We were able to find a spot on the Free Jenette Food Company wall. Great secure place out of winds. They actually locked their gate at night so we couldn’t get out and no one could get in. We traversed Albemerle sound with no problems. Fueled at a skinny small marina. They had a laundry so I was busy with that. Only 1 washer and Dryer for the marina use. I can share. May 13th we started into the Dismal Swamp Canal. Very peaceful. We locked up 8 feet. This canal was started in the George Washington era. Some slaves were using this area for their escape route to the north. We stopped at their visitor center for the night. Lark, Sea Trolley, and Baytripper tied to their free wall and Alysana, Heartbeat, Justified and a sailboat from Belgium tied or rafted to all of us. Nice hiking and bike trails. It is also a wayside rest area. May 14th we traveled like a convoy through the bridge a very slow 4 mph day. Then the bridge tender hops in his car, drives to the lock and opens it for all of us. On top of that he takes out a conch and plays a tune or two on it for us. You can’t beat that for entertainment. We go down 8 feet in the lock. Portsmuth Tidewater Marina was our next destination. We wanted the city wall, but we heard it was under water and you had to wade through it to get off the dock.
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