Peg and Jim's message below (copied from the Great Loop list) is a fair testament to the good and less than good qualities of this historic, alternate ICW route. As I've said many times. when not in a hurry to get somewhere, and the water levels and lock openings permit, we usually choose to run the Dismal Swamp route! Of course, if you need to get somewhere by a certain date, or are just fleeing south to find warmer weather, the NC-VA cut via Coinjoick is clearly faster and generally easier to navigate. And, don't forget as Peg and Jim note below (and already mentioned on several earlier Net postings), that the Dismal locks are currently only operating twice a day!

Sanctuary and crew decided to travel the Dismal Swamp Route south this fall. To avoid the morning bridge restrictions on the Elizabeth River, we spent last night on the hook at the Deep Creek lock. There were several other boats there with us. As of today, there are two lockings per day; 09h00 and 15h00, at both Deep Creek and South Mills. We were the third boat in line at the lock, and we passed a sailing cat because they were stopping at the North Carolina Visitor's Center and we weren't. We followed the first boat (trawler) at a distance of about 1/2 mile. We traveled between 6 and 7 mph.
The canal from South Mills to the "Administrators House" has been dredged, and we saw nothing less than 8 1/2 feet of water. South of the "Administrators House," we saw areas of 7 ft. The rest of the route to Elizabeth City held at least 7 ft.
There are a lot of dead heads, and a lot of flotsam. We saw one 15" diameter by 10 ft free floating log. We bumped something once, but at slow speed so no damage. Stay alert!
The lockmaster at Deep Creek (not Robert) said the reason for the restricted locking schedule was a fire in the swamp in May that severely depleted Lake Drummond's huge water reserve. The lockmaster at South Mills confirmed that, but said the folks at Great Bridge "were totally swamped" with traffic because of the Dismal Swamp restrictions, and said he'd been told they would go back to 4 locking per day "next week." Those of you headed south who might be interested in the Dismal Swamp route should keep an eye on that.
We were warmly welcomed at Elizabeth City. The Rose Buddy party is still running under the auspices of the Visitor's Welcome Center. It starts at 16h30 weekdays. All the slips were full when we arrived, but there was space at the wall to the southwest. No problems.
Others will disagree, but we heartily recommend "the swamp" to those who might not have tried it. It's a very lovely trip; some of the wildest country on the A-ICW, and no go fast boats!!! Go slowly (placidly); you will be rewarded with nature at it's best and no damages to props. Peg and Jim Healy, aboard Sanctuary currently at Elizabeth City, NC