C-Brats Gathering.. North Carolina Loop, Day 1

We launched at the Portsmouth City Marina, which is a lovely city park with free launch ramp.  We're told you can leave your car and trailer here for several days but we were fortunate in that we were invited to dock at the home of a fellow C-Brat who lives on a creek off the Elizabeth River, here in Portsmouth VA  What a setup he has!  A slice of heaven for a person who loves boating (he's retired Coast Guard engineer... and boy does he have stories!).  He also has 9 boats of his own counting the kayaks and a 50 ft dock, large enough to accommodate several visiting C-Dories.

We enjoyed two days at his dock, provisioned at the local Harris Teeter, and a special pre-cruise dinner at their home.  Several local C-Brats were unable to schedule the cruise, but they came to the dinner to share stories and fun.  Also in attendence were owners of a Cutwater 28 (which is an object of our lustful wishful thinking) and a 28 1/2 ft home made "C-Dory-ish" boat which was aptly named River Horse (see early post about that book).

That evening and the next morning we had torrential rains.  If the dewpoint gets just right, moisture will condensate in our boat and it actually started to "rain" in our v-berth this morning.  So everything feels wet and we'll be utilizing the clothesline as we cruise (we look a bit like derelects when we do, but, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

We left his dock about 11:30 and arrived at the Dismal Swamp Locks for the 1:30 opening.  We were a bit nervous as this is our first locks.  We've read about how to do it, watched You Tube video "how to's" and it was a piece of cake.  The dockmaster reached down with a boat hook asking us to loop our line around it... then he looped our line around a post and gave the end back to us.  We held it tight until all the boats were in the lock.. and then he raised us up to the canal level.

In our lock with us is a Roseborough 246; one of the C-Dory-ish boats which we considered.  It was fun to really check one out as we cruised alongside.  Our entourage of C-Brats consists of 1-25ft, 2-22 ft, and our 23ft Venture and the home-made 28 1/2ft River Horse.

The Dismal Swamp was surveyed in 1728 by Colonel William Byrd II who pronounced it 'dismal".  Much of the land was owned by George Washington, who, along with Patrick Henry, encouraged other investors to create the Dismal Swamp Canal Company.  The goal was to create a "spiderweb" of canals to float timber out of the swampy area and into Virginia.  The main Dismal Canal is about 22 miles long, and was dug, BY SHOVEL, by slaves over the course of 12 years.  The slaves came to know the swamp well and it became a haven for runaways.  It is featured in the novel "Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp" by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  Edgar Allen Poe is said to have written the Raven here.  And the play/movie "Showboat" is a story about one of many showboats that sailed this canal.

Freedom at Steve's dock, I mean, Steve's Marina

At the bottom of the lock

The Dockmaster gives instructions and a brief history of the Dismal Swamp

Rising to the top of the lock

C-Brats on the Dismal Swamp

River Horse, a 28.5 ft home made C-Dory like boat

As we approached the Dismal Swamp Visitor's center, the dock was full, with several trawlers and larger sailboats.  Capt'n Steve used his most authoritative Coast Guard voice to request that they move apart to allow our little pod of Brats to raft in between them.  Then it was "happy hour"

Dismal Swamp

Do's and Don'ts

To do or not to do.... sorry I couldn't resist.  This blog entry is going to be tidbits of wisdom of "stuff" we've learned... actually most is common sense and this blog is more of a "true confessions" entry.  If we have future mishaps, we'll be sure to post them here.  Hopefully these are lessons we've learned now and won't repeat!

It's been a few days since I've posted because we've been mostly just on the road.  We rented a car in Beaufort NC (pronounced "BOWFURT") to drive to Charleston to retrieve our car and trailer.  It should have been about a 5 1/2 hour drive however, we had a glitch.  In the interest of "full disclosure", Rob wanted me to tell you not to put your car keys (and in our case the storage unit keys) in some "safe, out of the way place".  Yes, he forgot them until after we had already driven about 3/4 of the way to Charleston.  So, we actually have seen the area between Beaufort and Charleston now 5 times, once by water, and 4 times (well 3 1/2 times) by car.  Seeing Myrtle Beach by car was more interesting than by ICW and I wish we had time to stop.  Our boating neighbors called it a bit "Las Vegasy" for them, but it looked like fun to me... lots of shows, restaurants, shops and family attractions.  We won't miss it next time we are here.

So:

#1 Don't leave your keys behind!

#2 Make sure you pull your boat fenders all the way in while you are underway.  Normally we do, and we can't remember not doing this, but, somewhere along the way we lost a fender.

#3, If Internet Wifi and/or a pool is important to you, don't believe the website for the marina... call ahead to make sure the pool is open and the wifi is operational.

#4 Don't believe the marina's website with regard to "walking distance" to town.  Use Google Earth and make sure its walkable for YOU!

#5 Have a backup GPS system.  Our Raymarine GPS system is acting flaky.  Luckily we also have a Google Nexus tablet (built in GPS) which has both the Navionics app AND Nav App which interfaces with Active Captain (gives reviews for marinas, launch ramps, hazards etc).  We're not sure if our "real" GPS is fixable but we're surfing Ebay for a replacement today just in case.  If we can't fix or replace it with a used unit, the whole radar system will need to be upgraded which will be a major, unplanned expense... wish us luck!  (I also have these apps on my smartphone)

#6 Don't forget sunscreen for your feet if you spend a day in sandals.  I now have styling polka dot feet!

#7 Use bug spray even if you "don't see um".  I haven't seen a single mosquito, only some "harmless" gnats... but apparently they are the cause of about 52 bites I have so far..  We also have been using these butane powered ThermaCELL mosquito repellent devices (which you can wear or just have in the boat)..To me, these just seem like citronella candles without the flame... the butane heats up the citronella smell.. I am also testing some nifty wrist bands from West Marine that smell like Lemon Pledge.  If you are "extra sweet", like me, none of this works all that well... so pack some salve and remedies to combat the itching!  I really think the cosmetic companies have to invent a combination sunscreen/bugspray/moisturizer!  If there is such a thing, email me, so I can buy some!

#8 Bring long enough line if you are going through the locks.  We have a couple 25ft lines and it was OK, but longer would have been better.  Rob, the sailor, tied a few together... which works, but they also catch on themselves as you try to loop them.  We'll bring more from home on the next leg.

#9 Have some of your boat fenders pre-tied to hang horizontally off your cleats, rather than vertically.  This seems to work better on the locks, when you have to tie to poles on fixed docks, rather than floating docks, and when you are rafted next to other boats.

#10  I know you'll make lots of lists of things to remember to bring home or back to the boat, but make a habit of looking for your lists before you leave town!  And bring your lists with you so you have them at the other end.  (Before we left the boat to come home, we measured for some things we needed to make, and things we needed to buy... and of course, proceeded to come home without the list)

Today we are in Portsmouth VA meeting up with several other C-Dories for a cruise out.  More on that in my next posts.