On Thursday we continued along the canalised River Aisne through dense riverside woodland which alternates with swathes of enormous corn fields where the farmers are busy harvesting. The waterway is getting narrower every day and now the locks seem to be shrinking too. Lobelia is 39m x 5.05m and the locks are now exactly the same size. Fenders cannot be used as there is no room for them. Andy has nerves of steel and is brilliant as he lines Lobelia up for the lock whilst lock officials and locals stare.
Thankfully the lock with the low bridge did not have any onlookers, though I did have the video camera running when the wheelhouse roof wedged under the bridge. Andy had to use a bit more throttle than he preferred in an effort to make the stern dip down into the water so that Lobelia’s wheelhouse could squeeze under the bridge. We took refuge in the lock and dismantled the wheelhouse.
On Friday evening we moored on a disused commercial quay which was partially covered and meant that we did not have to rebuild the wheelhouse. On the opposite bank was a massive silo and tractors trundled in and out continuously with trailers of freshly harvested grain. We watched them for hours and discussed designs for a temporary low level waterproof wheelhouse.
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