GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: DISMAL SWAMP PART 2 / A DARING RESCUE AT SEA / MILE MARKER ZERO

DAY 309; MON. MAY 21, 2012

DEP. WELCOME CENTER (mm28) 08:08ARR. PORTSMOUTH, VA (mm 0) 1:15

D. 25.2 sm / 5018.8

The Dismal Swamp Canal, which connects the Elizabeth R. in VA and the Pasquotank R. in NC, is the oldest continually operating canal in the US. The surveyor of the canal was none other than George Washington, also one of the first investors, in 1764. It was started in 1793 and completedin1804 and doesn’t appear to have changed any since then. (http://dismalswamp.net/).

We awoke to a foggy morning, but in this canal only 30’ visibility is necessary to see both banks.The southbound sailors departed at 07:00 as promised, and our group of 5 departed with S/V True Loev (the owner's last name, Loev) in the lead followed by S/V St. Louie Lady, then M/Vs Glory Days, Eos, and Something Special. Between mm 28 and mm 21 we had to dodge a few deadheads, but nothing serious. At 08:20 we crossed the border from NC into VA. Then, at 09:00, just north of mm 21 we saw the fallen tree. We could see the trunk on the eastern shore, and the upper branches with the leaves still on them on the western shore.True Loev was first to go and he got hung up, but was able to free himself and made it across. St. Louie Lady was next and she got hung up and in an attempt to get free wound up against the western bank with her mast stuck high up in the tree branches. Since Glory Days was next in line we had to either attempt to pull her off or spend the day waiting for help. The decision was easy, and although the rescue wasn’t exactly daring, and not at sea, it does add a bit of excitement. We pulled up at about a 45 degree angle to her stbd. stern quarter, handed her a line from our bow, and backed up pulling her free from the tree, both on the bottom and on the top. The only damage she suffered was a broken anchor light. When she became free she backed down and it was our turn to attempt the crossing. We picked up enough speed to carry us across and shifted into neutral as the bow hit the branches.The momentum carried us over and the rest of the boats followed suit with no further problems. AMEN! The rest of the trip was uneventful, except for one thing, at mm 18.8 we crossed the 5,000 mile mark on our journey. The sun came out and it was actually beautiful. We made the Deep Creek Bridge and Lock in time for the 11:00 opening, and met the famous lockmaster Robert. He is somewhat of a legend on the Dismal Swamp. He is very friendly, professional, and treats everyone like a long lost friend. He has a huge collection of conch shells and uses them to landscape the area around his lock house. As we departed he picked up a conch and blew us a farewell tune. Some days are fun, but others are really fun.

The final event of the day occurred at 1:02PM.We crossed mm0.