Day Five - Thursday, August 1

Left Belle Isle Marina about 7:30 AM in order to make the opening of the draw bridge over the Elizabeth River at 2:30 PM.  Arrived at Hampton Roads at 11 AM after another hard motoring with the wind on our nose and very rough seas

We motored into Norfolk, VA, harbor and past mile after mile of Navy vessels being repaired or refitted.  It was impressive to see all the aircraft carriers and other ships and support vessels docked there.  

We continued to motor down the Elizabeth River toward the Dismal Swamp Canal.  

We called the Gilmerton Bridge on our VHF radio and the operator told us he would be opening it in six minutes.  As we turned the bend toward the bridge we were facing a large tanker being pushed by a tugboat and we stayed away from him as best we could.  

When we arrived at the bridge we called the operator and told him we needed the bridge to be raised to at least 42 feet to clear the top of the mast.  The operator opened the bridge to 70 feet and gave us the "go" sign and off we went toward the next bridge.

We arrived at the Route 64 bridge (which had a clearance of 65') and turned a sharp right into Deep Creek toward the Dismal Swamp locks.  We called the lock operator to see if we could make the 3:30 lock opening.  He said he would wait for us.

We arrived at the lock early and had to tie up to some pilings to wait for the lock gates to open.  We motored into the lock and tied up to the starboard side.  

The lock operator coached us through the routine of keeping the boat under control while the water was raising us 12 feet to the height of the canal.  

The operator told to wait for at least ten minutes after the other lock gates opened to allow the duckweed to pass by the boat in the lock.  There is chance that the duckweed can get sucked into the cooling system of the engine and cause it to over heat.  

While we were waiting for the duckweed to float past, the lock operator, Robert Peek, gave us a great presentation on the history of the canal and answered our questions.  The canal was originally on property owned by George Washington and he had the idea of the canal.  It was dug by hand and was a commercial venture and was not taken over by the government until 1929.  Alexander Hamilton was the first president of the Dismal Swamp Canal Corporation.  It is now a part of the Great Dismal Swamp National Historic Registry and run by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Robert has been the lock operator at the Deep Creek Lock for 17 years and he is the junior man on the canal.  

Ed told Robert that he was moving to New Bern, NC, from Boston and Robert asked him, "What is the difference between a 'Yankee' and a 'Damn Yankee'?"  Then he said, " 'Yankees' go home!"

We decided not to try to get through the canal until tomorrow and tied up at the docks just inside the locks where we will spend the night.  The docks were built by a previous dock operator as a memorial to his wife.  They are called the Elizabeth docks.

Lat/Lon = N 36 44.7 W 076 20.4