060: North Carolina Part 3: Things get "Dismal"

I got back from my golf trip on Saturday April, 13^th.  It was good thing that Hygge was tucked in nicely at a marina as the winds were howling on the 12^th, it would not have been a good travel day.   The original plan was to take a week or so to get up to Elizabeth City, NC and do the “Albemarle Loop” which is a tour of several small towns along the Albemarle Sound.  Now the Albemarle Sound at approximately ten miles wide and forty-one miles long, and being relatively shallow can get really nasty with bad weather (shallow water = steeper waves).  We saw a weather window for Monday where the Sound was going to be pretty calm, so we decided to “go for it” and on Sunday the 14^th we did 60 nautical miles up to Belhaven, N.C.    (I might have sped up a bit to catch the last few hours of the Master’s Golf Tournament.).

Nice sunset in Belhaven:

 

Met a nice couple on the dock at the marina in a very large boat called, “Knot Supersonic” with a logo of a F-14 on it.   I asked him if he had been a F-14 pilot, and he seemed impressed that I recognized the silhouette, and confirmed that he had been one.    In reference to “Top Gun” movies, I asked him how many times could a Navy pilot buzz a controller tower before his/her wings were removed?  The answer: “one and done.”   Same for violating a flight test protocol which destroys a hundred-million-dollar plane.  Take that Hollywood!

The following day we did 75 n/m up to Elizabeth City, NC, crossing the Sound with one foot waves on the port quarter.   Not too bad.  The crab pots inexplicably painted blue (camouflage?) were the bigger worry.  Of note: North Carolina boaters are so nice.   Whereas in Florida the 70’ boats barrel down the middle of the channel at full speed like Rodney Dangerfield in “Caddyshack,” here they politely contact you on the radio and ask your permission to pass.  

 Actual conversation:

Power boater:  “Sailboat heading north near channel marker 17, may I have permission to pass you on your port side?”

Sailboat: “Sure but it is pretty shallow on my port side, why don’t you pass on my starboard side?”

PB: “Sure, but I didn’t want to block your wind.”

SB: “No worries, we’ll be fine, go ahead, be safe.”

Now that is the way it should be done!

Bridge over the Alligator River starting to close after we went through it:

Elizabeth has free docks (no water, no power) that are best described as “minimalist” and  “docks” is a generous description, but hey, they are free!.   The dock portion is very small and you tie up to poles in the water.  We had to back-in Hygge, but we managed.   We then walked around town and went to a pizza joint for dinner.  Not a whole lot there, but you can see that they are trying.

Elizabeth City:

 

Hygge at the free "dock":

On the 16^th we made it up to the Dismal Swamp Canal, which I have been wanting to experience since I was ten years old living in Hampton, VA.   The Dismal Swamp Canal is the oldest man-made canal in the U.S.   Of course, dug in horrendous conditions by enslaved people over 10+ years.  It joins the Chesapeake Bay with the Albemarle Sound.  It was a pretty big deal before railroads, and now serves pleasure boaters exclusively, being way to narrow and shallow for commercial traffic.

We had a very “chill” sixteen n/m ride up to the lock at the south end of the Canal.  No sense in getting there early as there is no place to hangout and wait for the lock to open anyway.  We were in a flotilla of three power boats and three sailboats and it was kind of nice to just go at no wake speed and get good MPG (approx. 3.3 n/mpg). 

The lift bridge at Elizabeth City:

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Which way to the Canal?

The Dismal Swamp has locks and bridges on either end:

It is narrow in the Canal:

We tied up to a visitor center/rest area on the east side of the canal that is the only rest area in the U.S. that serves both boat and road traffic.   The dock is free, and you can stay for up to three days. No power, but one water faucet and super clean rest-area restrooms open 24x7.   We took the floating bridge to the west side of the canal to visit the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Visitor center which was more museum focused on the history of the Canal. Very interesting.  We then took a walk along the boardwalk through the edge of the swamp which is a fraction of its former size.  Did not see any bears though, much to our disappointment.

 https://www.fws.gov/refuge/great-dismal-swamp/visit-us

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Next, we got out the folding bikes and road approximately five miles south to the Williams Strawberry Farm for some fresh strawberries, homemade ice cream, and strawberry biscuits.   Tasty.  

 That night we had the quietest, most peaceful, night on the whole G/L Trip so far.  

 Tied up to the Visitor Center Dock:

Dave

Odometer: 3,486 n/m's