Wednesday, 9/23/15
The weather on the east coast continues to get windier and windier as this nor'easter continues to blow. The forecast for this morning was a lessening of the wind for a while so we decided to get an early start and head for the dismal swamp canal. Due to its protected nature, wind should not be a problem for us in there.
As we left Norfolk, we went by lots of ships and unloading facilities in this major seaport.
 |
An aircraft carrier in dry dock. Notice the man near the bulbous bow
with the red rain suit on! |
 |
| Cranes as far as the eye can see |
 |
| This railroad bridge only lowers when a train is coming |
 |
| Notice the perimeter fence in the water that cordons off the naval shipyard |
 |
We had to wait for a train to pass before we could get
under this trestle |
 |
Decision time. Some boaters advised against going through the swamp. Others encouraged us to go. The Canal was
originally built by George Washington & lots of slaves so we thought we should see it. |
 |
Dismal Swamp, here we come.
Mile marker 1 in the intracoastal route |
 |
There was a lock at the beginning and
at the end of the 36 mile swamp canal |
 |
Argghhh! Just as we were positioning the boat in the lock,
one of our shifters broke off - - in gear!
Jim was able to stop the boat from the rear station. |
 |
| The lock master's office |
 |
Once the lock opens, the lock master had to run down to the
highway bridge to raise it. Double duty! |
 |
| The water in the swamp is very dark and inky due to tannin released by the cypress trees. It makes the water acidic and actually quite clean. Just dark. |
 |
Due to the stumps along the side of the canal, it was
tight quarters. Fortunately this is the only boat we passed in 2 days |
 |
| The old canal governor's house - dismal! |
 |
| We had miles of this |
 |
| The N. Carolina state line |
The Dismal Swamp was very pretty and quiet ... at least until
CaCHUNK!!
Though we were going at Samba's lowest possible speed, we hit something that we never did see. It was below the waterline & never did surface behind us. Probably an old log that was submerged but not on the bottom.
We could tell immediately that something had happened to 1 or both props. Argghhh! At least we could continue moving.
 |
| The visitor center sign |
We pulled into the visitor center another 10 miles or so down the swamp for the night. Once tied up, Jim thought he would snorkle down to check out the damage to the props.
 |
Our mooring at the visitor center was
nice and quiet |
 |
| Yuck! |
Between the nasty algae on top of the water and the tannin in the water, the visibility was awful. When Jim put his yellow fins in the water, they disappeared within a few inches of the surface.
 |
| Anyone thirsty??? |
We decided to wait until we had clearer water before inspecting the props.
 |
| Later,we explored a boardwalk and some trails across the canal |
 |
| Part of an old still |
 |
In places, the trail was really dense.
Like going down a rabbit hole! |
In the early 1900's, the Dismal Swamp area was quite popular for moonshiners because of its inaccessibility by the law.
 |
| We found some paw paws - not too bad! |
 |
| "I think there's a trail here somewhere!" |
Though this area is known for its black bears, bob cats & snakes, the only wildlife we saw was a lone deer. Good thing!
 |
| A reconstructed still out in the middle of the woods! |
 |
| The park service labeled the parts & explained how it worked |
 |
| Heading into the visitor center after our hike |
 |
| Lots of great displays |
 |
Heading back to the boat after our excursion. Samba is in the background.
Notice the footbridge across the canal that is raised when boats pass.
They had a bridge tender who we had to register with when we crossed.
hat way, if we didn't return by sundown, they would know to come looking for us. Reassuring! |
