Our 7:30am plan for departure was delayed until 8:25am to give the sun an opportunity to burn off some of the gloom. Despite substantial fog (in my humble opinion) obscuring our view, the Captain gave the word to cast off, sun fighting to break through. In the soup, we made our way up toward Lock 18, 4 miles up the canal. I decided it was best for me to sit facing aft and read my book. After only a handful of marks moving tenuously, we are full steam with a clear view. You would have thought that I’d have learned by now that the Captain is always right!
Lock 18 turned out to be one of the nasty ones. It was only a 20’ lift but the current swirled from behind pushing the stern out and I was on a short line. I should have great pipes when we finish these locks but in fact, all I seemed to have earned is a sore back some nights after our passage.
The water is the colour of mud. Between the flooding from the storms and the dredging they are doing at intervals along the canal, the usually green water is brown and murky. What a contrast from my memories of the crystal clear azure blue waters of the Bahamas!
Lock 20 in our pocket and the good news is that they’re all downhill from here…woohoo!