboat and trawler in the lock.....room for us on the port side.  Lock tender tells us we need two 30 foot lines...one for the stern and one for the bow....plus fenders to keep us off the wall....life jacket on....Where's Gerald?????

 

 

8 foot rise on South Mills Lock

 

 

The lockmasters do double duty as bridge tenders and open the adjacent bridges so you have to wait for them to drive to the bridge to open it after opening the lock.

 

We are in the Dismal Swamp

 

 

Between the Lock and Bridge

 

 

Southbound vessel waiting to lock thru

The tiny village of South Mills....Don't blink, or you might miss the town

 

The Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center is the only state sponsored facility in the United States welcoming both cars and boating visitors.  Whe Welcome Center has a 150-foot fixed wooden-faced dock...w/o power...but with water

 

 

The foot bridge closes after the boats pass so you can walk to the State Park and into the swamp

 

 

This is OK

 

The Great Dismal Swamp stretches from north eastern North Carolina into southeastern Virginia.  Most of the swamp is a morass of acidic, coffee-colored waters, peat bogs, and large patches of rushes known as the "green sea."

George Washington first proposed draining the swamp, harvesting the timber and then farming the land.  In 1973 the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created.  They try to maintain 7 feet of water in the canal but stay in the middle to be sure.  There are "deadheads", snags and you will hit bottom every now and then.

 

 

We follow two trawlers the next 18 miles since the canal is only 70 feet wide

 

 

Welcome to Virginia

 

 

Farm Bridge

 

 

Coming thru 3:30 opening of Deep Creek Bridge

 

 

Elizabeth Dock is where we will spend the night.  One sailboat that is headed south is on the 150-foot wall.  We follow the two trawlers in and the wall if full.  Elizabeth Dock is a free dock w/o power and water.  The Deep Creek lock is right there for an 8:30AM opening.  We meet the Dockmaster, Robert, who we have heard so much about and it's true....what a wonderful person.  He has been the dockmaster for 18 years and loves his job.  We have all been invited for coffee and Danish at his office tomorrow morning.

Robert collects conch shells and has a collection of over 300 shells that have been brought to him by visiting boaters.  We brought him two from the Bahamas.

 

I don't think we'll ever forget our trip through the magnificent Great Dismal Swamp!!!!