The lock keeper at Torksey said that high water would be at 12:30, so we should set off at twelve, then push against the rising tide for about an hour. This would give us a bit more time to get to Keadby. The lock at Keadby can only be used for about 5 hours either side of high water. But this is further restricted at the moment because a sandbank has built up at the entrance limiting the usable depth of water.
So we set off at 12:00, I called the Keadby lockie to tell him we were on our way. He said “Well dont hang about as the sandbank is building. I thought you were going to leave at 11:45 !”
For about the first hour we could only make about 3.6mph (by our GPS). We were pushing quite hard and the engine temperature was rising. Then suddenly as the tide turned we were doing 7.5mph!.
We reached Keadby just after 4:30. Getting into the lock entrance was REALLY tricky. As well as the sandbank the main river current flows right across the lock entrance, pushing the boat to the left. I managed to get in with only just nudging the side.
We are now back on canals, until the last stretch up the Ouse to York