The day dawned with no hint of all the wind we have been seeing for the last few days. Lock 14 was just a few minutes from our dock and when we were locking through the dock master came over to talk to us. He mentioned that we were obviously waiting out the weather as we were visible from the lock. Some of the people that locked through in the last couple of days had some major issues in the lock. He told us that when the boats came up in the lock the wind would catch them and of course you are simply holding onto the lock lines. A few of the boats that were short handed ended up getting pulled off the lock wall and got blown sideways until they fetched up at the end of the lock.
Wind pressure (Psf), = .00256 x V^2 (V= wind speed in Mph). Lets assume a 30 mph wind……
Wp(Psf) = .00256 * 30^2 = 2.3 Psf. A Pilgrim has conservatively 300 square feet of “sail area”. 2.3 Psf * 300 ft^2 = 690 lbs. Assume the wind is hitting at 45 degrees, 690 lbs * .707 = roughly 500 lbs. With two lines, that is 250 lbs/line. Yep, I am sure the Mate can hang onto a line with a 250 lb load and not get pulled off the boat. Thanks, but no thanks.
This is more like it (wind-wise).
Check out all the flotsam in front of our bow in Lock 17. This is the lock that requires you to use the south wall, in our case port side to. The currents in here are intense with the boat being firmly pined to the wall while the lock is filling. The reason you can’t used the north side is the the lock fills from that side and would simply sweep you off the wall in spite of your best efforts.
This railroad bridge crosses the canal at quite an angle right before you enter Lock 19.
On the wall at Rome.
We had hoped to tie up the “promised” new docks that would also have power in Rome. Well, we see that the mayor that was running for election when he told us this was the plan for 2016 didn’t get re-elected. Maybe the new mayor has other ideas because there is no sign of any new docks with power, of course 2016 isn’t over yet. You can’t tell by looking at the photo but we are a few feet from the wall. There are a ton of rotten pilings outboard of the wall with rotten fendering outside of the piles. Getting on an off the boat is a real trick. However, we are plugged into power that is being paid for by the state at the moment so we will not complain too much.
Today: 47 nm in 9.2 engine hours. 7 locks. Total: 4189 nm.
Dave
Life aboard LIBERTY 