There is a difference between the tides and the currents in the Canal. The current turns East about two hours before low tide. Today (Sunday) for example, low tide at the East End of the Canal was at 6:45 AM, but the slack tide turning East was at 4:53. There is an excellent software for tracking tides and currents called (surprisingly enough) Tides and Currents. Their web site www.tides.com/nsi.htm gives you access to tide charts anywhere in the U.S.