11/22/13 The Dismal Creek to Elizabeth City

Got up a bit early to go for a walk through historic Portsmouth and have a breakfast burrito at the local coffee shop before departing on our next leg with our friends Janaki and Graham. None of us had traveled together with another boat so this is exciting territory to explore.

Off to the Dismal Creek we go through bascule, lift and swing bridges in addition to two locks with Diane at the helm. 

Compared to the huge commercial/industrial waterfront of Norfolk/Portsmouth, the meandering Deep 

Creek was incredibly peaceful as we led the way to the first lock which would raise Kuivato up 8 feet to the water level in the Dismal Swamp and the straight cut path of the canal. While we are getting a bit fed up with the abnormally cold weather this fall, we felt fortunate to be doing this trip in November and not at the height of insect season which must be horrible.

Kuivato and Leela in the lock which will raise us 8 ft.

Being the first boat in the lock, we took it for the team as the water rushes into the lock and we adjust the docking lines to hold the bow in place.

We arrived at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center free dock around 1400hrs where two delightful chatty women welcomed us and invited us to warm up in the sitting area as we were quite cold traveling all day in the 40 degree temps. Leela tried to snug up behind us on the bulkhead but her mast got caught in the trees overhanging the canal which left quite a bit if tree debris On deck. Rafting up next to Kuivato turned out to be the better option.

We left early in the morning to catch the 0830 lock opening at South Mills and traveled a somewhat short day to Lambs Marina just north of Elizabeth City to stay out of the stormy weather predicted with a low front followed by a strong cold front. Tim Kelly and the NECN crew still provide eone of the best weather forecasts we rely on, predicting 45 knot winds and lots of rain all along the east coast. We decided to hunker down for the storm and celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday as Thursday the forecast was again for clear and cold with north winds, a direction we like because it blows us south.

Thanksgiving in our calm but wet marina was delightfully memorable for us all as you can see!

An interesting thing about the mid-Atlantic region is that there are hardly any mooring fields and marinas and free town docks everywhere. This is partially due to very little tide (typically less than a foot or two at most) compared to New Englands 10-12 foot tides, making it easy to build marinas, little dredging is required, and when it is the bottom is sand, clay or mud. The end result is that marinas are everywhere and often charging as little as $35/night compared to $200/night in New England. Many liveaboard marinas only charge 200-400/ month! For those of us who like to anchor out most of the time, you can almost always find a nice secluded anchorage in 10 feet of water with good holding for the anchor.