Hunkered Down…Waiting Out Ida

Greetings from River Dunes Marina, about 2 miles up the winding Broad Creek off the Neuse River in northeastern North Carolina, i.e., just north of the famed sailing community of Oriental, NC.  We arrived yesterday and have decided to stay here to wait out the remnants of tropical storm IDA.  Our friends on Sojourner NY went on to Beaufort, but it sounds as if the winds and rain from IDA will be worse there than here.  We are in what is often called a “Hurricane Hole,” i.e., a sheltered place, safe from the winds and water action of hurricanes and other major storms.  Though IDA wasn’t a hurricane when it hit land (at Mobile Bay, right where we were a year ago!), the associated winds and rain can still be quite dangerous.  Not for us, though! 

A blimp factory!!

    Other than a couple very windy and difficult dockings, the trip from the Dismal Swamp and the Pasquotank River was a gentle and easy one.  We overnighted first in Elizabeth City and then, after a slight delay while Slade of Sojourner NY replaced a recalcitrant alternator, we followed the river as it widened gradually into the Albemarle Sound.  In addition to the generally, beautiful shorelines, perhaps the most notable sight on the river was one of the only blimp factories in the country.  So strange….  The Sound itself was on its best behavior, and we arrived at Miss Wanda’s marina, aka the Shell gas station on the Alligator River, again with increasing wind at docking, but basically without incident.  The next day took us through several hours in the Alligator-Pungo River Canal, not unlike the Dismal Swamp Canal, tho’ much wider and with many more boats, especially fast ones passing us by.  After a night at Belhaven, Sojourner NY and Sojourner KY went our separate ways.  They made it to Beaufort after a long and tiring day.  We left later, stopped earlier, and had an interesting trip.   

A deer slayer...?

While travelling the Erie Canal/Mohawk River last summer we heard gun shots on two or three occasions (“Guns on the Mohawk”, a log entry that never made it into the blog).  This day near Hobucken, NC  we saw the hunter…   a frightening sight indeed!  

Needless to say, we are very glad to be down and in here.  Today we took the marina’s courtesy car into Oriental and bought groceries in case we don’t want to go out once the storm hits.  We’re warm, cozy and safe.  The only amenity lacking is phone service!  Evidently Ma Bell/ATT isn’t aware of the beauty  –and population!!–  in rural northeastern North Carolina!   [More pix]

The Great Dismal Swamp and the Pasquotank River

Dismal Swamp Welcoming Committee

     We are underway once again, travelling with our friends on Sojourner NY!!  After our return from San Diego, a cold front drenched the Norfolk/Portsmouth area and that “delay” gave them time to almost catch up so we decided to wait another day or two for them to arrive.

NEWS FLASH!!  Sojourner KY is a speed demon!!  We took a leisurely departure from Norfolk/Portsmouth VA but ended up making a mad dash to the Gilmerton Bridge-  It is supposed to open on request after 8:30 am (hence our leisurely departure from the marina)  But at about 9:45 we heard the bridge tender talking on the VHF about an almost immediate opening and then not another one until 11 am which would mean we’d miss the late morning opening of the Deep Creek Lock leading into the Great Dismal Swamp.  Specifically she said: “You motor craft out there better hurry it along if you plan to make this opening.”  Clearly she was not going to wait-  So, with rpm’s passing well over 2200, burning 9.6 gals of fuel/hr, and the engine temp climbing to 178, Sojourner KY hit 9.9 kts!!!  And we made the opening!!  That sure got our adrenaline pumping after being underway only 2 days in the last 4 weeks!!

Shoreline property in the Swamp

Once in the Great Dismal Swamp, we resumed our leisurely pace, barely burning 1 gal/hr. while enjoying about 4 hours of meandering along the oldest, hand-dug canal and lock system in the country.    First envisioned by George Washington in 1763, the canal runs 22 miles along the east side of what is now the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge from the lock and bridge at Deep Creek, VA to the southern lock and bridge at South Mills, NC.  It’s clear why early settlers named the area the Dismal Swamp: the undergrowth is virtually impenetrable and the slow moving, coffee-colored water looks brackish as best.  It’s actually quite pure because tannic acid from the bark of  native juniper, gum, and cypress trees prevents the growth of bacteria.  In earlier days, the DS water was prized for preventing sickness and prolonging life.  The canal itself is quite narrow; many tree branches and shrubs hang down over the water, seeming to reach out as if to snag passing boats while other large tree trunks/limbs (deadheads) jut up out of the water to snare the unwary vessel.    

Even after all the locks on the Inland rivers trip and the NY canal system, locking in the DS canal was quite an experience.  The lift/drop is about 8 feet, but the locks are small and heavily used.  At Deep Creek, we were the 5^th boat in, i.e., last on the right side and another 4 boats then tied up on the left.  So the lock was full!!  Same thing at the other end.  These locks have no bollards, chains, ropes or cables.  Each boat provides its own lines, and the lock master assists each (and every) boat tie up.   Thus, locking through is an extended exercise!  At Deep Creek, the lock master is also the bridge tender so once the last boat cleared the lock, we all tried to stay in place while Robert jumped in his truck, drove to the bridge, and opened it for our passage through.  At the other end, the bridge comes first, and we had a 45 minute wait there, stacked up somewhat like in slices of meat  in a sandwich.  Two boats ahead of us actually rafted together for the wait.

Rafting at the Welcome Center

    About half way along the canal is the Great Dismal Swamp Welcome Center, and we arrived at about 3 pm.  Stopping there for the night was NOT an original idea.  As the last vestiges of daylight passed from the sky, the final boat, #16, arrived to share barely 100 feet of dock.  So we had a new experience:  rafting together with other boats.  An island catamaran hung on our starboard side, and on the port, we were rafted up to a sailboat who, in turn, rafted to another sailboat who, in turn, tied up to the dock!!  Our line was 4 boats across and that of our travelling companions, Sojourner NY, was five!!:  three large trawlers and two sail boats!  It was quite a sight!! 

The DS Canal connects the Elizabeth River, in metropolitan VA , with the Pasquotank River in rural NC, and actually, we found the latter to be more interesting and beautiful than the Dismal Swamp.  It was more of what we had imagined the Swamp would be.  During the 18 mile trip along the ever widening and winding Pasquotank, it was easy to imagine explorers and settlers searching for virgin lands and new beginnings. 

Our second DS day ended with yet another new experience:  we actually succeeded in docking the boat in an 18 ft wide slip with a 15-20 knot wind (gusting to 25) at our back!!  Perhaps not pretty, but safe and sound!!  Next comes the Albemarle Sound, the infamous 36^th parallel of our marine insurance, and then we looking forward to a night at Miss Wanda’s marina; it’s the one behind the Shell gas station!!  [More Pix]