The best laid plans

Good morning!  We had a leisurely morning
aboard Kantiya.  The Dismal Swamp Lock
didn't open until 8:30am, so we enjoyed
coffee and breakfast, and I checked email
and worked on the blog some. The main
salon is my 'office' on board- it works out fine :)

The best laid plans, well.... are just that.  As we passed the
'road sign' for the Dismal Swamp it said the canal was open,
but the lock was closed.  Knowing it was nearly 7:30pm and
the last lock through was at 3:30pm, I figured," ok, it's closed-
for the day".  I even remarked to Len that it looked like the
kind of sign at a bar, that you can change from 'closed' to
'open'. Well, this morning, a man paddles by in a canoe, and
Len thought, "That must be the guy changing the sign."
Ah, no. I pulled off the dock at 8:00am for the short two
mile jaunt to the lock.  At about one half mile out, I hail
the lock on the VHF to request the 8:30 scheduled opening.
I was politely told the lock was closed and has been for 10
months!  I had been following the news of the Dismal Swamp
which took a beating in last year's hurricane season.  I knew
the canal was reopened in the spring of this year.  I didn't
figure that the lock would still be closed. On to Plan B.

Forty five minutes out of our way and we were back on course
heading for the Virginia Route through the sounds.  This was
our view much of the day.  Pleasant motoring, at 5.5-6 kts.
There is no room to sail in the ICW unless you have the good
 fortune to have wind out of the north, if you are southbound
as we are.  No such luck, the wind continued on the nose all day.
We did see a lost dolphin surface on our port side- that was cool :)

It is a tradition in my family to honk twice when you cross
state lines.  It started with my grandparents, then parents,
and I have done the same with my own kids in our travels.
I had the airhorn ready....

  

Len misread the NC state line being at the 36 red flashing can.
We were only practicing for the real crossing at the 63 green flashing can!
We had it all ass backwards, lol.

Hey! Hey! Toot! Toot! We are in North Carolina!
This is our third state in four days aboard Kantiya :)

We have had several 12+ hour days, so we chose to take it
easy.  We got to MM 50 of the ICW and decided to take a slip
at Coinjock Marina- famous for their 32 oz. prime rib.

Time for dinner!

G'nite, y'all!