Hi glad you enjoyed Cardiff Bay,there used to be a booking procedure in the early days if i remember but that seems to have gone by the wayside,i know how frustrating it can be especialy in a small slow sail boat to book a lock and on the way to be overtaken by faster boats to fill the lock and then be forced to wait for the next one,also comercial operations seem to have priority i dont know how true this is though.but on the whole people still seem to be good mannered.