Just Ducky: October 2012

The Dismal Swamp and More

Pam at the Dismal Swamp

Visitor Center

Where to start? The past few weeks have been quite an adventure, both good and bad. But I guess I’ll start where I left off – The Dismal Swamp. This is the beginning of the 22 bridges and 2 locks we have to pass through on a schedule or request their opening. So we passed through the Gilmerton Bridge to coincide with the lock opening to enter the Dismal Swamp. We passed through with some boats that we had met on the Chesapeake and a sailboat called Ozymandias, name of a poem by Shelley and an Egyptian king. The first part of the swamp was narrow and shallow, we bumped bottom about 5 times (sounds like I’m going to confession!). Anyway, it was a bit tedious, but we got to the visitors center and rafted next to Ozymandias then resumed our travel the next day, timed right for the next lock. This part was wider, deeper and prettier. We headed for Elizabeth City with expectation that there would be the ever famous welcoming committee followed by free wine and appetizers for the boaters. We did get a group waiting for us to help with the tie-up, but that’s where the “Elizabeth City Experience” ended. Everyone says you have to do the Dismal Swamp. Now we can say, been there, done that forgot to buy the tee shirt.

We did make good friends with Maureen & Tom on Ozymandias (easy for you to say!). We sailed together, had dinner together from the Dismal Swamp to Beaufort, NC where they continued their travels and we sat and waited for a new depth gauge to be installed. This is the bad part I mentioned earlier. Somewhere along the way, our depth gauge started blinking, indicating that it no longer was reading the bottom. Not a good thing down here where depths are often around 5-7-ft. Our boat is 5 feet deep. Tom and Maureen acted as our seeing-eye dog as we followed them in an out of shallow anchorages, for which we are very grateful.

In Beaufort, NC we found an honest and conscientious and capable electronics tech, Fernando, who assessed the problem, took many calls from his 2 daughters assuring them he’d be home as soon as possible, got and installed the new depth gauge and set us on our way! However, it was 6 days later. It’s a good thing we are not driven by a schedule.

One of the captains on a mega yacht in Beaufort had a heart attack and died while we were there. It brought home that we have to be grateful for every day we have, even if you are stuck at the dock waiting for repairs.

We have seen an increase in the number of dolphin and have seen our first palm trees. We even saw an alligator. Guess where? Alligator Bay. The krill have attached themselves to the bottom of the boat and we can hear the snap, crackle, pop as they munch away. To me, this all means you are in the South. The weather has warmed up and the layers of clothing are diminishing too. I was beginning to wonder if I brought enough fleece with me.

We are now in Wrightsville Beach and hoped to see our friend Mark, but our delay made that not possible. We hope to see him on the return trip. We also were looking forward to seeing Larry and Mary in Little River, but our delay nixed that too. We’ll see them in Marathon, FL though.

We are off for the Cape “FEAR” River tomorrow and should be in South Carolina in a couple of day. We are contemplating going out into the ocean for a little bit if the weather is good. We don’t save time, but we do lessen the amount of gray hairs or loosing hair we get from trying to avoid shoaling waters. Oh wait, I think we have the gray hairs covered (mine by L’Oreal).

We think of you often and hope you are all well. We apologize for the spam many of you received. We were hacked, but our computer scan has come up clean. Here’s hoping it doesn’t happen again.

Mat & William Crawfor

founder of Portsmith, VA

Fading into the mist at the

Dismal Swamp

Lock at Dismal Swamp

Boat rafted at the Visitor Center

Sunrise Mile Hammock Bay

Camp Lejeune

Dismal Swamp Visitor Center

Henry the heron in Beaufort, NC

Wild Horses in Beaufort, NC

Daubreak Beaufort, NC

Bridge opening in Wrightsville Beach

Tow BoatUS, just waiting

for someone to go aground.

Great business down here

Chilly start for the next leg

The crew in Annapolis Harbor

After a chilly wake-up temperature of 49 degrees, we set out to tackle the Delaware River. Feeling confident, we decided to follow the same course we followed in 2005 by following close to shore around Cape May Point. As we proceeded, we noticed waves breaking from out of nowhere just ahead of us. That usually means shallow water (rocks maybe?), so we quickly did a 180. If you were following us on SPOT, you probably thought we were already starting our “5 o’clock somewhere celebrations”. It was a wise move even though it took a bit longer. Going aground was still very fresh in our minds.

The Delaware River is wide and since we caught the incoming tide it was a pleasant trip. We made it o Chesapeake City to anchor for the night. It is right on the Delaware-Chesapeake Canal and you can watch the large cargo ships going by. We also saw our first bald eagle.

Having noticed a water leak in the engine area, Mat investigated and it seemed to be coming from the seawater pump. This gismo keeps the engine from overheating- necessary function. So we called a marine supply in Annapolis to see if they had the part and we were pleasantly surprised that they did. First major outlay, but we could change the part ourselves. (Remember when I said what “we” meant?) So, off to Annapolis! Arriving on a Saturday morning was a challenge since there were about 5-6 different sailing races going on as well as harbor tours and a pirate ship to maneuver around. We had a wonderful mooring right in front of the Naval Academy. We also had our first crab dinner. In Maryland, crab is what it’s all about!

Although a bit off the beaten path, we set out for St Michael’s on the eastern shore of Maryland. It is a beautiful spot and the marina was practically empty. Other boats there were locals doing the Chesapeake, not snow birds like us. We got our bikes out and rode around and went for a tasting tour of their local microbrewery and to the Maritime Museum. Another crab dinner under our belts and we were on our way!

The afternoon weather is getting warmer and I even went for a dip when we arrived at Fishing Creek off the Little Choptank River to anchor. But the mornings are still nippy and I can fondly yearn for those hot flashes of yore. One thing that is consistent is how beautiful the sunrises and sunset are. I know some of the splendor is from air pollution but I still marvel at the wonders that God has created for us.

Solomons Island was our next stop. We had memories of their long floating dock for transients but were sorely disappointed when we were put on a dock by ourselves and all of the poopy birds you can think of. I now know what a poop deck is! We got changed to another slip where there were actually people not poopy birds and we met up with a boat we met in Cape May. There was a short finger pier to exit the boat but it was wobbly and did not look at all interesting to me. So over the bow I went instead. See, there’s a solution to everything!

I wish I had a “Life is Good” t-shirt as we entered Mill Creek off Great Wicomico River. So far it’s the best anchorage. The water was deep, the banks lined with trees and beautiful homes. The menhaden fish are all around here and were jumping all around the boat. These fish are processed for fish oil and fertilizer. So next time you take your Omega 3, you now know where it comes from. The book says the estimated population of these fish in the Bay is in the countless billions. As my mom used to say, they couldn’t print it if it wasn’t true. End of geography lesson. As we left the harbor we saw our first dolphin.

We have noticed that except for Cape May, we have not met others going south. No sure if it’s the economy or not, but we expected to meet more by now. The crab traps are not as numerous either – probably no connection, but an observation.

We sat out a predicted storm in Deltaville, VA which turned out to be a non-event. Having passed mile marker 0 for the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) we are now officially out of the Chesapeake Bay in Portsmouth, VA. And we officially found the hot weather. This is our last stop before we enter what is commonly referred to as “The Ditch”. We are taking a different route this time called the Dismal Swamp. It is suppose to be a beautiful cut through to the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. It doesn’t sound too dismal to me! We look forward to places called the Alligator River, Lockwood’s Folly and Cape Fear with some anxiety, but also look forward to places like Beaufort, Charleston, Savannah, St Simons and St. Augustine with much anticipation.

That’s all for now. I just want you all to know how happy I am that no one knows where in Jersey Snooky is from.