It was still nice and relaxing though but then we weren't navigating the boat! 😁

Right, at the open sea we don't need to spend much efforts on the navigation - it's just to enable the autopilot and look out every now and then that we (still) aren't about to collide with anyone or anything - but following the channel we actually have to sit by the rudder most of the time. We should generally stay as far to the starboard as possible, but not too close to the edge. Well, I put on the depth alarm to warn us if we were approaching the boundaries and since the channel is mostly straight it was possible to use the autopilot sometimes. However, the auto pilot cannot be trusted. With much thrust on the engine, should the auto pilot suddenly shut down unexpectedly, the rudder tends to turn over rather fast - if one isn't right nearby the rudder when that happens the boat can crash directly with the embankment. We were once witnessing a rescue operation in Oslo where this probably had happened with a bigger commercial traditional sailing ship (or, "party boat" as I like to call them, as they can be chartered and otherwise transports tourists, and never set sails). We didn't use that much power on the engine, and I did sometimes leave the steering position to stand out on the deck.

We had a small incident by one of the sidings. I was sitting by the rudder, had enabled the autopilot, had ensured the course was good for a full kilometer (past all the siding area), sat reading the map without paying much attention. My wife was also sitting in the cockpit without paying attention. After one or two minutes while I was deeply concentrated in the paper map ... bang! Our starboard side had crashed with the first of those poles in the siding.

Luckily, on this channel crossing we got a helping hand ...