Our Great Loop Adventure

On Sunday, April 27th, we left Belhaven. We continued on the Pungo River into the Pungo Alligator River Canal. Due to the storm on Friday night, we were on the alert for debris and dead heads. We also were looking for wildlife such as deer, bears, and alligators. We did not see any animals, but dodged a lot of debris. One of the boats (Panacea) we were traveling with hit something with their right prop so they were forced to reduce speed because running the right engine over 900 rmp caused great vibration. As we entered the Alligator River, the waters were lumpy, but calmed down as we headed north. We anchored in the Little Alligator River with two other looper boats, Annabelle and Average Looper. They just started the loop in Southport, NC only a few weeks before. Monday dawned with overcast skies and a brisk wind. We had one to three foot waves on the beam as we crossed Albemarle Sound. We were bounced around for over an hour. We had forgotten to prepare the boat for the beam seas. When he went below to use the head he discovered the table on its side, the couch in the middle of the main cabin. In the head the tub which contains small household items had tipped over and the contents scattered all over the floor. He righted the table and put the couch back and Sharon straightened the head and put everything back shipshape. Upon entering the Pasquotank River there were hundreds of crab pots strung in multiple directions. Normally crab pots are placed in neat rows thirty to forty feet apart. Not here, here the pots ran parallel, sideways and crisscrossed other crabbers pots. Tony found that as he dodged the pots he sometimes going back from where he came. We weaved through them for what seemed like an eternity. We finally docked at Lamb's Marina in Elizabeth City, NC at l:00pm. Lamb's Marina was very rustic with short docks and lots of older boats. Many appeared to be on the list for the scrapyard. Lamb's is more than just a marina, it has trailer homes on one side and campers on the other. They also have a convenience store on the road in front of the marina, with a restaurant being built. Getting off the boat was a real challenge for Sharon. A generous man, who lives on a houseboat that he had converted from a fishing boat made in Nova Scotia, gave us a three step ladder to help her climb up and down from the dock. Our two step ladder was not tall enough for her to step down to the dock.There were several loopers here; CJ, Limelight, Attitude Changer, Panacea, Annabelle, and Average Looper. Both Annabelle and Panacea had damaged their props so they were having their props replaced We had great docktails that evening accompanied by a lot of rain, which continued into the night. There were tornado watchs in effect during the night and storms were forecast for the next 2 days. Due to the weather conditions, stayed here Tuesday and Wednesday. We were under a tornado watch again on Wednesday. The highlight of the day were docktails. The lowlight everyday for me was getting on and off the boat using the ladder. By Wednesday some of the docks were underwater. Fortunately, the marina had a courtesy car. We went to town and had a lovely breakfast at Sydney's and went for groceries. Limelight and CJ left Wednesday morning. Thursday, May 1st, we left. Because the fairway was narrow and we also had a large boat next to us, our departure was difficult, but we got out without damage to our boat or the boats around us. We were back on the Pasquotank River, then into Turners Cut. After locking thru the Smith Lock with three other boats, we entered the Great Dismal Swamp Canal, which is a very narrow cut maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. We docked at the Visitors' Center where we rafted off CJ. Limelight, Nuclear Fission and Summerland are also docked here. We took a tour of the visitors' center and walked the boardwalk into the swamp. The swamp is a unique primeval forest, is home to snakes, birds, bears and winged insects. In 1763 George Washington proposed draining the swamp, harvesting the timber (Cypress for shipbuilding and Cedar for shingles) and farming the land. He and some other businessmen bought 40,000 acres of swampland. Washington supervised the digging of the cut. In 1909 a lumbering company bought the land and continued to harvest the trees until the 1950's. In 1973 it became the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Friday morning we left early to make the 11:00am opening of the Deep Creek Lock. At 8:00am we crossed the border into Virginia. However, we really had to slow down to prevent us from having to wait for the lock. The entire length of the Great Dismal Swap Canal is no wake. Which is around 5 mph, we slowed down to around 3mph. All through the swamp canal we were dodging debris and dead heads and touching bottom. We arrived at Deep Creek Bridge and Lock for its 11:00am opening. After leaving the canal we entered the Elizabeth River with Portsmouth on one side and Norfolk on the other. As we continued in the river we marveled at the immense ships in the naval shipyard, It is largest shipyard in the country. We docked at the Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth before 1:00. Sharon walked into the downtown area and found High Street, which is the main street filled with restaurants and shops. She had coffee at the local coffee shop and then walked several streets in the Olde Towne Historic District. The architecture reflects Greek Revival, Classical Renaissance, Gothic, and Romanesque styles. Saturday, we stayed in Portsmouth to clean the boat, wash clothes and do the blog. We walked and toured the Lightship Portsmouth Museum. A lightship was navigational aid on the US coasts beginning in the 1800s. The lights atop the masts were similar to lighthouses. The Lightship Portsmouth was built in 1915 and served for 48 years off the coasts of Virginia, Delaware, and Massachusetts. It became a museum in 1989. We then walked all of High Street to the Starbucks just outside of the downtown. Tomorrow we begin a journey up the Chesapeake Bay which Tony is really looking forward to since he read Michner's book, CHESAPEAKE multiple times. He promises to take a picture of where the imaginary island, Devon, was supposed to have been before it was destroyed by the waves and currents of the Chesapeake.