Out of the Fog, into the Lock

At daybreak Wednesday morning we and four other Looper boats left Columbus Marina and headed to the Heflin Lock just around the corner. Wispy fog had lifted in the marina, but as we moved toward the lock we hit river fog so thick that we had to come to a dead stop, get our bearings, and then creep forward with the help of depth sounder, GPS, and radar to avoid grounding in shallow areas near the marina or hitting the long concrete wall leading to the lock.

Vision is so important. We heard the diesel clatter of Osimo approaching from behind us, but could not see her. We knew the lock wall was very close, but could not see it. We inched forward. Lafayette friends Alan and Marti had joined us for a few days on the river, and Marti shared the above photos of her vision from R&R’s stern cockpit. Looper friends Pat and Marcia of Boyle N Water shared the photos below of R&R emerging from the fog and entering the lock.

Rhonda was feeling the effects of a cold, so Alan volunteered to stand in as first mate and succeeded in lassoing the bollard and securing R&R to the lock wall. As the song goes, “All is well, all is well!”