We left Beacon “43” at 6:55 a.m.. It was chilly and clear; there was a slight breeze on the Alligator River. 80 is predicted for today. Tonight the winds are supposed to blow 15-25 from the South.
We headed to the Alligator River Marina for fuel. We saw milepost 95—yay, finally fewer than 100 to go on the ICW. The ”marina” is little more than a fuel stop with a Shell station. A pump out costs $17.50. A houseboat from Lawton, OK, was moored there. The boat had “retired Army” on her. The captain told us he had sailed her from the Port of Muskogee.
We lucked out. The Albemarle remained pretty calm all day. She picked up a bit and rolled us side to side after lunch, but gently. By 2:15 Elizabeth City was in sight. I called the Welcome Center to inquire about the free dockage available and was told to just go on in. Unfortunately, when we got there, the good space along a wall was hogged by the trawler Debrief, and all that was left for Sevilla was to enter bow first into a short dock with pilings to tie up to. We were afraid it would damage the boat in the high winds we expected, so we elected to pass up a chance to spend time in this pretty and highly acclaimed town and head toward an anchorage down by the South Mills Lock of the Dismal Swamp, about milepost 33.
We really loved the beautiful ride up the Pasquotank River towards the lock. The Swamp glowed with the intense golden green of early spring and as you look up the river, it continually narrows to a V in the sparkling water of the late afternoon light. I tried to capture the mood in many photos.
We decided to seek an anchorage as close to the South Mill Lock as possible, so we would be ready for the 8:00 a.m. opening. The nav book showed one off the “Turner Cut,” just before the lock. We started down one fork and then pulled back, unsure of the upcoming depth. Trying to turn her around in a narrow space we backed Sevilla into a big bush and couldn’t get off. We were stuck. The depth finder was dinging away, and we tried everything, including moving up front to take the load off the stern. That helped and we showed more than 4 feet of water--not the 4.5 we needed. We seemed to be stuck on a log or something. Glen lowered the dinghy, thinking he could push us off from there. But we couldn’t start the dinghy motor. Lots of cursing and swearing in the Swamp there. I felt like we were enacting a sequel to My Cousin Vinny as I kept giving unwanted advice and we were getting nowhere.
We paused. And in about an hour we floated off (just as I predicted. See similar problem going aground in Georgia.) We moved away from the evil spot, and anchored in the river. It was hard getting the anchor to bite. Glen curled up with the sleeping bag in the cockpit all night. We listened to the owls flirting. We knew that 100’s of little pairs of eyes kept watch over us; kind of spooky but also lovely to be in the midst of such a wild, historic place. George Washington tried to survey it centuries ago with an eye to improving transportation and commerce in his area. One shouldn’t hasten through the swamp, but breathe deeply of the air, admire the spring color, revel in the amazing variety of trees, juniper, sweet gum, cypress, and wonder at the tannic acid color in the water. It’s kind of fun to sleep in a swamp. No bugs, either. I was impressed.
A week ago we left Myrtle Beach at mp 346 and how we are at mp 33. 313 miles in one week; and only 33 miles to mp 0 (and another 150 up the Bay).
At 8:00 we left our anchorage to mosey up to South Mills Locke. We had to wait until 8:30 to enter the Lock. We chatted with a couple from the UK around our age who had built their 24 foot wide catamaran, Peace, in Wales. They’ve sailed Peace some 45,000 miles, including Atlantic crossings.
We had beautiful weather in the Swamp, which sort of detracted from its eerie swampy scary movie quality. The first part which we did yesterday was the most beautiful. Today we paralleled several roads and a larger one which looked like Rt. 17 although I need to check my map. We entered the Deep Creek Lock at 1:30 and were out by 2:10. The lockmaster was a charming, knowledgeable young man with a dog named U-Turn. He had a collection of conch shells in his front yard and asked me if we had picked up an extra one in Key West. I was sorry to say I hadn't even gotten one for ourselves.
We’re going to stay tonight and tomorrow at Tidewater Marina in downtown Portsmouth. A big front is approaching. But we still have a chance to be home by Holy Saturday. Annapolis is only 150 miles away from Milepost 0 at the Naval Hospital. We were moving so fast the past few days we sort of forgot how the least little thing can screw you over big time.
Note to Cruisers reading this: The Gilmerton Bridge does not operate on the schedule as printed in the 2011 Cruising Guide. Since December 2010, it only opens once an hour, on the half hour. We arrived there at 2:40, thinking we could still call to open on demand since it was before 3:30 when it would be closed for rush hour traffic. We were told the next opening would be at 3:30. Glen called twice. We couldn’t believe it. I called and asked politely about what was written in the book. The bridge tender kindly told me that the rules had changed since the “steel” bridge had been completed last fall. So there we were, motoring around in circles for 40 minutes. But that’s not all. The second bascule bridge for trains closed just before the other one was to open for us. A train went by, and the bridge did not reopen for another hour. It was maddening. It seems there are mechanical problems getting the RR bridge back up and they had to send for help while we waited and waited….
At last we arrived at Tidewater Marina at 5:15, first for pump out and then to our slip at Foxtrot 8. We made a much more polished and dignified approach then the messy we got in last October when we stayed there.
On April 20, big winds and high seas were forecast; we spent the day sightseeing in Portsmouth.
Still time to make it to Annapolis by Easter. Really.
Best,
Maureen and Glen
April 20, 2011
Portsmouth, VA
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