Crew Log for April 30th – May 2nd, 2023
Trip Summary:
• Elizabeth City, NC – Hampton, Virginia
• Trip Distance of 54.6 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 4,302.6 NM
It was an overcast day, which seemed to be appropriate weather for transiting through this section of the ICW, known as the Great Dismal Swamp.
The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp is between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The current size of the Great Dismal Swamp is around 750 square miles (480,000 acres) or 1,940 square km. The swamp is along the Atlantic Flyway for migrating species, which prompted conservation groups in the US to lobby for preservation of the area and restoring it’s wetlands, given it was critical habitat for a wide variety of birds, animals and plants.
The ICW runs along the Great Dismal Swamp's eastern edge and is referred to as the Dismal Swamp Canal. The canal is 22 miles long and was completed in 1805 to provide a pathway for trade between Chesapeake Bay, Virginia and the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. It is the oldest continuously operating man-made canal in the US.
The Great Dismal Swamp is anything but “dismal”. The area was teaming with turtles, birds, deer and even snakes. It is narrow in spots, and it does seem to have a lot of floating trees and other debris in the water. Is shallow compared to other sections of the ICW, which may explain why most people avoid it. In the fall, it is covered in duck weed, which can clog the exhaust intake for the engine, which is why we avoided it on the way down. There are a couple of free docks along the way, otherwise, there is very little else in terms of services.
There are 2 locks along the route, the South Mills lock, 15 miles north of Elizabeth City and another at the Elizabeth Dock, about 12 miles from Mile Marker 1 at Norfolk. The height differential between the south and northern waterways and the Dismal Swamp Section is about 6 feet.
We arrived at the South Mills lock about 15 minutes before the scheduled opening. There were a couple of other boats already waiting including Seaview, the trawler that was tied up next to us in Elizabeth City. As we approached, Seaview radioed back to say there was an issue with the lock and the opening was delayed for 20 – 30 minutes. Rather than try and hover for a half an hour, we decided to drop the anchor and shut down the engine.
We had given ourselves lots of time to get here, so we weren’t hurrying, but the engine was still struggling at higher RPMs. We’d definitely have to deal with it sooner rather than later.
If you have been reading these Crew Logs from the beginning, you might recall that we had a really bad encounter with the lockmaster at the Great Bridge Lock on the way down. However, we can’t say enough about the professionalism and friendly attitude of both lockmasters on the Dismal Swamp Section. Both were extremely attentive, patient and seemed genuinely happy to see us. The lockmaster at the northern end even stayed late, the day before, to open the bridge for us so we could tie up on the Elizabeth Dock.
It is always energizing to see a sign welcoming us to the next State, in this case, Virginia. We were still, a long way from home, but crossing a State line is a reminder that we are making progress, albeit, slowly.
One of the boats ahead of us was a Niagara 35 that was heading back to Norfolk. It had been in Elizabeth City over the winter. When they left earlier in the morning, the engine won’t go into gear and they were forced to “shift” it manually. The Captain seemed to be a fairly confident sailor and we later found out he had an extensive sailing resume, having sailed all around the world. He bought the boat as a project, he just wasn’t expecting that much work.
Before the introduction of Sunday shopping in Nova Scotia, I had a rule for household maintenance projects. Never start them on a Saturday afternoon. If things went bad, I didn’t want to risk not being able to get parts or supplies after the stores closed. I mulled that rule over in my head as I stared at the engine, thinking about changing the fuel filters. I had spares, but it was a Saturday night and so if I encountered any issues, we’d likely be tied to the Elizabeth Docks until Monday.
The first filter went on easily, but our primary is like a kids stacking toy, with 3 – 4 pieces that all have to neatly fit together before they get bolted on. As a friend of ours recently said, no diesel mechanic ever likes to work on boats. The area around the engine is cramped and you find yourself inventing yoga poses to reach whatever you are working on. Add diesel fuel to the mix and you have, a mess.
I tried prefilling the primary filter and glass jar with diesel to eliminate the air so I could prime it. As I carefully held the parts I reached in to bolt them on, like those kids stacking toys, everything tumbled apart, leaving diesel fuel everywhere. I consulted with the guys on the Niagara 35, who were dealing with their own issues, and finally called a friend of ours back home who knows a thing or two about diesel engines.
Amongst the range of options we should try, was something he referred to as “red neck priming”, where you essential use a high volume pump, like the one for our dinghy, and push air through the system. We managed to get a bit of fuel through, but most of the air was escaping through the vent tube. I bolted everything back together and opened the bleed valve on top of the primary, started the engine, still no luck.
Sometimes, even the most incompetent do-it-your selfers, get lucky. I closed the bleed valve on the primary and decided we’d have to wait until Monday when we could hopefully have someone come down and look at it. Not being totally satisfied to admit defeat, we started the engine one more time, and voila, it was a thing of beauty to watch that filter fill with diesel. The engine sputtered and stopped. We opened up the bleed valve on the secondary filter, pumped out the air and the engine started right back up again.
Later that evening as I was basking in my success, our neighbours from the Niagara dropped by. They had heard the engine going and were checking in on our progress. Their visit was a mood killer though when they said I’d really only know if it was going to work, when I put the engine under a load. We’ll find out in the morning when we enter the lock.
Despite being exhausted from the trip through the Dismal Swamp and the fuel filter issue, sleep came hard. Aside from having a lasting smell of diesel fuel in my nose, I worried about what would happen when we were “under load”.
The Niagara 35 decided to stay at the Elizabeth Dock until the next opening at 1100 hours, which meant we had to get off the dock and back past them into deeper water, all the time wondering if our engine was going to die. However, as always, all my fretting and worrying was for not, and our departure went very smoothly. We entered the lock and again were very impressed with the friendliness of the lockmaster.
The ICW takes a few twists and turns before linking up with the other branch and we made our way towards Norfolk. The notation in our log reads, “…spirits are high…speed has improved after the fuel filter change…and we are finished the ICW…”. We enjoyed the ICW, but there is a sense of freedom when you reach Mile Marker 0 and realize you can actually sail again and not be transfixed at trying to keep the boat in the center of a narrow ditch.
We decided to wait out the approaching weather system at Hampton, just north of Norfolk. We stayed here on the way down and were familiar with the anchorage and it had easy access to grocery stores and other supplies in nearby Phoebus. When we were here in the fall, the anchorage was full of sailboats and catamarans, staging to head south. We were surprised to see that there was only one other sailboat there when we arrived this time.
A side note. We had been in the Bahamas since the first of January where the distance between anchorages is relatively short, and well let’s be honest, if we found a safe anchorage, we didn’t mind spending several days there. We arrived back in the US at the end of March and since then have been traveling up the ICW which, with a few exceptions, allowed us to travel most days regardless of the weather. All this to say, we had gotten lazy about checking weather, wind direction and making sure we were tucked into the best spot.
Just as we reached the anchorage at Hampton, it started to pour. We secured the anchor and headed below and listened to weather alerts coming in all afternoon on the VHF. We received a tornado warning at 1730 hours and reports of extreme rain and thunder and lightening storms. It poured and blew all night, but our anchor seemed to be holding.
In the morning, I had been working on the computer when I noticed out of the corner of my eye, the anchor alarm screen go red and noticed the boat was dragging. The wind had shifted around to the west and reached gale force. FYI, this is a great anchorage for any wind direction other than west.
We acted quickly, got the engine started and idled forward while we raised the anchor. Once we got it secured, we phoned the Old Port Comfort Marina and asked for a slip. Luckily they had a spot for us, but getting in behind the breakwall would be a challenge given the breaking waves and currents. We slowly wade our way towards the marina and surveyed the entrance.
There were 2 small openings, both open to the west, with 2-3 foot choppy waves blowing in. As soon as we reached the breakwall, we had to make a sharp 90 degree turn, otherwise we’d be into the boats in front of us. We powered the engine up and surfed around the corner and made our way onto the face dock. As our log noted, “…all went really well…”! George, the dock master was quite complementary of our ability to maneuver into the marina and Judy's line handling skills.
We reflected on how things could have been much worse. First, the anchor held throughout the night and let go after we were up and about in the morning. Second, I was working at the nav station and noticed the flash of red and we were able to react quickly, before the alarm actually sounded. Apparently, 3 boats landed on the rocks here in the last week or so, all in west winds. And finally, we were right next to a marina that had a spot for us. Given the gale force winds, going out on the Chesapeake wasn’t an option.
The marina turned out to be a great option. Well protected, great facilities, a very good restaurant, and within easy walking distance of Fort Monroe and the town of Phoebus.
The other “blessing in disguise” was, we had been dealing with a minor medical issue that we’d thought we’d dealt with in Titusville, so we had to get to a walk-in clinic. Getting off the boat and into the dinghy in these winds would have been unpleasant, and when I think about what would have happened if the boat dragged anchor while we were gone, chills run down my spine. Coming into “port” was the right decision.
Agostinto, was our Uber driver for the trip to the walk-in clinic. He was a career Navy man, who was originally from Portugal. He stills owns a home there and goes back every year. He started driving for Uber after he retired for something to do. He was apparently sitting on the couch, saw our request, noted the pickup was at a marina, and thought he’d go for a ride.
Connie was our driver on the way back. She was a full time Uber driver and had the most elaborate set of fake finger nails we’d ever seen. She was originally from Jersey, but liked the weather here better. She was driving a brand new vehicle, which she leased through Uber, which I though was an interesting example of supply chain integration.
We were anxious to get moving, but the wind was still blowing hard from the west, which according to George at the marina was very unusual. Given we were comfortable at “Old Port Comfort” and safely tied up, we decided to stay put.
We walked into Phoebus to pick up a “few” groceries, which always seems to turn into a cart full. We wandered through town and I briefly thought about getting a haircut, when I saw a sign that said “walk ins were welcome”. I looked a little closer however and noted that they specialized in dreadlocks and weaves. I think I’ll wait.
Our Uber driver on the way back was just finishing her first full week on the job. She had been a recruiter for a Florida based tech company and recently lost her job and was “Ubering” until she could come up with a better plan. She didn’t see it as a viable career option.
Given our weather delay, we evaluated our plan for getting up the Chesapeake. We definitely wanted to spend a few days in Annapolis (Bay Ridge) with the crew from Anodyne. Otherwise, our plan was to get up the Chesapeake as quickly as possible to take advantage of a good weather window for getting down the Delaware.
What started out as a pretty nice sailboat day, quickly deteriorated into one of our worst days on the water to-date.
But more about that, next time.
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