| Doing
"The Ditch"
Often called
"The Ditch", the Dismal Swamp is a scenic, but
treacherous route now pretty much abandoned for the easier and
more navigable Intercoastal Waterway. As mentioned, The Ditch
is treacherous, in that it is not maintained any longer by the
Army Corps of Engineers, therefore much debris floats and lies
in the water waiting for unsuspecting boaters. We navigated it
slowly, and dodged logs and other debris. On three separate
occasions, we did manage to locate some underwater debris, but
CONFERENCE wasn't to be phased by it.
Rain
prevailed most of the day, but broke on occasion, giving us
the opportunity to stretch our arms and legs (and to snap a
few great photos, such as the one below).
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| The Dismal
Swamp, once entered feels as though it's a walk back in time,
as there are few "openings" to reveal Highway 17,
which runs along side it. For most of the journey, you're
"hidden". It is breathtaking at times. |
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|
The
Pelican Marina, Elizabeth City, North Carolina |
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| CONFERENCE
heading home via the Pasquotank River. |
| Coming back,
Lee mapped out and entered waypoints into the GPS that would
take us strictly down the Intercoastal Waterway, making the
journey a little faster, leaving me a little less anxious. And
yes, Lee captained the boat much of the way. His mother,
Norah, is no boating slouch either. She is very capable, and
has taught a number of different boating courses for the Power
Squadron. We were definitely in good hands. (She also made a
great breakfast for us while we waited for the locks to open
in Great Bridge (Chesapeake), Virginia. |
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| And how
did she do?
CONFERENCE
is one of those boats that seems to defy all the odds. Her age
(34 at the time of this trip) would have had many captains
leery and anxious, but she held her head high and got her
passengers to their destination with no issues. Were there any
problems along the way? Well, there was that pesky fuel smell,
which had plagued the boat since purchased in 2001. We would
not discover the cause until early 2003 when de-winterizing
the boat (fuel pump). Raw fuel in a bilge is generally a
perfect recipe for disaster, but CONFERENCE would not hear of
that. She had weathered too many storms, too much neglect and
far too many other issues to be taken out by an easy fix like
a fuel pump. We pressed onward and upward.
All in all,
the trip was a tremendous success, pleasing all those aboard.
The boat performed flawlessly, and the accommodations at the
Pelican Marina were terrific. We're planning a similar
excursion for the summer of 2004.
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| My favorite of
all the photos taken during the trip. A scenic farm, on a
route that is slowly becoming forgotten. |
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