THIS BLOG POST WILL BE A 2 PARTER...IT'S KINDA LONG....the editor.
Greetings from the ICW….position>>>heading to Camp LeJeune from Beaufort, NC, to stop for the night. We will anchor out there. We’ve come over 200 miles since I last reported in.
Our daily rhythm is beginning to fall into place, but it is taking some adjusting. This is different than just being on the boat in the Deltaville Marina. We are constantly on the move and need to be heedful of where we are, where we’re headed and if we’re safe. Now that’s a good idea, eh? (We’re traveling with some Canadians. =) More on that in a bit.) It’s a good kind of stress but it’s stress none-the-less. Fellow travelers have said this all takes a while to get used to. And that’s ok. We have time. And we love it!
Charting our course is like a game …I like it. Like Myst….trying to figure how to get from one place to the next using all the clues….cool….ok back to what I was talking about. We start with a Skipper’s Meeting every evening at 5pm. While sipping our favorite adult beverages and having snacks, we decide on our destination for the next day, how far we want to go and where we will anchor for the night, or tie up to a free dock. We don’t tend to go into marinas as they’re more expensive and more trouble. Anchoring out is free! Free is good!
The “waypoints” are entered in the GPS on the chart plotter at our helm. The person not at the helm follows with the paper charts to make sure we’re going along correctly, and watches for the red and green markers along the way to be sure the boat is in the ICW channel. It can be shallow along here so we need to be vigilant. Our “draft” (the term for the length of the keel) is only 4 feet which is excellent for this kind of travel. Our fellow travelers have deeper drafts so they have to watch even more carefully. Through these ICW channels we are motoring the whole time. We do put sails up to increase our speed and to balance the boat, but the engine stays on. Our boat carries 75 gallons of diesel fuel so we can go along way before needing to refuel.
I’m sitting down below at the chart table as we travel today, working on this blog entry. I’m way past due. I’ve been waiting for the internet sources but they have been infrequent through here. By the end of the day, I’m so pooped I don’t feel like sitting at the computer. But, wait, Ellen….here’s an idea…try typing some of this up while you’re traveling and not at the helm! Taa daa! I may be slow…but I eventually come around to correct thinking. So now when we get to an internet source I can upload the blog entry. Brilliance doesn’t always come easily. I intend to get an internet booster antenna but haven’t decided which one I want to pay for yet. It’s too bad I didn’t make that decision already as I could have used it through here.
Now…to the flashback sequence….how we got to this point in our travel. We left Portsmouth/Norfolk at 11:45am on Tuesday, September 30. We timed our departure to reach the first lock on the Dismal Swamp Canal by 3:00pm, which was the later of the two openings. The lock only opens twice now to conserve water. They had a peat fire here on the Dismal a month or so ago and a large amount of water had to be used for that. (Peat fires burn very slowly. They’re hard to put out.) Our plan is to go through the lock and tie up at the dock just past for the night.
Several bridges had to be dealt with before we reached the sharp 90º turn into the Dismal Swamp. (Sounds ominous!) This part of the Elizabeth River, leaving Norfolk, is very industrial and full of military ships. Tugs working all around us pushing barges here and there. I like tugs. They have all sizes. While in Portsmouth we got to watch 3 tugs maneuver a huge military warship, turning it completely 180º to get it onto a dry dock pad. Really interesting to see and listen as they tooted their horns to each other. Just a side item bit of info for ya.
The first bridge we came to is “always open.” Not. It was a railroad bridge and I’ll be darned if a train didn’t come just at the time we were ready to go through. Down came the bridge. OK….we’ll circle, circle until it opens again. “Hope this isn’t a bad omen, Ran!” It wasn’t. The rest of the way was perfect. We called into the bridges ahead if we needed them to open or followed other boats and then skedaddled through. Just past the Highway 64 bridge we made our right angle turn into the Dismal Swamp. It’s so beautiful! “Ran! We’re finally going through the Swamp we’ve heard so much about.”
The Dismal Swamp is the beginning of the IntraCoastal Waterway, at least as far as it’s defined. There is a waterway that begins up the coast near Maine, but Mile Zero of the ICW is at Norfolk, VA. George Washington and Patrick Henry thought a canal was needed for effective transportation of goods so that the country could grow and prosper. Construction began in 1793, dug by hand, from both ends. This area turned out to be a haven for runaway slaves. HB Stowe and Longfellow both wrote of the Swamp. The completed canal finally opened in 1805. It is the oldest operating artificial waterway in the US. Edgar Allen Poe wrote The Raven during one of his stays at the Halfway House on the Swamp. James Adams’ Floating Theatre was on the canal, which was the idea for Edna Ferber’s “Showboat.” Is this cool or what? I love it!
We got to Deep Creek Lock about an hour before the 3pm opening. There were 4 other boats waiting, too. Just before 3:00 the lockmaster hailed us to see if there were any boats behind us, and then turned on the green light. We all entered the lock, preparing to hold to the starboard side. The lock tender, Robert, was unbelievably nice. This is the first time I have traversed a lock. Randy had done one up in Seattle. Lock Tender Robert walked down the dock and took our lines, hooking them to the side of the lock. In this lock we prepared for 8 feet of water to raise us up. Robert had his dog UHaul or Uturn (I can’t remember which) as his assistant. Dogs with Jobs. Dogs love to have jobs…and they’re good at it! After transiting through, we tied up on the 100ft dock just south of the lock, with an offer of coffee in the morning from the lock tender. Can’t beat that! One boat continued south, but 4 of us stayed. And this is where we met our new friends.
Theo and Marion, and their trusty dog Skye, are on s/v Double Dutch. (s/v = sailing vessel) They are from Canada, but originally from Holland. So they have nifty accents. Skye is part husky and part border collie, so she’s not Dutch, but she should have her pedigree known, too…and loves us all. Always lots of kisses from Skye.
Lonnie is from la la land. =) He’s on s/v Smoooth Move. He hates that extra “o” in the name but he bought the boat on e-Bay and he doesn’t believe in renaming boats. Lonnie is originally from Iowa, but…he’s been sailing for 30 years…and looks like the salty sailor: long ponytail, funky hat….some teeth. He’s great, with super stories! He’s been there…and done that…in Key West, the Bahamas, at Le Select in St Barts with Jimmy Buffett…. He’s writing a book about buying a boat on e-Bay. Well, there ya go!
Sue and Vick and Beauregard (dog, too) are from Washington, NC. They are on s/v Sandpiper, a cute little 27 foot Island Packet. They’re just putzing around the ICW for a few weeks. We had great conversations in their tiny cockpit with Theo and Marion, drinking our beverages during a pouring rain. Great time.
(blog continues below)
