A Tidewater Paddler: Gray's Creek/James River 7-10-16

Looking for someplace new to paddle, I decided to try the public boat ramp on Gray's Creek in Surry County on Marina Dr. The ramp is relatively new, and in fact, an on-line exploration couldn't definitively tell me if it was even open yet. I took my chances and found a busy concrete ramp, and a very full parking lot. I had to unload my kayak and gear at the ramp, and then head back up the hill to park in an auxiliary lot. Immediately adjacent to the ramp is the Surry Seafood Co. which has a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a large outdoor deck overlooking the creek, and a full bar. According to their web site, overnight accommodations are available, and there are plans for a bait and tackle store, as well as a marina.

I left the ramp heading right (due north) towards the mouth of the creek. I crossed the creek to a large brackish marsh, where wild rice and other grasses were swaying in the light breeze, while red-wing blackbirds sang, and pickerelweed bloomed. The marsh gave way to a more wooded shore, where it seemed every available dead tree had an osprey pair nesting in it; I have never seen so many on one trip. One pair made a home on the ruins of an old pier near the mouth of the creek. Many of the piers pilings lie just below the water at high tide. There is a bluff where Gray's Creek and the James River meet, and where large chunks of gray rock have tumbled into the water. In these chunks were masses of fossilized shells from when this place was at the bottom of a warm shallow sea, 4-5 million years ago.

After passing a large private beach, I explored Black Gut Creek and several of its twisty, cypress-lined branches. Rounding Swan Point I was fully out in the James, directly across from Historic Jamestown. I hauled up onto a sandy beach near Black Gut Creek for lunch and a swim, while the Jamestown/Scotland ferries were busy shuttling people and cars from one side to the other (the ferry remains one of Virginia's best free rides). Heading home I crossed the mouth of Gray's creek where there were more beaches, and where several parties of local boaters were enjoying the water. Heading back to the boat ramp I passed several homes with docks; all seemed to be occupied with families enjoying the beautiful day. As I paddled it the trip was about 5.5 miles.