Mon, Tues, Wed July 24-26 Lock 20
The rain starts at 0300 and is still falling at a steady pace and continues throughout the morning. Tom is bored so he works on the engine and Colletta is back at the computer doing updates. In this area, there is no Internet, so we read and fill our time. We hesitate to travel because we have 3 more locks to go thru within the next 3 miles and we would be standing in the rain getting soaked and cold - not fun for us or the lock hands. We just sit and wait. It rains all day long - 12 out of 14 hours, over 4 inches and the canal water continues to rise. We didn't know it at the time but this stop on the lock wall will be our home for 3 days.
Tuesday we watch as the park, lock hands remove 4 logs from a dam wall to increase the flow of the water to reduce its height. We are at one dam with one dam north of us and one dam south of us. The boats are told "do not move or plan to go anywhere" as the current in this area is now strong and dangerous. As the sun comes out in the afternoon, we get on the bikes and ride 3 miles into the town of Merrickville. A small, nice town at the top of the first waterfall. We wander the town, visiting shops, watching the locks and waterfall, and eat a late lunch. Back at the boat we relax on the back deck and enjoy the evening playing cards.
Wednesday brings another adventure on the lock wall. The lock hands are removing another log in the wall and more water is going to be released above the lock. In the process of removing the log from the dam the chain breaks leaving the log attached at only one end. Good news.. the log is out and the water is being released, bad news is the log will daggle there over night attached only on one end, stuff happens. The lock staff doesn't seem to concerned and head off to another dam. so we will be here another day. Not a bad thing for us. We are safe, secure and only a 3 mile bike ride into town which we do again today - just to get off the boat, see what is going on and to have a rhubarb butter tart - delicious. Docktails on the back deck as it starts to rain again and we just wait patiently and see what will happen next.
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| Raising one of the logs out of the dam. |
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| Another log coming out of the dam.... no problem |
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| And then the chain breaks.....a 2,000 pound log dangles by one hook in the raging torrent of water.... no problem |
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| This is the pin they catch with the hook to raise and lower the logs into the dam |
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The end of the chain missing the hook.
2 logs out and adjusting the winches the lock tenders
use to raise and lower the logs
The drain the water down on the lock when they
leave for the night so "stupid people (their words)
don't use the lock as a swimming pool
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