Dismal Swamp
27 October 2015
Judy
10/24/2015
Not in any great hurry - now that's a change - we sat and watched the sun come up and the boats float off heading south. Even on the weekend barges were already criss crossing in front of us. Slowly the lights of Norfolk started blinking off. Our passage to the Deep Creek lock was uneventful, as was locking up to the Dismal Swamp. Seven Canadian Geese were swimming and dunking for food just before the lock and a group of six more were flying in, made for a pretty backdrop. Autumn was just tinging the trees in the swamp, leaving a rosy glow as we put putted through the canopy of trees. Maybe it was our slower pace or residual from the flooding but we bumped much less this time around. A faster speed seems to disturb logs on the bottom, thumping the hull. We could see the throng of boats rafted up at the Visitors Center for miles before we actually got there. Don tried calling on the radio but no one answered. Not sure about the procedure for rafting up we were debating our options as the small bridge just past was closed. Luckily Vince on the outer boat hailed us and grabbed our lines. He enlightened us to the etiquette of rafting when no one was on board. Just do it. We met the people on the three other boats we crossed over to get to land on our return trip from the Visitors Center and a quick walk to stretch legs. A huge catamaran squeezed past us to get to the head of the pack, scratching the starboard side of his boat. He made three attempts before managing the narrow pass. Needless to say we were right there to hold him off Nemo. The last straggler in was an old friend, or I should say his boat was. We travelled to the Keys with Perceptions last year. Carl sold the boat to a friend and we were surprised to see him roll in. Perceptions rafted up on our starboard side, making the boats six deep on the dock. Being on the outside of the pack had it's advantages as we were near the front when everyone started peeling off the next morning.