Five Foot Draft Pays Off Motoring Down the Intracoastal Waterway ICW

The Day of the Triffids, Norfolk, VA.

Anchored overnight at ICW Mile marker 0 in Norfolk, Virginia. We left Friday am between snow flurries and with wind threatening to blow us over crab pot buoys as we raised the anchor. We had memories of anchoring one dark night off Deal Island on the Chesapeake only to awake and find ourselves in a sea of crab pots. Robert had the joy of an early morning swim that time, hoping no crab men were watching as he cut the offending line from our prop. Fortunately we were positioned outside swinging distance of the pots in the anchorage this morning.

After the late start from Norfolk, we arrived after 3:30pm, Friday and had to tie up and wait for the 8:30am opening at Deep Creek Lock, Mile 10.5. We were the only boat in sight. Daisie enjoyed dinghying ashore for a run in the park at the lock. We motored all day Saturday through the Great Dismal Swamp. We're glad we took this route at the last minute. We'd planned to take the Virginia Cut route down the Virginia-North Carolina part of the IntraCoastal Waterway until a call to the North Carolina Welcome Center confirmed there was plenty of water in the canal for our 5ft draft. Times like this a fairly shallow draft (4'9" with a retractable centerboard lifted) really pays off in being able to get to places most 40-50ft boats can't go.  Clever Shannon Yachts!