Dismal Swamp
This swing bridge is at the end of the Pasquotank River and at the start of the Albemarle Sound. Crossing the Albemarle Sound is no joke … we think we have the right weather to cross but the 1 foot waves end up being more like 2 feet and mostly on the beam…it’s a miserable 2 hours.
The Elizabeth City lift bridge is a welcome sight signalling the end of open water for today.
The Dismal Swamp Canal, built on the eastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp, opened in 1805 which makes it the oldest canal in the US.
Locks on each end control the water depth in the canal and open 4 times a day. We arrived at the South Mills Lock late for the 1:30 opening but the lock master gave us a lift anyway. Up 8 feet…
We tied up to the free wall between the lock and the bridge to spend the night….it had been a long enough day for us and we look forward to traveling the length of the canal in the morning.
There were 6 boats in the lock for his 8:30 opening.
We got in-line just in front of them for the bridge opening and we are on our way.
“The amber-colored water is preserved by tannic acids from the bark of the juniper, gum and cypress trees, prohibiting growth of bacteria.” According to Google
There is a visitor’s centre about 45 minutes in…you can tie up and spend the night here.
3 looper boats were tied up here. One tucked in ahead of our convoy and some of the boats behind us also stopped in for a visit . We chose to keep going… max speed here is 5 knots avoiding dead heads and downed branches along the way.
We are now in Virginia.
We arrived at the second set of lock and bridge one hour before it’s opening….in this narrow passage, captain did a nice job keeping us centred.
We ended up tying to the wall after the bridge but before the lock for the night.
Today’s track looks like no other…lol
Docktails with 2 other looper boats and one boat that are snowbirds. Great fun with great people….
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