Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Draining the Swamp

The Great Dismal Swamp is a lovely place. Really. According to Wikipedia, William Byrd II was leading a land survey in the area in 1728, and he apparently had many not-so-nice things to say about his experience there. We have him to thank for naming it the Dismal Swamp. In the years since, it has become a National Wildlife Refuge, encompassing 112,000 acres of beautiful, forested wetlands.

(from the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center website, October 30, 2017)

The canal that cuts through the eastern edge of the swamp is an alternative route of the ICW, connecting the Chesapeake Bay with the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. When we came down in the fall, the swamp canal had just reopened after a year-long closure due to damage from hurricane Mathew. The main route is called the Virginia Cut. It is also beautiful, but less wild, and it stayed open after the hurricane for boats to travel down the ICW. We thought we would be one of the lucky first vessels to go through the swamp after it re-opened, but then we did some online research. The canal had been dredged and was safe to traverse, but after so many months of inactivity, the surface of the water was covered in a heavy carpet of duckweed. Looking like algae from a distance, up close you can see that duckweed is actually made up of tiny leaves, making a thick green soup. You can get an overheated engine if the stuff clogs your water intake. The canal website showed scary pictures, and warned that the duckweed was the worst they had ever seen it. Sadly, we chickened out and took the Virginia Cut instead.

Duckweed

Since then, we’ve met up with other cruisers who had taken the Swamp route, and they all said that the duckweed was no big deal. Rick has decided that the way our boat is configured, with the cooling water intake mounted low on the hull and a good strainer on the water hose higher up, we will be okay too. While we aren’t completely sure of the status of the duckweed this spring, we’re determined not to miss out again on our way north.

Savannah

Walking tour with "Savannah Dan"



Charleston


Magnolia Plantation 

Magnolia Plantation
Awaiting  dinner at Husk

Myrtle Beach


Cyprus trees are KING in the low-country



We’ve been steadily making our way up the ICW, stopping in Savannah, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach, SC. Along the way, Rick has started a driftwood-themed photography project:





Always the philosopher, Rick seems to be fascinated these days with death and decay. Very uplifting. He’s also been tempting fate by adding to his collection of boat disaster photos. Thankfully, his conspicuous enjoyment in creating this album of other peoples’ misfortunes has not resulted in any divine retribution involving a disaster of our own. At least, not yet.







After spending the night just north of Elizabeth City, NC, we are ready for our one-day trip up the Great Dismal Swamp Canal. As we head out early in the morning, we can see that any lingering fears about the duckweed are almost completely unfounded. After a winter of boating activity in the canal, the surface of the water is beautifully clear and glassy, the only duckweed relegated to the very edges of the canal. Everything is gloriously still, and even with the sound of our engine, we can hear the birds calling to one another.




We will encounter two locks today, one near the beginning and the other at the end, the bookends of the canal. Having only gone through one other lock aboard Valkyrie, last fall in the Virginia Cut, we’re still excited about the whole lock experience, and we don’t even try to hide our school-kid giddiness as we enter the area. We are definitely not the only ones feeling this way. The powerboat directly ahead of us is named Magic, and a member of her crew yells out to us, “Isn’t this AWESOME?!!!”



The lockmaster corrals us into place on the port side, and instructs us to hold on to our docking lines as the water rises. We will be rising up about eight feet, and the lines will need to be tightened on the way up. The lock gate closes behind us, and then water from the north side is allowed to slowly drain in while we float gently upwards. 





Just in case you were tempted...

Once we have risen enough to come even with the northern water level, the gate in front of us opens, and we move off into the canal and past the draw bridge, one by one. As we’re leaving, the lockmaster warns us, “Watch out, you may encounter some kayaks or canoes up ahead.” Okay, no problem.

Some kayaks or canoes”????


It’s Paddle for the Border, an event for over three hundred participating kayakers, canoers, and paddle boarders, who are making their way along the Dismal Swamp Canal from South Mills, NC to Chesapeake, VA, where they will join up for a picnic lunch. This only happens one day out of the whole year, and lucky us, today’s the day! We pick our way through the throng, Rick at the wheel, and me on the bow, blowing Rick’s battered old moose horn to try and warn the paddlers of our approach. I may be a trained musician, but I am no wind player. My calls on this instrument sound more like a sick cow than a moose. But the people we pass are very good-natured about it all, asking what the heck is making that noise, and joking about hitching a ride with us.



The canal crosses the border between North Carolina and Virginia, and there’s a great two-sided sign on the east bank, letting you know which state you’re in. The Dismal Swamp Hotel was built on the west bank, completely astride that state line, at about the time the canal opened in 1805. This created some advantages for gamblers who frequented the place. If a sheriff arrived, they would simply move to the opposite side of the room, across the state line where the lawman had no jurisdiction. Sounds like a fun place, but sadly, that hotel no longer exists.

As we passed through the thicket of kayaks and canoes at their lunch spot turn-off landing, we promised to join them again next year, but hopefully on kayaks. Registration for the Paddle starts in January, and we were warned that it fills up fast, so if you’d like to meet us there, mark it down in your calendar!






We had the canal to ourselves once again, and it was smooth sailing (or motoring) up to the last lock. Then we re-entered the Chesapeake for the first time since last November. After anchoring in Portsmouth, VA, just south of Norfolk, we stole ashore for a celebratory dinner at the marina. It feels good to be almost home.


1 comment: