“Drain The Swamp” … Geo Washington 1763

Who knew that the current “Drain the Swamp” movement isn’t original at all….  in 1763, George Washington campaigned to “Drain The Swamp”.   Except the swamp he wanted to drain was The Great Dismal Swamp, a real swamp, not a political debate.  Draining the swamp would allow the construction of the Dismal Swamp Canal – a vital link between the Chesapeake Bay and Abermarle Sound.

Construction of the 22 mile long waterway required over 12 years of back-breaking mucking about in mud. The canal finally opened in 1805, and was used primarily for hand pulled barge traffic hauling lumber, trees and cedar shingles.

Today the Dismal Swamp Canal is known as the ICW (Inter Coastal Waterway) Alternate Route #2 north to Norfolk. Major storms close the canal routinely, keeping the US Army Corps of Engineers on their toes.  It reopened in October 2017 after Hurricane Matthew forced it to close over a year earlier.

Many cruisers avoid the Dismal Swamp … straight and narrow with skinny water and submerged trees waiting to destroy a prop or bend a shaft. Scary stuff! We’d heard all the reasons NOT to take the Dismal Swamp route … but others said they loved it and would do it over and over.

Our first impression was that after the frenetic pace of the past 5 weeks winding our way north on the Atlantic ICW, the Dismal Swamp route felt so effortless. Just peace and quiet, serene waters and reflections.  No crab pots to be avoided, no strong currents moving shoals at every inlet, no clueless crazy wake rolling boaters flying by, no commercial traffic – tugs pushing barges – just progressively shallower water as the channel narrows winding up the Pasquotank River to the official start of the canal at the South Mills Lock.  The entire canal is a no wake zone to prevent erosion to the historic landmark.

Heading north, the Dismal Swamp adventure officially starts at Elizabeth City, the town famous for welcoming cruisers. The welcome starts with FREE docks …. not just one small dock but 3 or 4 different locations each with free docks!  Hard to beat free!

Starting 40 years ago, every boat was greeted by the Rose Buddies with a rose for the lady of the boat and an invitation to a wine and cheese reception at the Mariners Wharf (if there were 5 boats docked).  The tradition began back in the 1980’s and quite frankly, I had assumed it was long gone. Imagine my surprised when Greg showed up as we were tying up with rose in hand!  The roses are hand picked from the original rose bushes that grew in the original Rose Buddy ladies yards.

From Elizabeth City, it’s necessary to time the Elizabeth City bridge which opens at 7:30 & 8:30 during rush hour (on demand after 9 AM) to arrive at the South Mills Lock and Bridge opening four times a day: 8:30, 11:00, 1:30 & 3:30.  If you miss the lock opening, you tie up to the bollards in the narrow channel and wait.  As we entered the lock, a big splash on our port side called our attention to a muskrat swimming around the boat!

Inch by inch, foot by foot, the lock water level raised Optimystique until instead of looking at steel walls, we were looking over the rim.  Interestingly enough, the lockmaster then jumps in his truck, drives the short distance to the adjacent bridge and opens the bridge.

Before the lock, the river narrows into the Turner Cut … where the only sounds are the water sluicing by the hull and the chorus of birds as they flit among the towering trees lining both sides.

Nothing moves fast here – it’s as if we pushed the Pause button on the everyday life and now we get to enjoy the show.  It’s a relief not to worry about anything but cypress trees reflections and watching for wildlife.

Jets fly overhead, removed from our quiet serenity, but a reminder of the crazy world we left behind earlier this morning!

Bears, river otters, bald eagles, white tailed deer and other wildlife flourish in the swamp, mostly invisible to cruisers passing through.  Although we spotted several bald eagles and white tailed deer, we never saw a river otter (much to my dismay) and we most definitely were not lucky enough to spot a bear.  We did spot several homo sapiens jogging along the greenway along the canal in a couple of places, going almost faster than our boat!

Unfortunately, The Highway 17 bridge changed the atmosphere … from here to the Welcome Center, the highway noise was always present in the background.  But still it was easy to fade from everyday reality and just enjoy the surroundings.

After the Hwy 17 bridge, we cruised the canal for several miles, crossing from North Carolina into Virginia.  Soon we were approaching the Welcome Center – one of the only rest stops on a highway that’s also a stop along a waterway.   Prior to the Welcome Center, there’s a Pedestrian Bridge that leads across the canal from the rest stop to the Dismal Swamp State Park (only state park headquartered across a pedestrian bridge where boats have the right of way?).  Somehow as we came into sight of the bridge it magically opened allowing us passage without even requesting an opening.  The park rangers keep a lookout for boats and open the pedestrian bridge before boats can even call!  Very welcoming!

The Welcome Center is on the right – starboard side tie and LOOK, we’re lucky enough to have it all to ourselves!

More boats arrived after the 3:30 South Mills lock opening, and it got a bit crowded — first time we’ve ever rafted up with another boat.  Once the dock space is full, it’s polite to let other boats raft up on the outside.  I was extremely reluctant, but turns out we all had docktails together and made some new friends.  I’m still not sure I like folks tramping across our boat with their dog to get to the dock….

We stayed at the free Dismal Swamp Welcome Center dock for 2 nights.  Rode our bikes on the greenway along the canal, hiked the trails in the State Park, enjoyed the museum, bought the t-shirt and hat at the Welcome Center.

Reluctantly, we resumed the final section of the Dismal Swamp Canal — 17 miles to the northern lock, Deep Creek with the same opening hours as South Mills:  8:30, 11:00, 1:30 and 3:30.

We departed about 7:30 to give us plenty of time before catching the 11 AM opening.  Immersed once again in the quiet serenity of the swamp, we relaxed and let it carry us to another place where everything is slow and quiet.

All too soon, we arrived at the Deep Creek Lock.  After locking DOWN ten feet, the lock gates opened and we were spit back into the real world in Norfolk, Virginia, complete with planes, trains and BIG SHIPS to command our attention.

When you have a chance, be sure to see the swamp that George (Washington) drained, enjoy The Dismal Swamp and immerse yourself into a time gone by … if only for a few hours or days before you’re forced to re-enter the real ICW!

Anyone else enjoy the Dismal Swamp Canal?  Please leave a comment and share!  Cheers — Jan