Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com
On Tuesday morning we got up, pumped the water from the overnight rains out of our dinghy, weighed anchor and headed out to the Chesapeake Bay where Sweet Escape made a right turn headed for Norfolk.
We had sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60’s with winds at 20 knots on the stern the entire way which means that we were not able to sail. Seas were three to four feet but mostly following so it was pretty comfortable and we saw a pod of dolphins but we didn’t have the camera ready.
As you approach Norfolk the first thing you see are the Norfolk Naval Yards and all the ships docked there. As we were turning off the Bay and onto the river we began hearing the Coast Guard radio traffic warning about a security zone around a transiting warship that was outbound from the harbor. As we got closer we could see that there were three Coast Guard vessels escorting a submarine out towards the bay. You are required to stay 500 yards away from any transiting naval vessel. The warning that the Coast Guard broadcasts states that the use of force including deadly force is authorized against vessels violating the security zone. Needless to say we gave the submarine a wide berth.
We continued down the Elizabeth River where we anchored overnight at Hospital Point. This is one of the few anchorages in the Norfolk area and is a good staging point from which to begin a passage down the Intracoastal Waterway or ICW. Hospital point is located off downtown Norfolk across the river from the Nautica Museum and the USS Wisconsin which is permanently docked there and open to the public. We anchored with four other sailboats and had a nice evening.
Wednesday morning we we weighed anchor and headed south. There are two routes along the ICW that you can take from Norfolk. There is the Virginia cut which takes you down through Great Bridge Virginia to Coinjock North Carolina and then there is the Dismal Swamp route which takes you along a manmade canal to the Pasquatank River and Elizabeth City North Carolina.
The differences in the routes is that there is generally more water (deeper water) in the Virginia Cut route and it is not as remote. The Dismal Swamp route has a minimum of six feet in some places and tends to be narrow. There are also two small locks at each end with limited operating hours. Being the adventurous types, and knowing that Sweet Escape needs a minimum five feet of water, we decided that we wanted to go to Elizabeth City which bills itself as the “Harbor of Hospitality” so we elected to take the Dismal Swamp route.
We left Norfolk and made it to the Glimmerton bridge just in time for the 9:30 opening. There were about twelve boats waiting there and we all paraded through with Sweet Escape taking up the rear. We went through three other bridges including the “Highrise Bridge” that doesn’t rise as high as it’s name would imply. In fact, the vertical clearance for this bridge is 65 feet. Sweet Escape needs 62 feet of clearance so it was close and we were a little anxious as we went underneath but we made it with a couple feet to spare. And then in our anxiety about getting under the bridge we missed the turn for the Dismal Swamp route immediately after on the other side. Instead we followed the parade of boats a half mile south until we realized that we missed the turn, turned around and went back north and then turned left at the entrance to the Dismal Swamp Cut.
We locked through the Deep Creek Lock at 11:00 AM with no problem and headed south through the “ditch” as it is called. We wanted to make it to Lamb’s Marina just north of Elizabeth City but would have to make the South Mills lock by 3:30 when they lock through for the last time each day.
While southbound we almost hit a bear. Yes that’s right - we came within about two feet from hitting a black bear that swam across the canal right in our path. It would have been interesting explaining that to the insurance company. Judy was able to get several photos of the swimming bear and we’ll add them to our album page.
The water in this section of the ICW is tea colored. In fact it’s darker than that - it’s like cruising along on a river of Diet Coke. Talk about caffeine addict nirvana. The water is clean - the coloring is from the tannins in the roots of the cypress trees that line the banks of the canal.
On the negative side we will not take the Dismal route again nor will we advise anyone else to either. The reason for this is that the canal is loaded with sunken floating logs which are below the surface of the water and which you cannot see before you hit them. We hit five of them, some of them very hard and while there is no indication of any damage to the boat we won’t know for sure until the next time she is hauled out which will probably be in Florida.
We made it to South Mills and were able to get through the bridge and then the locks there at 3:30. One thing became clear - we weren't going to make Elizabeth City by dark and the last thing we wanted to do after hitting multiple underwater debris was to be attempting to pilot the boat on the river at night. So we anchored out on the Pasquatank River behind Goat Island and spent a pleasant Wednesday evening.
Thursday morning we left Goat Island and motored to Lamb’s Marina where we took on diesel and had one of our two propane tanks refilled. We then headed south to Elizabeth City in near 80 degree temperatures and bright sunshine. But to hear more about the “Harbor of Hospitality”, patient readers will have to await the next installment in the Adventures of the Good Ship Sweet Escape.
See our albums page for photos from this period including the swimming bear.
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