Three Men, and Nary a Captain Have We

Well, that is to say that none of them wants to wear the captain’s hat—all are willing to steer the boat, and a fine job of it they are doing, now that they have figured out how to steer a 70-foot boat down a canal. As I write this, we just came up to a small section that is barely wider than the boat, and we’ve smacked the cement bulkhead just in front of it. I must say, this is somewhat reminiscent of our own boat stories…

This boat is gorgeous, inside and out. Very long, and about 6 feet wide, the dining table and galley are at the front. Three double beds are staggered behind the galley, with two heads conveniently sprinkled in between. There is so much storage that I just unpacked our suitcase completely into drawers and closets. The boat is furnished with cookware and dishware, and has a small refrigerator.

Our initiation into incredibly long boats included a number of tunnels. The first one was really long, dark, and windy. Dad was steering at the time, and we couldn’t see daylight at the end. It was so dark I couldn’t find the headlight. Bob and Paul were on the roof of the boat (you can walk from the back to the front on the roof). The tunnel got more and more narrow (and those of us with claustrophobic tendencies got more and more nervous), and then finally it widened, we turned yet another corner, and came out of the tunnel.

The boat moves pretty slowly (max. 6mph, and we NEVER go near that speed). JoDee and I got out of the boat to walk with the dogs. Suddenly, the canal went through a tunnel. No problem—we’d meet them on the other side of the tunnel. Unfortunately, the tow path did something else, and we got a little lost. In an attempt to veer off the path towards where the canal must surely be, we ended up traipsing through a bunch of think, high blackberry bushes and stinging nettles. I was wearing shorts, and the nettles stung my legs clear up to the thigh. VERY uncomfortable for both of us. We kept pushing on, and eventually came back to the canal, and there was our boat.

We’ve been through a number of locks today, but they aren’t much like the Ballard Locks we’re used to. They are a few inches wider than the boat, and almost exactly the same length of the boat. So far, the ones we’ve been through have been all self-operated. When you reach a lock, a few people get off the boat and lower gates, open gates, crank walls up and down, and then leave it ready for the next boat. It’s a little bit of work, and sometimes there are 4 or 5 locks in a row—as soon as you get out of one set, there is another waiting for you.

We assumed that we would find a pub in time for dinner, but it didn’t happen. There is a pub, but it’s a quarter-mile away. Bob and I walked to it, just to make sure we knew where it was, but Mama wasn’t up to a walk that far, so we barbequed at the boat, and settled in for the night, just tied up along the canal.