Norfolk Sailing Center To South Mills

Thursday, October 22, 2015

We pulled away from the marina this morning in the dark, around 0600, to make one of the three daily scheduled openings of the Beltline Railroad Bridge.  More about that in a moment!

Coming through Norfolk is interesting, with all its huge naval ships, and some other ships as well.  This was the first time I've managed this stretch of water that it was calm, which made it all the more enjoyable.

By 0815, we were maneuvering to be first through the bridge, though I am told there were a total of 70 boats in line to make the 0900 opening.  We were not concerned with the height of the Gilmerton Bridge, which waited until all the sailboats were lined up to open.  

We went on the ICW route, past the turn off to the Dismal Swamp, in order to take on fuel at Top Rack Marina, which had diesel for $1.92/gal including tax!  By the time we were done fueling, half a dozen of the vessels that had been behind us were lined up waiting for dockspace at Top Rack.  

When we finished taking on fuel, we tracked back about a mile to take the Dismal Swamp route.  Ellen was disappointed in the rainy weather we had had on our previous transit, and wanted to do it in good weather.  

There were so many vessels lined up for the southbound lock that they made two lock openings for "1100."  We were 7th in line for the second lock.  The first lock of boats was released into the area between the lock and a bridge, and had to wait until the second lock of boats were through before the single lock master/bridge tender finished one job so he could do the next.

That put 20 vessels in a line, and we were about #17.  Ten of those boats were traveling together with "Sail to the Sun," a guided group trip down the ICW to Miami.  

The Dismal Swamp is a beautiful place, with a lot of interesting history.  I've wrote some about it before, so won't repeat it again.  The water levels were high, and the trees had been cleaned up pretty good since the blow.  It was a little irritating that I was behind an underpowered catamaran sailboat, driven by an outboard, that constantly changed speed, and eventually turned off at the Douglas Road dock, where we had talked about stopping.  It didn't surprise me that he went to the middle of the dock, since he was the sort of guy who had ignored all the lock masters instructions as well.  I gritted my teeth and kept going.

Next, we planned to stop at the Visitor's Center where the raft ups are always fun, but changed our mind before we got there, due to the abundance of boats.  I got the boats waiting to raft up to move over a little, and wiggled around them and through the pedestrian swing bridge, hoping against hope the bridge tender would open the bridge allowing us to dock between the bridge and the lock, in South Mills.  He did!  Which is thanks in a large part to Jeff, on the trawler, Adirondack, who I'd talked to on the VHF earlier in the day, but, had never met.  When the bridge tender asked if he needed an opening, said that he was waiting for me!

The bridge tender opened the bridge when he saw me coming, and the MERCY and ADIRONDACK tied along the bulkhead at South Mills, in a nice protected area between the bridge and the lock.  We were able to get off the boat, and walk around a bit, and had the opportunity to meet Jeff and Sally, who I instantly liked.

We had a gorgeous evening, nice weather, and even had television from Norfolk still, with our little window antenna.  What a nice place.

The Dismal Swamp to Norfolk, VA

Thursday, 4 June 2015

This morning we departed the Dismal Swamp Visitor's Center at 0650, after feeding and walking the dogs.  The trip through the Dismal Swamp was overshadowed by a cool, misty rain, interspersed with a foggy sort of haze.  

For a few miles the highway runs beside the canal, near enough you can hear and see traffic, but, then, once again you journey away from civilization and into its medieval depths, where your imagine is drawn into the far realms of where your vision can reach.

OK, it helped that it was rainy, and hazy.  But, I love the Dismal Swamp!  Don't bother coming this route if you are in a hurry, the whole route is a no wake zone, to keep from undercutting the banks that barely support some of the huge trees whose roots are badly undercut.  Remember, that with trees constantly losing their grip, there are branches and logs that you may bump in the course of your transit, another good reason to pay attention, and keep your speed down.

The USCOE guys that maintain this canal have a great sense of humor, posting official looking signs like this (and others that surely wake up the armchair navigator) as evidenced in some of the less remote areas.

At 0925 we pulled alongside our friends on the S/V Moonstone of Aberdour, tied to the bulkhead along the town of Deep Creek.   The Canadian trawler TNT Kiss was right behind us.  The bulkhead afforded the opportunity for the Moonstone crew to visit the local Food Lion, while I scurried across the street in the rain to get a breakfast sausage biscuit for me, and one for the bridge/lock tender.

We went through the bridge, and into the lock, dropping down the 8' we'd gained yesterday.  The lock tender, Robert, played a tune on my conch (I'm going to have to try that) rather than just the long conch tone I often blow at sunset.  Robert is a wealth of information on ICW, Norfolk, and the Dismal Swamp, as well as a real nice guy!

When we left Deep Creek, and left our alternate route, joining back with the ICW at the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, approaching Norfolk, it was like we were being rapidly hurled forward in time.  There were conveyors, and shipyards, some still looking like WWII, and more and more modern as we entered into Norfolk.  There are boats and ships of every type and shape here, all converging on the waterway and bridges, keeping the helmsman on their toes.

Tomorrow begins Norfolk's annual Harborfest.  There are tall ships and other vessels planning to enter in a parade of sorts around noon.  We chose an anchorage at Hospital Point, mm 0 (no kidding), and ground zero for the Harborfest.  If it had not been such inclement weather, I doubt we could have found the anchorage as sparsely populated as it was.  More vessels joined us throughout the day, ready for tomorrow's kick-off.  

I saw a couple of ducks that I called over with a quack-quack, much to the delight of Mocha.  Mercy wasn't nearly as interested in the ducks as the crackers I was tossing their way.  Hey, I figured ducks ought to eat little fish, and I had goldfish crackers....

I gave up on having a fair weather opportunity, and launched the RIB to explore in the rain.  Ellen and Mercy stared at me like I was crazy, and I, bundled in a rain jacket and rain pants told a heart-broken Mocha that she couldn't come.  I think she even laughed at me when I came back an hour later with my hair dripping wet.  The ducks welcomed me back while the rain ran off them like, uh, water off a duck's back.  (You had to see that coming...)

The weatherman on tv lost me talking about rain, and fog, and sunshine.  I think we're due for some of those tomorrow.

The Dismal Swamp

JWednesday, 3 June 2015

Aside from the few days we've remained docked or anchored, today was our shortest mileage day, at under 5 miles.  We locked through the South Mills lock at 0830, the earliest lock of the day, and were raised 8 feet into the fresh waters of the Dismal Swamp. 

The small town of South Mills looks like a great place to explore, which we would have done the night before, had we been able to make the 1530 and final lock of the day.  There is a place you can tie off between the lock and the bridge.  Next time...

The lock operators double as bridge operators, and after they lock you through, drive over and open the bridge for you.

From there, it was only a few miles to the visitor center, where we arrived in misting rain, and tied alongside the dock.  By nightfall, there were five of us, including two vessels rafted outboard two of us at the dock.  Much of the day it was a Canadian trawler, a British sailboat, and us.   A good international place!

The gorgeous dock is along the back side of a highway rest area.  Although the combination sounds a little strange, the grounds are lovely, the traffic noise is hardly noticeable, and there are great places to walk.

Be sure to cross the floating pedestrian bridge to see the exhibits in the Visitor Center, and walk the 1/2 mile boardwalk through the swamp.  The floating bridge opens for vessels, and remains open at night.

There is also a paved road to the south, on the visitor center side, that is for hiking/biking, with no vehicular traffic.  It is a great place to walk to stay clear of the ticks, in a beautiful place.

We spent the day alongside the visitor center dock, planning to leave in the morning to make the 1100 lock to the north.

Ellen's friend, Doug, drove from Virginia Beach to spend the evening with us, and it was nice for me to meet him, and for he and Ellen to catch up.