Day 218 - Leap of Faith — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 25, fuel purchased 64 gallons, fuel purchased $108, at $1.69 a gallon we could not pass it up, slip $0 if we spend $75 or more in the marina restaurant, daily high temperature 64°f. Sunday high temperate 80°f – yeah.

It was a quiet night for us at the Great Dismal Swamp Welcome Center dock. Not so quiet for the two sailboats rafted off of us. We ran our generator until 10:30 pm to cook dinner and watch satellite TV. I’ll bet those sail boaters will be a little more selective regarding who they raft up to in the future.

We were underway at 7:30 am to cruise 17 miles to the Deep Creek Lock.

We were warned that there was a canoe and kayak race at 8:30 am with 350 participants. We will be long gone.

The Great Dismal Swamp Canal is a “no wake ” zone its entire length. We just put the gear shift in forward and cruise at 5 – 6 mph the entire way. Our herd included two power boats – Leap of Faith and Over Ice plus three sailboats. We crossed the state line from North Carolina into Virginia.

There is swing bridge prior to the lock. The swing bridge is usually open to allow boats to reach the 11:00 am lock. The swing bridge did not open until almost 11:30 am. This requires all the boats to dance in place in the narrow canal for what turned out to be an hour. Finally the swing bridge opened and we saw Leap of Faith tie up at the free dock next to the lock. We were curious and called them on the radio but received no answer. Then Over Ice called us and said they were going to join Leap of Faith on the free dock overnight instead of gong to Norfolk and paying for a slip. Both boats will be at the Rendezvous.

Hello to the nice policemen. The no wake rule does not apply to them.

The three sailboats entered the Deep Creek lock and we followed. The lock master stopped by to explain the delay. Earlier a south bound yacht had entered the lock and the lock doors were closed to get ready to lift the boat. The lock master chatted with the boater and determined he was going the wrong way. So the lock master had to let him out. We finally locked down 8′ and we’re on our way. It was a short 5 mile cruise to the Top Rack Marina to meet up with George and Pat on Reflection. They had arrived at Top Rack the day before. We also had a recommendation from Bev and Dave Feiges from Cloverleaf to stay at the Top Rack Marina. The Top Rack Marina has a massive in and out small boat storage building. In addition they boast the lowest fuel prices in the area and have an excellent restaurant. The deal is – if you eat at their restaurant and spend $75 or more the slip fee is free. We filled our water tanks and pumped out our holding tanks. We will be spending the week at the Waterside Marina in Norfolk for the Rendezvous and we are not certain what facilities will be available for boaters. The AGLCA advised the boaters that the showers and restrooms at the marina are under construction.

Bonus photo

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

“The cabin of a small yacht is truly a wonderful thing; not only will it shelter you from a tempest, but from the other troubles in life, it is a safe retreat.” L Francis Herreshoff

L. (Lewis) Francis Herreshoff (November 11, 1890 – December 1972), was a boat designer, naval architect, editor and author of books and magazine articles. Early in his career he worked for the Herreshoff Manufacturing and for naval architect Starling Burgess.

He was born on November 11, 1890 in Bristol, Rhode Island to Clara Anna DeWolf and Nathanael Greene Herreshoff. In 1926 he became self-employed, designing both racing and cruising sailing yachts, plus many canoes, kayaks and other small craft. He died in December 1972.