Loch Fyne / Clyde June 2011

Clyde Cruise Friday 13^th of July to Sunday 15^th July 2011

Setting sail on Friday the 13^th???

With good weather forecast and two night’s accommodation booked ashore at the Portavadie Marina, the forthcoming Clyde Rally looked as though it would be a good weekend.

The rally was planned to cater for those wanting to sail for a weekend and those who were going on to sail for a full week, taking in more of the Clyde Coast and the Kintyre Peninsular. Due to work commitments we could only make the weekend, much as we would have liked to go for the full week. Setting out on a Friday did suit us as Kathleen does not work on Fridays (she does make up for it by working extended hours during the week).

I am happy honestly!

Friday 13^th of July

Arriving at Large Marina we made use of their wide and shallow slipway to launch Braveheart before parking the car and trailer in their very big yard / hard standing area. The car and trailer would stay there for the weekend. This was part of the twenty pound launch and recover fee.

With the other boats already rigged we set off at 9.00am to catch the tide that would assist us all the way through the Kyles of Bute (incoming)– our arrival at Colintraive and the Burnt Islands should coincide with slack water allowing time to stop for lunch before heading south towards the Sound of Bute assisted by the outgoing tide.

Entering the Kyles

Setting off under a fickle south / south westerly wind we made slow progress across the Clyde past Cumbrae and on towards Bute. With progress slow a number of boats chose to start their engines and progress under motor, however as we were in no great rush we chose to wait and see if the wind picked up. We were rewarded by the stirrings of a wind which allowed us to sail to within a mile or so of our planned lunch stop before it died altogether and we had to start our own engine. 

Bemused crew - why is the jib on the deck?

For lunch we rafted up with the other boats in a small by just to the east of the Burnt Islands – a pair of islands which lie in the middle of the Kyles and which split them into the east and west Kyles. The east Kyle (An Caol an Ear) runs from Rothesay Bay north west up to the Burnt Islands and the island of Eilean Dubh. The west kyle (An Caol an Iar/An Caol Ceathrach) runs from here south west, past the village of Tignabruaich out to the Sound of Bute. 

After lunch we motored on as the little wind that there was against us and we wanted to pass the Burnt Islands and turn southwards to catch the tide and hopefully a better wind.

Approaching Tignabruaich the wind began to pick up and soon we were skelping along under full sail beating towards the end of The Kyles and the entrance to Loch Fyne. By now a number of boats had again decided to motor as it was getting late in the afternoon and we still had a good few miles to go, however we kept going under sail power, eventually arriving at Portavadie long after everyone else and in the gathering darkness.

Portavadie Marina

While I secured Braveheart for the night, Kathleen went to find our accommodation which was an almost new luxury studio apartment in the marina complex (There is a plus side to not having a cabin at times!)

Miles sailed  - 37

Saturday 14^th of July

After a long day on Friday Stuart the rally organiser suggested that we day sail locally with the option of sailing over to Tarbert a small fishing town on the other side of Loch Fyne. As we have many memories of Tarbert and have been there countless times but always by road, we decided that Tarbert was the destination for us. An added incentive was the annual town fair which was being held and which we would see if we were there in the afternoon.

On Loch Fyne

After sailing around on Loch Fyne for a couple of hours we headed into Tarbert for lunch, tying up at the towns new marina which had been developed to combat the decline in fishing and ship building / repairs.

Entering West Loch Tarbert

Tarbert was alive with both locals and tourists and no sooner had we walked out of the marina than we met a good friend who we had not seen for a couple of years. After exchanging pleasantries we arranged to meet him for a drink that evening at his holiday house which turned out to only a few hundred yards from the marina at Portavadie.

After lunch and a walk around Tarbert we set off back across to Portavadie where we would be staying again that evening. With Braveheart again moored alongside a pontoon we enjoyed a pre dinner drink with our friends, before joining the crews on the Rally for a magnificent dinner in the Marina’s restaurant.

 Miles sailed - 15

Portavadie looking out to Loch Fyne

Sunday 15^th of July

With work the next day we left the marina early after saying our goodbyes. Of all the boats taking part we were the only boat heading home today, Another two would head back on the Monday with the rest cruising for the duration of the next week (lucky them!).

Making the most of the strong westerly wind we fairly flew back down Loch Fyne with the wind behind us before we turned northwards into the Kyles of Bute. Once in the Kyles we kept the wind on our quarter until it finally dropped as we approached the Burnt Islands again. After a short motor we again caught the wind which stayed behind us all the way back to the Marina at Largs.

Miles sailed 33.5

Total Miles sailed 85.5

Loch Lomond 2010

Loch Lomond -  September 2010

We decided that it may be worth going along to a Drascombe Association Rally to see what it was all about. The attraction of the Association was the pretty full and varied events calendar that they ran annually which would potentially allow / encourage us to sail in new waters. From my brief contact with Niall Wardrop (the Association’s Scottish Representative) when I was looking for information on Luggers during the period of Bravehearts’s rebuild a favourable impression of the Association had been made. So we thought let’s give it a go and see what it is all about.

The Loch Lomond Rally which was the last rally on the 2010 calendar, was being held during the second weekend in September. As Loch Lomond is fairly local for us we arranged to go along on the Sunday and sail with the rally for a day.

Arriving at Millarochy Bay on the east side of Loch Lomond early we pulled on to the beach to start rigging. A couple of other boats were already there. Shortly after our own arrival, other boats were arriving by water having spent the previous night at anchor amongst the nearby islands.

We were soon talking to the other crews who were interested not only in who we were but where we got our trailer – Braveheart travels on an ex MOD “Rigid Raider”, which is well engineered (over?) has a break back facility and complete with Landrover wheels was bigger than any of the other trailers there.

The sail planned for the day was to Luss for lunch / ice creams. Luss is on the west side of the loch and is visible from Millarochy Bay about three miles away between the islands of Inchlonaig and Inchconnachan.

With the wind generally blowing from the east we would be able to run to Luss but our return would involve beating up wind.

Once launched we set sail and quickly found ourselves at the head of the group. Not wanting to arrive first we headed to the right of Inchlonaig and continued north to pass behind Pilot Rock one of the Ross Islands which lie just south of Ross Point, before turning back towards Luss. A number of other boats had followed a similar course but turned back for Luss before reaching Pilot Rock. With our Batten Roach Main and mizzen sails, it appears that Braveheart has a pretty good turn of speed for a Drascombe! Our non direct rout gave us a 5 mile sail to get to Luss and we arrived about the same time as the boats which had taken the more direct route.

Lunch was a pleasant hour or so spent on the beach eating our sandwiches after which we had a quick walk around Luss. Everyone on the Rally was friendly and obviously shared a common interest in Drascombe boats. It was amazing to see the interest that other visitors to Luss took in the boats as the wooden masts and tan sails attracted a lot of attention.

After lunch we headed back to Millarochy Bay taking a more direct route this time. Loch Lomond is famed for its ever-changing winds that are affected by the mountains around it and the islands on it. When sailing towards Inchlonaig we were tacking in a gentle breeze, however when passing between  Inchlonaig and Inchconnachan we were battling white horses and a wind that was gusting probably a force 5.

Back at Millarochy we thanked the organiser for having  us and said our farewells. No doubt we would be attending some more rallies in the future

Rosneath to Port Bannatyne 2011

Rosneath to Port Bannatyne - September 2011

With the cancellation of the 2011 Loch Lomond Rally, we were invited to join two other Drascombes for a weekend’s sail from Rosneath down the Clyde to Port Bannatyne on the island of Bute. We would be sailing “Doon the Water”!

Friday 9^th September

Leaving Lenzie after work we trailed Braveheart our Drascombe Lugger down to Rosneath Castle Caravan Park via Kilgreggan where we briefly stopped to check into a local hotel where we stay that night. After checking in we took Braveheart along to the Rosneath Castle Caravan Park where Nigel Wardrop a fellow Drascombe sailor managed the sites slipway and boat park. We would be launching from here in the morning so we had arranged to rig Braveheart and leave her there on her trailer for the night. 

With Braveheart rigged we joined Niall and Nigel Wardrop and Bob and Margret Heasman with whom we would be sailing, for dinner at the campsite. After dinner we walked back to our hotel as Braveheart had no tent to sleep under.

Saturday 10^th September

Rising early we walked back to the campsite to load and launched Braveheart. Setting off pretty sharply (by Drascombe time) we headed out of the mouth of the Gareloch and into the Clyde. With force 2 / force south / south westerly winds forecast we should be able to sail most of the way to Port Bannatyne if the wind held.

Sailing down the lower section of the Clyde is something I have always wanted to do as Kathleen and I had previously paddled in Kayaks from Glasgow Green to Renfrew passing many famous industrial landmarks on the way. We had also paddled sections of the lower Clyde particularly its seas lochs but we had not as yet seen the stretch from Port Glasgow down from the water.

The lower Clyde gave us a fascinating sail as we passed first Greenock then Gourock, Dunoon, Inverkip, Wemyss Bay ……. All names steeped in the history of Glasgow and the Clyde.  The river had plenty of traffic as well which made it a very interesting sail.

The wind stayed with us until we reached Innellan which is a small village south of Dunoon on the west shore. With no wind we motored the last couple of miles to the marina at Port Bannatyne on the island of Bute.

Port Bannatyne started in 1801 with the building of a small harbour on Kames Bay. Lord Bannatyne of Kames Castle, at the head of the bay, planned the village in an attempt to rival Rothesay. Initially known as Kamesburgh, by the mid-19th century, steamers were calling there regularly In 1860 the Marques of Bute purchased this part of the island and renamed the village Port Bannatyne in honour of the long historical association of the Bannatyne family with the area. Boat building became an important local industry.

In 1879 a narrow gauge horse drawn tram linked Port Bannatyne with Rothesay. This was electrified and extended across the island to Ettrick Bay in 1902.

Port Bannatyne developed into the 20th century as a quieter alternative to Rothesay. In the Second World War midget submarines exercised in the bay and nearby Loch Striven.

Leaving Braveheart to fend for herself tied up alongside a marina pontoon, Kathleen and I went off in search of somewhere to stay for the night. Our previous uncertainty of destination had meant that we had been unable to book accommodation in advance.

We managed to get a room at the Port Royal Hotel. Although basic it was fine and we later met the others in the bar downstairs for dinner.

Miles sailed – 23.9 miles

Sunday 11^th September

Arriving at the pontoon on the Sunday morning after breakfast at the hotel we found Bob and Niall bailing out Braveheart. Bob had noticed that she had filled with water overnight and had filled to just below the top of the center board casing. Had she taken a few more inches of water the centre board slot would have been submerged which would have made emptying her more of a task.

Once the water level dropped we found the leak. A screw sized hole had appeared in the side of the centre board casing. We presume that the hole had gone un noticed when I replaced the keep strip and that it had been sealed with paint when the hull was re coated. The paint had obviously given way leaving a round hole some 8mm in diameter. This had been enough to fill the boat overnight.

Luckily Bob who must be one of the most prepared men to set sail on the Scottish Coast had some instant epoxy in one of his many boxed and this was successfully used to temporarily plug the hole.  I now carry instant epoxy as well just in case we need it or others need it again!

By mid morning were ready to set off back up the Clyde. With no wind we motored out of port Bannatyne, however a force 2 / 3 southerly wind soon filled our sails as we ran to the Cloch Lighthouse before we turned onto a reach that would take us all the way to Rosneath Point just short of our starting point the day before. As we entered the Gareloch we ran into a wind shadow created by the Rosneath Peninsular and so we started our outboard for the last few hundred yards back to the caravan park slipway.

We had an excellent weekends sail. The scenery was fantastic with the peaks of a number of mountains as a backdrop and with the industrial heritage of the Clyde in the foreground. Plenty of other vessels of all types had passed us going upstream, downstream and crossing back and forward between the east and west sides of the Clyde.

Miles sailed – 20.2 miles

Total Miles sailed – 44.1 miles

Loch Lomond 2012

Loch Lomond September 2012

This year we had taken on the roll of Rally Organisers. Having just started working overseas again I was fortunate enough to be able to arrange some leave to coincide with the Rally, however most of the organization was delegated to Kathleen.

Saturday

The planned meeting place was Millarochy Bay on the Saturday morning. With 5 boats confirming their attendance this would be a small rally but that suited us fine as new organisers. We had tried to arrange a group meal for the Saturday night, but a lack of uptake meant that we had to cancel this. Perhaps next year!

Setting sail for Luss

Setting off from Millarochy Bay in damp conditions, we headed to the right of Inchlonaig and continued north towards Ross Point, before turning back towards Luss, arriving just in time for the sun to come out.

Lunch was a taken on the beach talking to other crews. After lunch we had a very quick walk around Luss. As per the previous rally we had attended on Loch Lomond, it was amazing to see the interest that other visitors to Luss took in the boats as the wooden masts and tan sails attracted a lot of attention.

After lunch we headed east towards the island of Inchconnachan where we would temporarily leave the Rally as they were going to moor overnight in a sheltered bay while we were going to go home as I wanted to catch up on family whom I had not seen since earlier in the summer due to me having been abroad.

Sunday

Launching again on the Sunday morning we chose Balloch as our starting point as it would allow us to sail back with the boast which had launched there on the Friday evening. We planned to meet the rally boats as they crossed from Inchconnachan to Inchmurrin. As we passed the south tip of Inchmurrin we could see the other four Drascombes heading towards us. As we closed we all swung east towards the eastern end of Inchmurrin where we stopped in a bay for lunch.

Sunday Lunch

After lunch we headed back towards Balloch engaging in an unofficial race – well we were trying to sail better than other boats and I am sure they were doing the same.

More Sunday Lunch

This was our first Rally as organisers. It had been complicated by me as organiser being overseas but the effect of that had been negated by Kathleen doing what needed to be done. Numbers were lower than hoped but that may have been due to a) the weather and b) the cancellation of the previous year’s rally. Hopefully next year would bring more boats and we would get a group meal arranged for the Saturday night.

Loch Tay May 2011

Loch Tay 7^th / 8^th May 2011

Having never sailed on Loch Tay we thought this would be somewhere different to sail for a weekend with the added benefit of being only an hour and a half from home. Loch Tay was promoted on the DAN website as being “with quite deep water, islands, a river complex, good eating places, easy(ish) launch, accommodation and safe harbour- just add good company and some pretty boats with red sails.”

All this sounded good, so we cleared two nights from our diaries – not that we had anything else planned – and decided to go up on the Friday afternoon to make the most of the weekend

As the rally was to be based at Loch Tay Highland Lodges, I booked our accommodation for the weekend - “cosy octagonal woodland cabins with commanding views of the Ben Lawers mountain range and Loch Tay”.

Friday 6^th May

Leaving early from work we set off in good time, planning to stop off for a coffee and a walk in Callander before arriving at Loch Tay in the early evening. After a good walk along the side of the River Leny in Callander and an otherwise uneventful drive up, we arrived at the Highland Lodges site early in the evening as planned. After reporting to the site reception and collecting our cabin keys and decided to take Braveheart down to the beach / boat parking area, before doing anything else.

The Highland Lodges site is well laid out on a steep hillside. Our cabin was fairly high up on the hill giving us a good view over the loch. The boat park being at the water’s edge was a fair distance below us and accessed by a fairly narrow site road which was easy enough to trail the boat down.

The lodge itself was great and lived up to the sites advertisement.

After dumping our stuff in the lodge we walked back down to the boat parking area to step Braveheart's masts and to see who else was around.

Saturday 7^th May

Up early and after breakfast we drove back down to the water’s edge rather than walk, as Braveheart’s sails, rudder etc were still in the boot and we needed the car to launch her. While the other boats mainly launched from the beach relying on someone with a 4x4 to move their trailers, I decided that we would use a very steep looking slipway on the other side of the site’s restaurant area. This would allow me to launch Braveheart using our car. The slipway while very confined and very steep was manageable, but the interesting bit was the fact that the concrete stopped at the water s edge and the slipway continued using steel sheet piles laid flat making the alignment of the trailer wheels critical in order to avoid them falling off!

The morning briefing was attended by the crews of all 14 boats. The plan for the day was to set off up the loch (eastwards) past Gull island to a picnic spot on a secluded beach with a waterfall behind it.

Light winds were blowing during the morning but we made good progress towards our destination. Normally when we sail I try and match performance / speed against other boats as I enjoy seeing if we can beat the larger Drascombes (little do they know that they are racing). This is a constant source of amusement / annoyance to Kathleen as she simply just wants to sail and enjoy the day out. I imagine that a number of other helms must have the same idea and also must also annoy their crews by constantly trying to go faster.

The downside of trying to be first is that I eventually realised that I did not know where we were going or to which end of what beach the organiser had in mind. There was no sympathy from the crew offered, as had we just sailed with everyone else we would know where we were going !!!!! This necessitated a run back down the loch to mingle back in with the other boats, a number of which had dropped well back and were progressing under motor.

The beach when we arrived was all that it was said to be and while it was not sunny it was a pleasant afternoon to sit on the gravel and have our lunch before going to look at the waterfall.

After lunch, the wind picked up and we all enjoyed a good run back to down the loch and into the small and sheltered harbour which belonging to the Highland Lodges site, had been given over for our exclusive use for the weekend.

A group dinner had been arranged for the Saturday evening and despite sharing the venue with a wedding party we all enjoyed a great meal with some of our more sociable members even joining in with the disco.

Total Distance 10 miles (all under sail)

Sunday 8^th May

Sunday morning brought heavy rain and very little wind, however the afternoon’s forecast promised some better weather.

As we had sailed eastwards on the Saturday it was decided that we would sail westwards on the Sunday with the aim of reaching the village of Killin via the River Dochart which flows into the west end of Loch Tay.

In pouring rain we headed west under sail, but as we entered the river and our rudder and centerboard started to hit the bottom we decided that motoring the final ½ mile was a better option. A couple of boats did actually manage to sail all the way up to the old railway bridge just below Killin and I would take my hat off to them for that achievement.

Once at the railway bridge we were prevented from going any further due to the height of our masts so tying Braveheart to a handy tree, Kathleen and I walked into Killin to find morning coffee.

Running back down the river we were helped by what current there was. With the light wind swinging around during the late morning were able to sail back to the lodges easily if not quickly, but as the sun came out at least we were not sitting in the rain anymore.

Pulling Braveheart up the slipway certainly put a strain on the car’s clutch as our BMW is geared for top end performance and not torque at low speeds. We headed off home late on the Sunday afternoon after an enjoyable if wet weekend.

Total Distance 8 miles (6 under sail)

Total Distance for the weekend 18 miles under sail 1 mile under power

Forth and Clyde Canal September 2011

Forth and Clyde Canal  10^th Anniversary 24^th September 2011

With the 10^th Anniversary of the reopening of the Forth and Clyde Canal coming up, Kathleen was keen that we become part of the celebrations by joining in with the 80 plus boats which planned to sail from Speirs Warf in Glasgow through to the Falkirk Wheel over the course of two days. While this is not really my idea of Drascombe sailing, it would potentially be an interesting way to spend a Saturday and so plans were made for Braveheart to joining the flotilla for one day only. This would involve sailing (motoring!) from Speirs wharf to the Marina at Auchinstarry where the flotilla would stop overnight and where we would pull out and head home.

As most of the boats taking part were already in the canal, where to launch and where to recover were our first considerations. Luckily Kathleen through her work contacts with British Waterways was able to arrange for us to use the slipway at the Firhill Road Basin to launch and the slipway at Auchinstarry to recover. The seldom used access at Firhill slipway (behind the Partick Thistle football stadium) was dependant on an official from British Waterways meeting us at a given time and opening the barrier for 15 minutes to allow us to launch Braveheart. – you can see the potential for this to go wrong.

On the 24^th of September, having  already driven out to Auchinstarry to drop off Kathleen’s car we were  ready to go and we were sitting parked up at the slipway waiting for the British Waterways official at 6.50am. Having looked at the slipway I was having some doubts about whether the car could cope with the change in gradient (BW’s idea of a slipway is simply a very steep concrete slab running into the water). No consideration appeared to have been given to its use by anyone not driving a large tractor or military assault vehicle. Presumably this had been “designed” by one of the many “experts” employed by British Waterways on the Millennium Link Project 10 years ago when the canal was being re opened!

Much to my surprise, but I have to say not Kathleen’s, the official from British Waterways appeared exactly on time (7.15am) and with little bother he opened the barrier for us. My concerns regarding the car were borne out as we could not get onto the slipway due to the extreme change of grade at the top of it. Reverting to “Plan B” we let the trailer down the slipway using a length of rope taken twice around the swan neck under the tow ball. This provided an adequate friction brake to control the speed of the trailer.

Once afloat we tied Braveheart up to an adjacent pontoon. As one of many installed during the Millennium Project, it would be interesting to know how often – if at all – this one has been used?

With the boat in the water I set off back to Auchinstarry with the trailer which I would leave with the car there before driving back to Speirs Warf with Kathleen’s car. I would then walk / run back along the canal back to Firhill.

An hour or so later we set off from Firhill to motor the mile and a half back to Speirs Warf.

Speirs Warf was a hive of activity when we got there with boats of all shapes and sizes – but generally of the canal type- decked out in bunting, balloons and streamers. By comparison we probably looked very under dressed as we had not even taken our masts with us!

At 10am while various bands played on the banks, the 80 strong flotilla set off, slowly towards the east. Given our size and not wishing to be the filling in a boat to boat or boat to bank sandwich we felt it would be prudent to join in towards the back of the flotilla. During the course of the day and having witnessed in- numerable  boat to boat and boat to bank collisions we were happy to have made this strategic decision.

The trip along the canal in beautiful sunshine was slow and smelly. The normal still and placid canal waters had been agitated by probably 60 propellers by the time we came along, releasing all sorts of unpleasant smells  and garbage from the bottom. On a number of occasions we passed boats which were alongside the banks trying to untangle assorted rubbish from their propellers.

The canal took us through parts of Glasgow which we were perhaps not too familiar with – and which to be honest we probably do not want to be any more familiar with. In places local worthies added canal side colour by trying to teach the visitors from the east to speak “Weegie” while slugging down their cans of Special Brew.

With all the boats passing, it was a bad day for fishermen. Despite this there were a good number sitting along the banks giving weight to my theory that the fishing is secondary to getting out of the house and into the country for a day. As not many if any fishermen appear to take their wives with them, perhaps there is are other reasons to go and sit on your own in the country and enjoy the peace and quiet of a canal bank?

Once we reached the outskirts of Possil we were leaving the city behind us and moving more into open countryside. By the time we reached Bishopbriggs spectators were in greater evidence having come especially to watch the boats go by. This created a carnival atmosphere as spectators and boat crews cheered and waved as we passed under bridges or past groups of well-wishers.

By 13.00hrs we had reached Kirkintilloch where the planned lunch stop was. Being one of the smaller boats we were allowed to enter the marina and tie up alongside a pontoon. With an hour for lunch we set off at Kathleen’s suggestion to buy bacon rolls from Ghilonis café in Townhead. This I must admit was one of her better suggestions.

After lunch we rejoined the flotilla heading east towards their planned overnight stop and our final destination at Auchinstarry. When we set off again after lunch, we appeared (not deliberately) to have been inserted in within the first 30 or so boats. This proved to be beneficial in that they were more spread out and that we would arrive at Auchinstarry before the basin there became too busy.

The afternoon’s cruise was definitely along the better section of the canal as we were now out into open countryside with pretty decent views of the Campsie Fells on our left for a good part of the remaining journey.

Arriving at Auchinstarry we made straight for the slipway and had Braveheart out of the water and onto her trailer before most of the remaining boats had arrived. Strapping her down outside the “Boathouse” which is the marina’s pub / restaurant we decided that it was just too busy to go for what we felt was a well earned drink and so at 16.00hrs we set off back to collect Kathleen’s car and go home.

The canal journey was an “experience”. It was a great day out and took us to a bit of water that we would not otherwise have sailed (motored) along. So saying that while it was interesting to do it once I have no real desire to do it again, nor can I understand why anyone would want to go on a canal holiday and stay overnight on the canal within the boundaries of Glasgow City.

With all the amazing bits of water which are easily accessible within Scotland and while not belittling the efforts of the many enthusiastic and motivated British Waterway’s employees, volunteers and interest groups, I can only compare the Forth and Clyde Canal to a dirty ditch!

Mileage

  Firfill to Speirs Warf                     1     mile

Speirs Warf to Kirkintiloch          8.1 miles

Kirkintilloch to Auchinstarry       5.4 miles

Total       14.5 miles

Caledonian Canal June 2010

Caledonian Canal – West to East

This is a retrospective post about our first cruise with our Lugger Braveheart. The plan was to sail from Loch Linnhe a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland, through the Caledonian Canal to the Beauly Firth on the east coast. We had planned to take five days or so for the trip, travelling in relative luxury as we planned to stay in hotels or bed and breakfasts each night. This dictated where we would stay each night as we had booked our accommodation, which had to be near the canal, in advance!

Unfortunately last minute issues at work meant that I would have to drive back to Glasgow for a meeting on the Wednesday during our trip. While inconvenient this was manageable as we had a 9 day window (weekend to weekend) to complete the canal and if the weather allowed explore the Moray coastline when we reached the east coast.

About the Canal

The Caledonian Canal joins the west and east coasts of Scotland running some 60 miles (97 km) from southwest to northeast. Only one third of the entire length is man-made, the rest being formed by Loch Lochy, Loch Oich, Loch Ness, and Loch Dochfour  These lochs are located in the Great Glen - from the Scottish Gaelic - Gleann Albainn - meaning the "Glen of Scotland.

The Great Glen follows a large geological fault  known as the Great Glen Fault. It bisects the Scottish Highlands into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands to the northwest. This forms a truly magical route to sail along as the scenery is some of the finest in Scotland

There are 29 locks (including eight at Neptunes's Staircase, Banavie ), four aqueducts and 10 bridges in the course of the canal.

Canal History

The canal was built to provide a safe passage for ships travelling from the North Sea to the Atlantic coast. In the early 19th century it was a long and dangerous journey through the Pentland Firth and around Cape Wrath, made worse by the war with France. The project also provided much-needed employment to the Highland region. The area was depressed as a result of the Highland Clearances , which had deprived many of their homes and jobs.

Planning our trip

Our original plan was to launch the boat at Linnhe Marina on Loch Linnhe early on the Saturday morning, drive along the canal to Fort Augustus where we planned to leave the car and trailer and then get the bus back to Linnhe Marina. As we planned to get to Fort Augustus on the Tuesday, this would allow me to pick up the car on Wednesday morning to drive back to Glasgow, returning to Fort Augustus on the Wednesday evening. That would leave us Thursday and Friday to complete our journey through the canal to the Beauly Firth, at which point we would return to Fort Augustus by bus to collect the car before deciding if we were going to sail any further.

Saturday 18^th June 2010

Arriving early on the Saturday morning after driving up through the awesome scenery of Glen Coe we had Braveheart loaded afloat beside the pontoons at Linnhe marina by 10.00hrs and set off for Fort Augustus. Unfortunately however the A82 which is the only road between Fort William and Fort Augustus / Inverness was closed at Torlundy (just north east of Fort William) due to a serious road traffic accident. Having been advised by the police that the road could be shut for up to 5 hrs and with the only detour involving a further 100 miles or so of driving, we decided instead to leave the car and trailer at Corpach as we would be passing there the next day and we could at that stage decide if we wanted to move the car again on the Monday or whether we could get to Fort Augustus in time on the Tuesday to get a bus back and collect it then.

Having parked the car in a British Waterways car park at Corpach we enjoyed the walk back to Fort William  in glorious sunshine, where we caught  the bus to Ballachulish at the mouth of Loch Leven where it joins Loch Linnhe.

As we got off the bus at Ballachulish the heavens opened and a mini monsoon fell from the sky leaving us thoroughly soaked through with some 13 miles still to walk back to Port Appin where we had booked into the Pierhouse hotel for the night. Fortunately our luck that day was not all bad and a kindly local stopped to offer us a lift despite us being dripping wet.

		Sunday 19th June 2010  - Linnhey Marina to Corpach

The Pier House hotel is one of our favorite places to stay on the west coast. It enjoys an ideal setting at the shore end of a small pier from where the passenger ferry to the island of Lismore  departs from and returns to. Views from the hotel take in Lismore and the full panorama of Loch Linnhe from Corran to virtually the Sound of Mull. The food served is truly the best of local produce. This overnight stop I would stress is not our normal standard of accommodation and was really a luxury to get our holiday off to a relaxing and stress free start.

Leaving the hotel on the Saturday morning after a very filling breakfast we had a very scenic 3.5 mile walk in the rain back to Linnhe Marina where Braveheart waited patiently for us.

Setting off up Loch Linnhe we had the wind behind us so we made good time up to the mouth of Loch Etive where the wind shifted to the west. We had planned to reach the Corran narrows at slack water as the tide that flows through there at springs can reach approx 5  knots. Making better than planned progress down Loch Linnhe we arrived shortly before slack water and watched from a distance as we approached a yacht trying very unsuccessfully trying to sail up the middle of the channel against what must have been at least a 3 knot tide.

Having kayaked and windsurfed this area many years ago we were able to draw on our past experience and the shallow draft of the Lugger to sail up the eddy on the south west side of the narrows before nipping out into the reducing tidal flow and through the narrows without any problem. The yacht meanwhile was still manfully sailing mid stream and making no progress at all, although it did pass us later in the loch when the wind dropped away to nothing – the yacht it has to be said was at that point under motor!

By late afternoon we had reached the start of the canal at Corpach and after tying up to the visitor pontoon we went to the British Waterways office to book ourselves in.

At this point we had only sailed Braveheart two or three times and had not really thought about a name. When registering to use the canal one of the bits of information we had to give was our boat name. Before we left our daughter had suggested that we call the Lugger “Sleepy Rabbit” after her stuffed toy animal. Thinking that giving a boat name was just an unimportant part of filling in the form and not having time to think of anything else I simply put “sleepy rabbit” down as the name of our lugger. Little did I know that I would have to shout out the name when asked at every lock and bridge between Corpach and Inverness, much to the amusement of other boat crews.  Braveheart as we have now named her is at least better than “Sleepy Rabbit”!

In their canal brochure British Waterways advise that it is possible to transit the canal end to end in 2 ½ days. This is I believe very optimistic, especially in the summer months as we were told that we would be let into the basin that day but we would need to wait until Monday to start our transit and that we should be ready to leave at 7am along with a number of other boats who were waiting to go up Neptune’s Staircase.

Having planned to get as far as 3 miles down Loch Lochy to where we had booked overnight accommodation this was a bit of a setback, however as the car was parked only a couple of hundred meters away we could at least drive to our overnight stop. The down side was we would need to leave early the next morning without breakfast to get back to the boat.

Monday night was spent at the Riverside Hotel next to the A82 but with great views over Loch Lochy. The choice of accommodation in this area was very limited – well it was a choice of take it or leave it! While it was OK for a night, I do not think we will be rushing back!

Monday 20^th June 2010  - Corpach to Fort Augustus

This was a much longer day than we had planned due to not being allowed into the canal on the Sunday afternoon (thanks BW). Getting up at 6am we missed the hotel breakfast, but if it was as good as the dinner the night before it was not a great loss!

By 7am we were on board Braveheart and ready to go as requested by British Waterways as we would be joining the first group up Banavie Locks (Neptune’s Staircase) and they would be leaving sharp at 7am. At 8am we were still ready to go, as we were at 9am! We eventually set off at 9.30am having spent 2 1/2 hrs waiting on ??? (thanks again BW).

At only 18’ we were by far the smallest boat going through these locks. The skipper of a 33’ yacht which was returning to Findhorn after cruising the Western Isles suggested that we tie up alongside as that would make life a bit easier for us. Also going through the locks was a Swedish Yacht whose skipper was returning home after a single handed voyage back from south America. At 45 feet long he needed some assistance with his lines, so while Kathleen went to help him I sat on board talking to the couple from Findhorn while they kept supplying me with tea and biscuits – sorted!

All in all going up Neptune’s Staircase was pretty straightforward and involved no effort at all on my part. I think Kathleen had a pretty strenuous morning as the Swedish yacht that she was assisting  had enough ropes being passed back and forward to keep her busy – good crew training!

One thing that we were warned about on the passage up Neptune’s Staircase was the danger posed by hire boats. These 40 foot Tupperware monsters are rented to virtually anyone who can pay the weekly fee irrespective of how competent they are at controlling them. Any doubts we may have had at some of the stories that were shared with us were quickly dispelled when we reached the top of the locks as the first thing we saw was a hire boat stuck into the bank at 90 degrees – presumably the driver (I will not use the term skipper ) was trying to do a “u” turn, oblivious to the fact that his boat was longer than the canal was wide!

To a small boat the dangers of hire boats cannot be overstated and we learned very quickly to be the last boat into each lock as the hire boats tend to use anything in front of them as a brake! Being the filling in a hire boat / lock gate sandwich did not really appeal to us!

Once up through the locks we had a 6 miles or so of canal to motor down (no wind) before we reached Loch Lochy where we tied up to a pontoon at the mouth of the canal for lunch. After lunch with the sails up we enjoyed a leisurely sail or motor sail of some 8 miles to the locks at Lagan where we let a number of hire boat s enter before us. This proved a prudent move as the closed upstream lock gate got a good battering when it was used as a brake by a number of the boats!

After the Laggan Locks we passed through the open swing bridge carrying the A82 (the first of three times we would cross the A82 which is the main road leading from Glasgow to the north via the west coast) and into Loch Oich. Four and a half miles later we again passed through the open swing bridge carrying the A82 as we left Loch Oich and reentered the canal.

Just after entering the canal we came to the Kytra and Cullochy locks. These take the canal down from Loch Oich  to a section of some three miles leading to Fort Augustus where we were spending the night. As it was now after 6pm and with the locks now closed I left Kathleen to motor along to Fort Augustus while I ran back to the A82 to try and get a bus to Inverlochy from where I could walk  / run back to Corpach and pick up the car as I needed to leave Fort Augustus early the next day to get to a 9am meeting in Glasgow.

The car collected, I met Kathleen at the A82 road bridge where it crossed the canal again in Fort Augustus  and we set off to find our accommodation.

Our accommodation on the Monday evening was a really excellent B&B situated along a single track road about 3 miles south of Fort Augustus.

Tuesday 21^st June 2010 -  Fort Augustus

Leaving at 4am I was back in Glasgow in time for my 9am meeting and back in Fort Augustus by late afternoon. Driving through the Highlands at 4am in mid-summer when there is no one else around really takes some beating!  It was still a long day though!

Meanwhile in my absence Kathleen had decided to take Braveheart on her own down through the locks at Fort Augustus to the level of Loch Ness. This was really helpful as we hoped to sail all of Loch Ness and an early start would make a big difference to our day as again I would need to collect the car from Fort Augustus on the Wednesday evening.

We managed a bit of a walk along the canal and around Fort Augustus before dinner enjoying some late afternoon sunshine. Dinner was at the Boathouse loch side restaurant  lochnessboathouse.co.uk

Where we sat all evening looking out at the loch and enjoying some great food.

Wednesday 23^rd June 2010  - Fort Augustus to Loch Dochfour

We woke to the sound of heavy rain and after a great breakfast we set off to park the car and trailer in Fort Augustus and find Braveheart.

Crossing though the open road bridge carrying the A82 ( 3^rd time) we were soon on Loch Ness where there was not even a ripple. As we aimed to sail the full length of the loch to our next stop at the far end of Loch Dochfour some 23 miles away, this was not a great start! After drifting around for probably 30 mins or so while we watched the wind on the water about ¼ of a mile away we decided to motor across to it as it did not look as though it was coming to us.

With the wind finally in our sails and the outboard raised out of the water we started to make some progress down the lock. By late morning we were about 5 miles into this leg of our journey and the wind was starting to build. By noon we were surfing! With all sails up Braveheart was flying – with white horses behind and ahead of us and spindrift blowing from the water behind us giving Kathleen and I a good soaking!  As we raced down the loch we were hit by a sudden gust which took our mizzen mast overboard when the teak deck fitting which holds the mast broke. With the Mizzen mast and sail dragging behind us we were unable to turn into the wind to drop our mainsail and thus stop the boat. With great difficulty I managed to recover the mast and sail using the mizzen sheets while being conscious that we could potentially loose the mast and sail for good!

With the mast back on board we luffed up and dropped the main sail before heading towards the shore to find somewhere to have lunch and take stock of the damage.

It was fairly obvious that without the deck fitting putting the mizzen back up was not going to be easy. So we decided to continue after lunch under main and jib alone. The wind which had dropped off a bit was still behind us and we enjoyed a nice run down to Dorres at the end of Loch Ness where the wind dropped off to nothing.

Loch Dochfour is small narrow loch which lies at the end of Loch Ness and which forms the last loch on the canal. With no wind we motored the last mile or so to the pontoons at the start of the last man made section of the canal. Once tied up I left Kathleen to tidy the boat while I went to find yet another bus which would take me back to Fort Augustus and the car,

Wednesday evening was spent in a grand country house which did B&B near Dorres, We ate at the Dorres Inn (recommended) and went for a walk along the beach (Loch Ness).

Thursday 24^th June 2010 – Loch Dochfour to Inverness

With our broken mizzen mast and a poor weather forecast for the next few days we decided that we would complete our journey when we left the canal rather than venture along the Moray coast. Therefore Thursday would we thought be a short sailing day as we only had 6 miles or so to go to get to the Beauly Firth and a further 2 miles on the sea. First though we had to move the car and trailer to our planned get out point which was a public slipway at North Kessock on the “Black Isle” just across the Firth from Inverness.

The Black Isle is not really an island but is the name given to a peninsular of land on the other side of the Beauly firth from Inverness and is easily accessible via the Kessock Bridge (a 1056m long cable stay bridge).

After driving over the bridge and leaving the car and trailer next to the slipway in North Kessock we spent the next 2 1/2hrs walking the 9 miles back to the boat (going by water is shorter).

Leaving the pontoon at 11.00am we were at the last A82 road bridge by 12.00hrs. Unfortunately we were the only boat there and Mr. Awkward who operated the bridge would not open it for just on e boat so we were held there for nearly three hours until another two yachts came along. Although we had only  2 ¼ miles to go to get into the Beauly Firth, we still had to negotiate the 4 locks at Muirtown, the swing bridge on the A862, the Clachnahary Works Lock and the railway swing bridge before getting to the final Clachnaharry sea lock.

The canal locks close at 18.00hrs during the summer which theoretically gave us 3 hrs to get out of the canal, but amazingly the last opening time for the rail bridge was 17.00hrs leaving us an impossible 2 hrs to get out of the canal. Our plans for the day had been thrown in to disarray by the unhelpful bridge operator on the A82!

If we did not get past the railway bridge within the next two hours we were faced with having to spend a night in Inverness – not really a great hardship but we were reluctant to leave Braveheart in the middle of Inverness as we had no means of securing things on board nor did we really want to spend another 24 hrs just to complete the last mile of our trip as by now the weather was fairly miserable.

The eventual solution was to take Braveheart out at the slip way at Caley Marine which was beside the Muirtown Locks. This involved another 5 mile walk to get the car and a rush to get Braveheart out of the water while a really helpful manager stood patiently by with his keys waiting to lock up!

Once de-rigged we headed home arriving back in Lenzie around midnight.

Summary

Although we technically did not finish the planned trip as we stopped 1 mile short of the canal end we had a great few days and sailed a total of 80.3 miles in 4 days including 20.4 sea miles.

The damage to Braveheart was easily fixed by replacing the teak fitting with a much stronger piece of teak.

More about the Caledonian Canal

The first survey for a canal was carried out by James Watt in 1773, but it was the Caledonian Canal Commission that paved the way for the actual construction. On 27 July 1803, an Act of Parliament was passed to authorise the project, and the canal engineer Thomas Telford was asked to survey, design and build the waterway. Telford worked with William Jessop on the survey, and the two men oversaw the construction until Jessop died in 1814. The canal was expected to take seven years to complete, and to cost £474,000, to be funded by the Government, but both estimates were inadequate. 

Because of the remoteness of the location, construction was started at both ends, so that completed sections could be used to bring in the materials for the middle sections. At Corpach, near Fort William , the entrance lock was built on rock, but at the other end, there was 56 feet (17 m) of mud below the proposed site of the sea lock. Rock was tipped on top of the mud and was allowed to settle for six months before construction could begin. The ground through which the canal was cut was variable, and further difficulties were experienced with the construction of the locks, the largest ever built at the time. There were also problems with the labour force, with high levels of absence, particularly during and after the potato harvest and the peat cutting season. This led to bringing in Irish navvies to manage the shortfall, which led to further criticism, since one of the main aims of the project was to reduce unemployment in the Highlands.

The canal finally opened in 1822, having taken an extra 12 years to complete, and cost £910,000. Over 3,000 local people had been employed in its construction, but the draught had been reduced from 20 feet (6.1 m) to 15 feet (4.6 m), in an effort to save costs. In the meantime, shipbuilding had advanced, with the introduction of steam-powered iron-hulled ships, many of which were now too big to use the canal. The Royal Navy did not need to use the canal either, as Napoleon had been defeated at Waterloo in 1815, and the perceived threat to shipping when the canal was started was now gone. 

Before long, defects in some of the materials used became apparent, and part of Corpach double lock collapsed in 1843. This led to a decision to close the canal to allow repairs to be carried out, and the depth was increased to 18 feet (5.5 m) at the same time.

The work was designed by Telford's associate James Walker, and completed by 1847, but not all of the traffic expected to return to using the canal did so. Commercially, the venture was not a success, but the dramatic scenery through which it passes led to it becoming a tourist attraction. Queen Victoria took a trip along it in 1873, and the publicity surrounding the trip resulted in a large increase in visitors to the region and the canal. The arrival of the railways at Fort William, Fort Augustus and Inverness did little to harm the canal, as trains were scheduled to connect with steamboat services.

There was an upsurge in commercial traffic during the First world War when components for the construction of mines were shipped through the canal on their way to Inverness from America, and fishing boats used it to avoid the route around the north of Scotland. Ownership passed to the Ministry of Transport in 1920, and then to British Waterways in 1962. Improvements were made, with the locks being mechanised between 1964 and 1969. By 1990, the canal was in obvious need of restoration, with lock walls bulging, and it was estimated that repairs would cost £60 million. With no prospect of the Government funding this, British Waterways devised a repair plan, and between 1995 and 2005, sections of the canal were drained each winter. Stainless Steel rods were used to tie the double-skinned lock walls together, and over 25,000 tonnes of grout were injected into the lock structures. All of the lock gates were replaced, and the result was a canal whose structures are probably in a better condition than they have ever been.

The canal is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and attracts over half a million visitors each year. British Waterways, who work with the Highland Council and the Scottish Forestry Commission through the Great Glen Ways Initiative, were hoping to increase this number to over 1 million by 2012.