Pushing on

Sunday, August 17^th, we are up and on the move by 08:30. It’s 10 miles to Lock 20 where we tied up in order to fill up our water tank before proceeding…it’s our first lock downward. We move into the lock, grab the ropes provided and get into position…no pushing off the wall, it’s quite easy as the water drains we move downward gently…ha, what a pleasure that was compared to the physical struggles with the current of water rushing from below in the UP Locks.

The DOWN side of the canal is quite brown and silty; this part of the canal is about 100ft wide, mostly straight, about 15ft deep. There are sections that are about 10ft, sometimes 8ft; we actually went through a section today with depth of only 6’2”, our draft (from water level to the bottom of our keel) is only 5’9”…that’s cutting it close. There happened to be a dredging machine located right there…if it wasn't Sunday we would probably see it in action. 

The locks and canals are probably the most physically demanding portion of this whole trip…but that remains to be seen.  And with the congestion on deck and in the cockpit with the mast etc. we have become pretty bruised, scrapped and sore muscles…I've contemplated wearing my bike helmet after hitting my head on a bolt on the radar dome that sits above the helm.

It’s not most of the time, but 100% of the time, both Julie and I are sitting in the cockpit - either steering, looking at the charts, watching for the next red or green buoy or doing something pertaining to the daily trek. We hear the odd gunshot in the distance…still waiting to hear that stray bullet go overhead, we even saw a Bald Eagle (our first ever) come out of the trees just in front of us…what a wing span!

Lock 17 has the greatest vertical drop (lift for west bound traffic) at 40 feet. When you’re at the bottom of this cravenness hole, slimy walls on all four sides with heavy duty mechanical mechanisms moving, it echoes and is quite eerie. Instead of doors that swing open it has a metal gate that lifts overhead, then drips water (lots of water) as you pass underneath. (Julie read this in the notes…so we were prepared)

This was our longest day yet, we travelled 45 miles in 9 hours…it’s physically and mentally taxing as it is not only driving, we’re studying the charts, etc. When we passed through Lock 16 and tied up to the south wall just east of the lock we were ready for a dock drink. This docking would not be normal, the wall was about 8 feet high, the wall is about 4.5 feet above the deck, and with the current it becomes one last challenge before ending our day. (The nice thing was there were showers at this stop…so  Dwayne said he’d go get the key, shower and return….he asked me if I’d stay with the boat….ummmm seeing as I’d need a ladder to climb that wall….

I was quite content to stay put…which I did the entire time we were at this stop. Because we had just watered up earlier that morning….I was good to have a bath on board (A luxury I totally enjoy))….I was even fortunate enough to have a glass of red wine delivered to me while I relaxed…..We want to leave by 08:30 before the lock releases its first load of 22,000,000 gallons of water and the resulting current stresses our lines and us.

I called in to CBP to check-in; Officer Dandrow asked, “why I was calling in, I only need to call in as I pass from region to region not every time I stop for the night, call in next from Albany, NY”. If you recall, this is contrary to what Officer Hubert told me which I mentioned. He said we have a lot of new staff that don’t know the law. I made note of date, time, name and what was said as we are instructed by our guide books and other cruisers…if you don’t hear from us again, we’re in Guantanamo Bay.

Despite the wall one needs to scale to go ashore, it was a beautiful stop...