Chesapeake, VA

Days on Cruise:  38

Miles today:  15.0

Travel Time:  2 hrs, 49 mins (Locks sure slow you down)

Total Trip Odometer:  1,054 statute miles

We left the Dismal Swamp Feeder Ditch dock this morning and completed our trip on the Canal by traveling through the Deep Creek Lock, our second lock of more than 100 locks we’ll do by the time this journey is complete. This time we were accompanied by two other trawlers (above), one current Looper and one “Gold” Looper, meaning they’ve already completed the Loop. We haven’t seen them previously or since.

The photo above is of the “Superintendent’s Home” of the Dismal Swamp Corps of Engineers, right on the shore of the Canal.  We assume this is the Superintendent’s home historically, but not currently? We hope not!

We arrived at Top Rack Marina in Chesapeake, VA and bought diesel fuel for $3.79/gallon, the cheapest price we’ll see for quite some time. We’re staying at their docks tonight as we need to get the new sender for our starboard engine tomorrow morning at Carter Machinery, 8 miles away. We debated taking a cab there, or renting a car, but Cathryn sweet-talked the young dockhand here at the marina into picking it up for us tomorrow morning on his way to work.  We’ll pay him for his time and gas, of course, and he was thrilled to get the extra work, but it also saves us lots of hassle and time.

So everyone cross your fingers that Bob’s installation of the new sender tomorrow morning is uneventful, and that it’s the only source of issues from our “high oil pressure” day on the Albemarle Sound.  Thanks!