Friday, June 12
Elizabeth City, NC – Dismal Swamp – Portsmouth, VA
45.28 nm 11 hours underway
8 “bumps”
State #5
There are two routes from Belhaven to Norfolk – the Dismal Swamp and Coinjock. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.
The Coinjock route has a well “Looper-reknowned” restaurant where they call you for your order the morning of your arrival- and they are particularly known for their prime rib. The disadvantage- most of the faster boats take this route which would mean navigating through wakes all day.
The Dismal Swamp route is known for its beauty and peacefulness. However, the route is shallow and known for floating logs and other debris. Since it is narrow – it can be difficult to maneuver around them. Thankfully, we have a keel in front of our prop – so if we were to hit anything- hopefully there would be no damage. We’ve also heard from everyone who has done the Dismal Swamp route that they are so happy that they did.
In Robert Creech’s words – slow boats take the Swamp, fast boats take the Coinjock route.
The Dismal Swamp it was.
We knew this was going to be one of those “timing days” where the logistics of the day were critical to getting to through the Dismal Swamp in one day.
Getting through the Dismal Swamp isn’t hard—but it is very specific. And it all starts in Elizabeth City with the bridge.
Unlike most of the ICW where you call up and they open when you ask, this one follows a strict schedule – and during rush hours there are even fewer openings. And if you miss it, you’re not just a few minutes behind—you’re suddenly off your whole day.
So naturally, we overthought it. The 7:30 opening would mean trying to keep our speed to a minimum to not end up tied to a wall to stage a lock opening, but the 8:30 made getting to the 11:00 opening risky. Decision made – 7:30 opening.
We made the opening. Barely enough time to feel good about it—and immediately onto the next calculation. Because the bridge is just the warm-up.
The real goal is hitting the lock timing. Miss that, and you’re sitting—sometimes for hours or even overnight—tied up. Many Loopers intentionally take 2 days to traverse the Dismal Swamp which means only having to coordinate one lock each day. There is a dock at the Welcome Center between the two – but there is no power – and with a forecasted 100 degree day, air conditioning was a non-negotiable.
We had our sights set on the 11:00 – but that also meant going VERY SLOW, but the Dismal Swamp has a way of slowing everything down. Not in a bad way, just in a quiet, winding, no-wake kind of way.
It’s calm. Still. Almost distracting. Which doesn’t help when you’re trying to stay on a schedule.
We found ourselves doing that constant loop:
Check the time.
Check the speed.
Do the math.
Repeat.
“Are we good?”
“I think we’re good.”
As we came up on South Mills, there was a sailboat at anchor who the lock master was directing to pull up their anchor and enter the lock. Nailed it!
We idled in and tossed the line to the friendly lock master – Miss Mary. The lock itself was easy—about an eight-foot lift, calm water, and a lock master who clearly enjoys her job.
Because the lock and the bridge just beyond it work together, as soon as we left the lock, we moved to the bridge – the lock master also serves as the bridge tender and gets in her car to drive to and open the bridge.
The sailboat in front of us veered off at the Welcome Center – so we had the entire Dismal Swamp to ourselves – the entire time- it was surreal.
The water turned that dark, tea color. The banks closed in with trees. No houses. No noise. Just the boat, the wake, and that stillness you don’t really get anywhere else on the ICW. One of the benefits of not traveling at peak time is that we weren’t in a trail of boats and could experience it entirely alone.
We ended up at the second bridge a little early and pulled up cleanly to the wall. The southbound traffic goes first on the second lock – so the lockmaster couldn’t open early.
Through both locks and bridges, we quickly came in to Norfolk. It was astonishing that within a mile we went from the Dismal Swamp to a bridge with HOV lanes.
Congratulating ourselves for our successful timing of the day and finishing the ICW, we were within a mile of our marina and we encountered a bridge that is “usually up.” Unfortunately for us, there was stopped train on the bridge and the bridge tender advised that it would be 20-30 minutes. While circling, that 20-30 quickly turned into 60. After a long HOT 100 degree day, we were just ready for a dock – and a nice cold (adult) beverage!
30 Days – we have completed the Atlantic ICW and are at mile marker 0.
911.88 nautical miles – 167.5 hours underway.
We’ll “rest” this weekend in Norfolk and then we’re on to the Chesapeake Bay.
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