After another long/short day we are at a dock in a really nice marina that isn't mind boggling expensive. A bit of change from those south of the northern border of the US. We have a reservation for two nights. But weather may dictate that we take advantage of one more day without a forecast for storms to get back to moving along come morning.
Though spending more time in the canal was part of the reason for another long day, the real reason was that I was in a bit of a rush to get going this morning. I really want to have the canal behind me as soon as possible. I know hundreds of people have used the canal without a problem. We have used the canal (so far) without a problem. But it is an experience I am not enjoying. Go slow, keep it in the middle of the channel as much as possible, try not to let the depth gauge spook you too much, and it is still a roll of the dice if you hit something or not.
I am not a gambler. In my mind planning and skill should all but eliminate luck. That is not how it works in the canal. So I am on edge every minute we are in there.
In an attempt to get out of the canal as soon as possible, we had spent the night on the departure end of the lock, not needing to wait until it opened at 0900 to lock through and be on our way. First Light was underway with the fog still hanging over the surface of the water. What we weren't was on the departure side of a swing bridge that wasn't very far away. One that didn't have a bridge tender on site until 0900. Something Deb figured out while reviewing the route after the lock wall was well to our stern down the canal I really didn't want anything to do with. She usually reviews the route in detail either the night before or the morning before we leave. But we were exploring last evening and I was being a bit...insistent...this morning about getting going ASAP. We did get ourselves out of the canal pretty early. But having discovered that a swing bridge less operator was blocking our path, we sort of power drifted across the first lake of the day, averaging about a half a knot. We still managed to float up to the bridge a few minutes before there was anyone around to make it swing. So I got to play with power and rudder settings while moving at a snail's pace across a dead calm lake. And I have to admit, bad planning or not, being out of the canal made me smile. Unfortunately, more canal lies in our future. But at least I got a break from it for a good part of today.
You gotta look at the good side...
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