Troon, our final destination for this year
Wednesday, 13th July 2022
We are now in Troon Yacht Haven having decided to come through the Crinan Canal in the end.
The reason why we didn’t go back around the Mull of Kintyre once more was that firstly the wind was blowing from the south-west (our direction of travel) and secondly the timing of the tide would have made us get up at 4:00 am to get around the headland in time…We didn’t feel so energetic so soon after COVID.
There is much to be said for the Crinan Canal. It was built just for that reason back in 1801!
To get there we made the same way through the Sound of Luing as we did before we arrived in Oban. We experienced the same whirlpools and very strong currents as we were passing near Corryvreckan apart from the fact that it was foggy, the visibility was down to 50 meters and it was drizzly all the way.
'Dreich' day... in Crinan
I must say that for me, this grey weather on that particular day marked the lowest point of our holiday. All that gorgeous yet hidden landscape!
That night and the following night, it was so damp inside the boat, that all the hatches were full of condensation and we were feeling the moisture in our bones!
We were waiting to leave on the 8th of July at 8:30 from the Crinan Sea Lock and spent the night in a very tight spot.
The Crinan Canal is not only very picturesque, but very convenient.
I cannot say that is was very easy. We did it with the help of a canal pilot whom you can hire to help you with the lines and
a rather tight spot!
locks, because we were only two on board. This particular canal offers very little help. There are 15 locks and several bridges which are mostly unmanned. One of the crew has to get on land, open and close the sluices and both locking heavy wooden or metal doors. The crew on board has to throw the lines (sometimes 13ft (4m) up) to the person ashore. It is very difficult to handle the bow line and stern line at the same time without scratching your hull against the lock walls.
Crinan Sea Lock
Stephan and I have gone through many canals, the Göta Canal (also known as the ‘divorce ditch’!), The Saimaa Canal, the Caledonian Canal, the Kiel Kanal and various canals in Holland but they all seemed much better organised with more staff on hand to help during holiday times.
peaceful places to stop
We managed to go through in eight hours. You are allowed to stay in the canal and enjoy the scenery (not to forget the midges which were vicious inside the locks!) for up to 4 days, but if you take a pilot, he may just want to get on with it and go home.
canal bridge
We spent the night at anchor just outside Adrishaig (at the other end of the canal).
From there to Troon it is only 40M. The sun had come out and the sea was totally flat calm. We sailed past the beautiful island of Arran.
The first thing we did when we arrived in Troon Yacht Haven is to take advantage of the first day of warm and sunny weather to wash away all the traces from the canal crossing. The deck was full of grit. The sides were full of muck, sea weed and muddy streaks… but no scratches! We managed without damaging our newly painted hull partly due to our fender board which reduced the impact of the hull against the stone canal walls during gushing water ingress!
Now we are preparing Easy Rider to leave her here for the winter. The boatyard is very friendly and has good service at hand. I doubt that we will have time to do more sailing this year. We know how quickly everyday life takes over once you get home.
So this will be the last post for now.
What will next year bring? Somehow we wonder whether we will want to sail south again, maybe to Southern Brittany or somewhere where the sun shines?
lush and very wet!
See you next year and thank you for following...