Leaving Elizabeth City, and into the Dismal Swamp.

 It is a good thing the water was dead calm when we left the Pelican Marina at just on 6.30am this morning. We literally untied the lines and had to push the baby off the dock..no wind to carry us one way or the other, per normal. As we came around the corner we radioed the Bridge requesting an opening. Prior to 7am openings are on demand. Between 7 and 9am, they are timed for the rush hour traffic. That, we wanted to avoid. We also had A TIME LINE  to keep, if we were to make the 8.30 lock opening at the beginning of the Great Dismal Swamp.

You can see the dotted lines in the middle of the Chart Plotter screen...the one on the right is leading to the Marina...which is where we stopped, and there is a gap, and then the one today leaving, around the end of the peninsular and through the bridge. The boat is the green triangle. We are on the river!

Waz insisted that I include this (next) chart plotter photo in today's blog. That is because I am always telling HIM not to cut corners, and he leaves me alone for five minutes, at the helm, and what do I do? Well, CUT THE CORNER, of course, lol. Just as well the water was deep enough. That was the last cut corner, today, I will have you know. No chance of doing otherwise on a snaky river with very little wiggle room. Again, you can see the dotted line is ours. The plain line is the one we are supposed to be following! Next time:)

 As the early morning light turned into just plain overcast, it played havoc with the camera. I did my best, but the colors are not great. This is a cypress Swamp...and those roots in the water are treacherous!

The calm waters gave us great reflections. It was actually a bit hard to see what was in the water, today, as the reflections were so strong. We did hear a couple of Thunks after the first lock and bridge, but in 6ft of water, at that stage, we weren't surprised...just hope the props aren't damaged. Lots of big logs in the water. I spent quite a lot of time on the front of the boat, spotting things in the water to avoid. Not a lot of room to go around, but well worth the effort!

The trees are so many and varied. Liquidambar are prevalent, as are other species of Maple, Magnolia and Oak. Lots of different varieties that I didn't identify too! Rafts of lilies and weeds were here and there in the shallows, like these ones.

 This is a river fed primarily by the swamp, so it isn't surprising that the water is the most marvelous brown/amber color! I love watching the patterns made by our wake...and photograph it frequently. I have some great 'Modern Art' photos from the wake:)

 

 

 

This one is very 'Green'!:)

 

 

Back to regular programming....

 

 

The river got slimmer and slimmer as we wound our way through the snake, as it were. You can see our wake in this photo. It was challenging looking forward, until the way was made clear to us. You can see it on the chart plotter, but that doesn't mean you can see where you are going on land, or water!

 ...and narrower... What a cool clear morning...and still. We were grateful for the lack of wind.

In this chart photo, we have just made the turn from the River into the Swamp Canal.

We actually found civilization, along the Dismal Canal.

with good taste in flowers:) The lilies are all blooming at present, and they are glorious!

 You can see them on the deck of this lovely vacation home:)

The first Lock leading into the swamp, closely followed by a bridge. The lock master opens the gates at this end, then pulls our ropes up with his boat hook, to pop around the bollards, then walks to the far end of the lock and pumps the 8 feet of water into it, and up we go. He then opens the gates at the far end, gets in his car and drives down the road on the left to the bridge, which he opens for us to go through. The little town of South Mills is right there at the Lock.

 

 

A little about the History of South Mills...from Wikipedia.

 

The Battle of South Mills, also known as the Battle of Camden, took place on April 19, 1862 in Camden County, NC as part of Union Army Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's North Carolina expedition during the American Civil War.
Learning that the Confederates were building ironclads at Norfolk, Burnside planned an expedition to destroy the Dismal Swamp Canal locks to prevent transfer of the ships to Albemarle Sound. He entrusted the operation to Brig. Gen. Jesse L. Reno's command, which embarked on transports from Roanoke Island on April 18. By midnight, the convoy reached Elizabeth City and began disembarking troops. On the morning of April 19, Reno marched north on the road to South Mills. At the crossroads a few miles below South Mills, elements of Col. Ambrose R. Wright's command delayed the Federals until dark. Reno abandoned the expedition and withdrew during the night to the transports at Elizabeth City. The transports carried Reno's troops to New Bern where they arrived on April 22.

You have to remember that we right in the middle of Civil War territory, here.

It was just after this bridge that we felt the thunk and then another thunk a few yard further forward...let's hope the props are not damaged! Lots of logs in the river, both near the banks and floating but not, nearer the middle.

Which is why I ended up on the front of the vessel, 'spotting'. It was so hard to see what was in the water, as I have said, because of the wonderful reflections.

 The whole canal must only be about 50 feet across, and the vegetation feels slightly claustrophobic at times. You have to concentrate on other things! That is the open bridge before the Visitor  Center, up there on the right.

 They had come out of their hidey hole to look down the canal and saw us coming, so the bridge was open well in advance of our arrival:)

There is no indication, at this stage, of what lies beyond the upcoming dock, on the right, as we go through the bridge opening.

TADA!

 ...docked at the Visitor Center. and happy to spend a second day here relaxing. It will be (as we have planned so far) another 8 days motoring up the Chesapeake, from the end of the Dismal Swamp.

Everything is beautifully manicured and landscaped, per usual, at these place. The public are respectful of the surroundings, and we see no graffiti or other signs of abuse of the facilities, which are kept VERY clean and tidy. Thanks, Parks Service!

This is a public park, so we get looky loos all day long. Most are happy to say hello, and many take photos against the boat..or boats.

We were the only boat here for most of the day, getting into dock around 1.30pm on Friday. We greeted the other boats and helped them tie up. A few passed us, trying to make the 3.30pm lock opening at the other end, 19 miles from here. There were 6 of us tied and rafted up, last night. Makes for friendly circumstances. There was an English couple, two Quebec couples and one from Oriental, NC. Our favorite place, so far:)

We got up this morning (Saturday) at our usual hour, having gone to bed earlier than normal...not tired are we?

Waz already had the Genset on, as there is no potable water or electricity at this free dock, and we have to charge the batteries. Coffee was already made when I rose from the depths with bleary eyes. I really didn't want to open them, this morning, but the bright sunny light was an incentive to check out the first sunshine for three days. Lovely! and the warmth!! even lovelier:)
The Quebec folks were up and getting ready to leave, as we took our time and sat in the sun. We helped them untie around 8am, as they wanted to make the earlier Lock opening at 11.30am. They have encouraged us to get to Quebec City, as being the most European and oldest of the Province, when we get to Canada. It is also the Capital of Quebec. We will put it on the list!

With them away, there was only the English and North Carolinians to get going. They were in no hurry, which gave us time to chat and exchange information. The NC couple have been cruising on their yacht for 4 yrs now...got rid of the kids and took to the seas:) Way to go!!
We are always grateful to other boaters for their knowledge and the sharing of it.

The two Canadian boats are on their way...isn't this just stunning, on a sunny morning? Dismal?? nah!

 The NC couple were rafted with us, last night (our first time with ANY boat, and theirs with a power boat)
Their dinghy was just too good to pass up photographing, in the early light.

The Whale and the Minnow? It was necessary to raft all the boats, as there is only room for three, with us taking up a good third of the dock at the far end. Why wouldn't we want to stay in these glorious surroundings, for our R & R?

 Looking back down the canal (Sth), to the English Yacht. The bridge is left open all night to stop the wildlife crossing the river and out on the nearby highway. Lots of Black Bear, Deer and others still plentiful in the swamp. It really has a fascinating History.

You can read all about it in this link,. Click on the link to see it all...
http://albemarle-nc.com/camden/attractions/DismalSwampStatePark/

That's it for today. We will take a hike (literally) in the swamp, wash the boat down with the non-potable water (supposed to be spring fed) and enjoy reading and taking it easy.  Ciao for now.