June 16 we left Elizabeth City around 6 a.m. in order to reach the 8:30 a.m. lock of the Dismal Swamp. The Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The current size of the Swamp is around 750 square miles. The canal is 22 miles long, and was completed in 1805 to provide a pathway for trade between Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, and the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. Here’s a link to learn more about the Dismal Swamp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dismal_Swamp

There are two locks on the Dismal Swamp. We had experienced locks before, when we travelled the “Little Loop” (across the Okeechobee River to the West coast of Florida and around the tip to the Keys.) But there is always some anticipation.

We had our “bumper balls” ready to place on the sides of the boat, so the boat would not scrape on the lock wall. Thank you to Ron Gueterman who gave us these before we left. Patrick researched how to tie the knots so we secured them to the boat rails correctly.

There was one boat behind us in the lock. We both tied up on the port side. I was on the bow, Patrick on the stern. We both handed our lines up to the lockmaster who hooked them to the cleat at the top of the lock wall. Then we just waited for the water to fill up to the top. It took maybe 10 minutes.

About half way through Patrick yelled “hey, what happened to the bumper ball on the front?” It had come undone – the line had broken. Not because of how the knot was tied. The ball was too close to the wall and the line broke. The lockmaster was nice enough to locate it, hook it, and we placed back on our boat.

That was the most exciting thing about the locks.

We debated whether or not to travel the Dismal Swamp, as we heard mixed reviews. One guy in Elizabeth City said “it’s like watching paint dry.” It is a slow ride – you have to maintain a minimum speed and no wake. If you want a faster route, you take the Coinjock one.

We opted for the Dismal Swamp. It was pretty, with lots of wild roses and foliage. It just isn’t “dismal.” That’s a good thing, I guess. The only “dismal” thing about it was dodging the logs. Captain Pat was worried we would hit one and damage our props. Or something else.

We did enjoy the Visitor’s Center. We only encountered one other boat along our journey, also from Florida. They went through the second lock with us at 3:30 p.m.

Then we journeyed on to Portsmouth, Virginia.

Here are some photos from our Dismal Swamp journey.