Okay okay, I screwed up. So the Mirkwood elves do visit Esgaroth from time to time, and the fact that they are willing to eat with men probably means they're comfortable enough to let them visit Mirkwood to re-deliver the full barrels, or, at least to borrow ships for the return journey The river flow thing is still there, if the tide brings the barrels down, you need a boat to bring them back up, unless the elves pole the whole way back. And even them, you'd need a raft apart from the empty barrels,a raft made of full ones would presumably sink (unless the elves have all of the barrels only filled about half way, so there is enough air left to keep them bouyant.
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