The Great Dismal Swamp

Our first night in the Swamp at Deep Creek Basin turned out to be very challenging. Almost right after dark, it started to rain (horizontally). We were anchored very close to the shore with plenty of depth, but the trees seemed to be getting closer. It was difficult to tell if we were dragging or not because there were no lighted landmarks to help us. We pulled the boat up, and Steve put out a second anchor. We were soaked and freezing! In the morning the basin was calm and beautiful (see the pictures).

We arrived at the Deep Creek lock at 8:45 a.m. It was our first time going through a lock with this boat. (We went through the Charles River Lock a few years ago on Danny Sullivan’s power boat.) Once we were in the lock and the water level was raised, the lock master didn’t open the gates to let us out. Instead he told us to get off the boat and come into the office. I was nervous that something was wrong, but instead, there was a small crowd of boaters (anchored behind the lock already) having pancakes and sausages. So we were locked in the lock for about an hour having breakfast and chatting while U-turn (the lock master’s dog) ran around and entertained us. Immediately after the lock was a draw bridge the lock master had to run down to open for us too. He’s a busy guy.

Motoring down the Dismal Swamp Canal was amazing (you must see the pictures!!!). After a couple of hours we arrived at the NC welcome center where there is a free dock. When the dock fills up, boats simply raft up to each other and it is one big party. We stayed for two nights. We are rafted to trawler belonging to a very nice couple from Michigan who are both retired teachers. Another boat from Nebraska rafted up to us and all three boats hung out and drank wine last night.

This morning the cabin was only 39 degrees. Of course we turned on the oven to heat up the boat, and why not bake blueberry muffins? Since some boats were leaving early this morning, it was pretty funny watching all the boats jockey around to let the inside boats out. We will also head out to Elizabeth City after the frost melts off the canvas. So do check out the awesome pictures from this stop!