Chesapeake Chase Day 18: Dismal Swamp, Norfolk and Hampton

June 29, 2022

This morning we wanted to go over the pedestrian bridge to the state park visitor center.  We needed to leave the dock by 10:30 AM to make the 1:30 PM opening of the Deep Creek Bridge and Lock at the exit from the canal, then travel through Norfolk.  We had reservations at the Safe Harbor Bluewater Marina in Hampton, Virginia where we were picking up our friend Judy. 

Since we had yet to solve the leaking problem which had caused damage to the bow thruster, we first had to get under our bed and check for water.  The foam trick hadn’t worked though may have slowed the leak some.  The water spraying over the bow in Albemarle Sound likely resulted in some water getting in.

We were disappointed to indeed find some water but not surprised.  We do not recommend boat yoga for staying in shape, but there is a certain amount of satisfaction we seniors get from being able to do it.  We now have a system, so it didn’t take long to get things cleaned up.  This exercise did reduce our time for the park, but we were able to spend time in the visitor’s center and take a quick walk on a small portion of the boardwalk trail.

The Dismal Swamp State Park is a designated site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.  The canal is 22 miles long.  It was hand dug by hired enslaved labor beginning in 1793 and ending in 1805 when the canal opened.  It was dug to allow trade between Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. 

Working conditions for the slaves were horrible as you might imagine.  They were digging by hand in waist deep mud, extreme summer heat, biting insects, and venomous snakes.  The wages they made were collected by the slave masters.  The swamp prior to the Civil war was also where slaves escaped to.  This little bit of information is miniscule compared to what you can read on the web.  Take some time to check it out.  It’s interesting. 

We pulled away from the dock just after 10:30 AM. 

I took the time to clean and organize spaces in preparation for Judy coming on board.  We were stowing things in the guest stateroom that we hadn’t dealt with since our granddaughters left – extra blankets, pillows, cushions used to create more sleeping areas, and clean laundry I hadn’t yet put away.  The swamp was just more of the same, so I wasn’t missing much.  I wanted the interior to be shipshape.

Fred started calling the bridge and lock just before 1:00 PM to let the lock master know we wanted to pass through at the 1:30 PM opening.  There was a sailboat in front of us also waiting for the bridge and lock opening.  We have been spoiled by always getting an immediate response from bridge and lock masters, but on the swamp canal, there is not that much boat traffic and with limited openings, it is not necessary for them to be at the sites all day.  At the appointed time, he responded, gave us the necessary instructions, and opened the bridge.  He then drove to the lock and had it open for us.  He was a very friendly and helpful person, and all went as it should.

Norfolk

It was not long before we were in Norfolk, Virginia.  Shipping, ship building, and the Naval Station were the main attractions from our passage through. 

There were also a variety of bridges. 

One we had to have opened because it was a low railroad bridge – a draw bridge, and the other portion was a highway lift bridge which was raised for much taller boats and ships.  

One stationary bridge we went under was 169 feet high – impressive! 

We saw more cargo ships than I have ever seen before in one city, and there were many naval ships in various stages of being repaired or built. 

Cranes were everywhere.  It was all very fascinating and a whole new experience for me.  I have never been to Norfolk before so I have no on shore perspective, and what you see from the water can be and usually is very different than what you see when traveling in a car.

Once we were beyond Norfolk, it was not long before we were nearing our destination in Hampton, the Blue Harbor Safe Harbor Marina.  Dinner had been cooking all day in the crockpot and Judy would be arriving shortly after we arrived.  I have known Judy since college days, and she has been a part of the Welch family (my maiden name) since then.  I was excited!  Betty Lou was not as ship shape as I had wanted, but I knew Judy would understand.  We also desperately needed showers and clean sheets.  It would all get done eventually.

Judy came bearing gifts of fly swatters, one for each of us, some special coffee, a new game called Quirkle, and a new microwave food cover to replace the melted one.  We had asked for the fly swatters, but the other items were a surprise.  Judy knows us so well!!

We had all arrived safely on the planned date, and all was well!

Captain’s Comments:

After crossing Albemarle, we did find a few ounces of water in the bilge, and one or two in the thruster well. Little enough that I could clean it up with a rag, but enough that I wanted to clean it up. I had again corresponded with Scott, and while he was still consulting with personnel at the construction yard, in the interim, he suggested a short-term method to keep any leakage in the bilge (my favoritel–grey tape!), which I implemented.

The leak only occurs under particular headsea conditions, and then is only a few drops per minute, so this should help. An ultimate fix will likely wait till we get home.

Dismal Swamp State Park

The only access to the Dismal Swamp State Park was across the canal from where we were docked, and from the highway, on a floating swing bridge.

The state park is surrounded by the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and, more limiting, a huge network of smaller canals that had originally been dug to help drain the swamp. We chatted with the young park service employee while he closed the bridge to allow us to walk across.

We started our short visit in the impressive visitor center.

As we learned from the exhibits, the Dismal Swamp forest encountered by the Europeans was a cypress-gum swamp with bald cypress, swamp black gum and tupelo gum. Some stands of Atlantic white cedar were interspersed. In slightly higher areas evergreen shrub bogs flourished. These “swamps on a hill” were called pocosin by the native Algonkian Indians; pocosin is now used as a place name throughout NC and VA.

George Washington’s Dismal Swamp Land Company owned 40,000 acres of the swamp. In the 1760s the company ordered slaves to dig a canal from the western edge of the swamp to Lake Drummond to drain the swamp for farming. Farming turned out to be unprofitable, so the company turned to shingle “getting” and used the canal to transport timber out of the swamp. Eventually, every acre in the Dismal Swamp was logged at least once. Thousands of enslaved African-Americans worked on the swamp canals and in the timber industry.

As the slave population increased, large estates developed in northeastern NC, growing and exporting grain, turpentine, tobacco and lumber. More farmers started draining land on the border of the swamp, shifting from native American to European row crop agricultural practices. Escaped slaves often made their way north on the underground railroad through the swamp. Others found permanent refuge deep in the swamp in “Maroon colonies.”

Eventually, ditching and draining the swamp allowed trees that can tolerate drier soil such as red maple to replace the cypress, gum and cedar.

The 22-mile-long Dismal Swamp Canal, dug by slaves between 1793 and 1805, is the oldest operating man-made waterway in the United States. When we head home from the Chesapeake next month, we’ll follow the Albemarle-Chesapeake canal, built in 1859, which created an easier route south and led to a decline of traffic through the Dismal Swamp Canal. Today the Dismal Swamp Canal remains an alternate route on the ICW and is used mostly by pleasure boats.

Norfolk and Hampton

To get to Hampton, we needed to pass the north Dismal Canal Swamp “Deep Creek” lock and bridge, then 4 railroad bridges in Norfolk, all of which needed to open for us and all of which either operated on a fixed schedule, or, in the case of the RR bridges, opened when convenient for the RR. I had originally allocated an entire day for this process, based on reviews. However, we picked up some local knowledge from our dock mates at the visitor center dock. We followed their advice and, with some good luck, only had one significant delay at the first RR bridge, allowing us to get to Hampton and meet with Judy, our next crew member, a day early.

Norfolk is a busy port and is the home of the largest naval base in the world. During our visit, we passed 7 aircraft carriers.

Despite the scale, it was a relatively straightforward passage and easy entry to Hampton across the James River and Safe Harbor Bluewater, our home for the next two days. The local residents kept watch.

Betty Lou reached her 500th hour under way today.

Where we are:

Here is a link to show the progress of our Chesapeake Chase.