DAY THIRTEEN - TARBERT TO CRINAN

My usual routine of pulling back the curtains in the morning hoping for sunshine has been replaced by waking up and listening for wind.  Sunshine and rain have definitely taken second place on this trip as what really makes the difference between a comfortable day and a challenging one is the strength of the wind. This morning I could definitely hear the wind whistling around the hotel, and I knew we had made the right call to abandon our original plan to travel up the outside of the Mull of Kintyre and instead to cut through the Crinan Canal.

Our short run from Tarbert to Ardrishaig, the start of the canal, was an exciting start to the day with a Force 5 south-westerly wind behind us.  We all felt relieved that we weren't tackling the much longer outside route in these conditions.  The scenery, despite the slightly murky conditions, was still spectacular, and if anything, more atmospheric with the hints of autumn colours just coming through the misty air.  One definitely felt this was Scotland!

Our start up the Crinan Canal was slightly delayed when the Lock Keeper wasn't able to operate the swinging bridge immediately after the first lock, which apparently happens in strong winds.  After a slight delay we were on our way, and having a crash course in lock operating!
Si and Anthony stayed on the boats, moving them slowly between the locks (there is a 4 knot speed limit in the canal), whilst the "Land Team" walked up the tow path between the locks, and were able to prepare each lock in advance, a very efficient system which saved us a lot of time.

Teal & ConTTentment in the lock waiting for the sluice gates to open

Unfortunately, whilst we were protected from the wind, nothing could save us from the rain - and we had it by the bucket load.  Absolutely torrential rain fell for the first half of our journey, which was a shame, as we could all appreciate that in better conditions the canal trip would be quite magical.   None-the-less, the scenery was very pleasant, despite the rain, and having learnt the hard way earlier in the trip the importance of dressing correctly in the morning, we were all well protected by our oilskins.

Dressed for the weather and travelling up the Crinan Canal

Autumn hues and pretty - even in torrential rain

A fantastic piece of logistical planning materialised at Lock 9 when Guy Berncastle arrived to replace Dick and Lucy as Si's crew.  He arrived at Lock 9 in a hire car from Oban (having left the day beofre from Cornwall!), and there was a very slick changeover when Dick and Lucy then stripped off their oilskins to drive the hire car back to Lancaster.
With Guy now on board, we continued on our way up the canal, luckily meeting up with a yacht travelling in the same direction, which increased the number of "land crew" available to operate the lock gates.  I was starting to wonder if the term "put your back into it" had its origins with lock keeping, as we were taught by the lock keeper at Ardrishaig the best way to move the incredibly heavy lock gates was to lean against them.  After 14 locks I almost had the knack!

Putting your back into it!

The afternoon brightened as we proceeded along the canal, but even so, we were all relieved to finally reach our destination of Crinan.  It had taken us about 6 hours to travel less than 20 miles!  The last two locks on the Crinan are mechanically operated by the lock keeper, so I was very happy to be stood down as "land crew" and sent to check in to the Crinan Hotel where we are spending the night.  The rather unprepossessing view of the hotel lock-side is more than made up for by the view from our bedroom window, and we are all looking forward to a good night's rest before heading to Tobermory tomorrow.

The view from our bedroom window at the Crinan Hotel