Troon to Oban

Our departure from Troon was delayed by an hour because the bow thruster failed as we were pulling out of the slip. After deranging bicycles, 160 pounds of kitty litter, bedding, and cushions to dig deep into the bow of the boat, we discovered a fuse had blown. Not bad. A simple repair and we were off to the Crinan Canal. Needing to time the tides, lock opening schedule, and currents we wanted to get into the canal by mid afternoon so we could get through lock number 2 before 5 pm. Again it was a day of completely flat seas and no wind, so we had to motor the 40 miles to the canal entrance. We arrived at 3 pm and got through the sea lock and registered with Scottish Waterways and paid our usage fees.

As were we about to enter the next lock, the bow thruster failed again. We had to pull along the sea wall and trouble shoot once again. This time it turned out to be a breaker that would pop because of a low battery. So running the engine helped to get us through this canal where we tied up to a pontoon for the night at exactly 5:30 PM when the canal shuts down.

I was looking forward to this segment of the trip along the canal. Our trip last summer through the Caledonian Canal was fabulous. The Crinan Canal was a very different experience. It is 9 miles long, has 5 bridges, and 14 locks most of which are hand operated by the boat owners. The gates were extremely heavy and it took all available strength to open them. We had purchased a 6 ft long heavy board in Troon to protect our side against the sea walls. It is very difficult for just 2 people to handle the locks and the boat. We learned (eventually) that many boats hire someone to drive from lock to lock to open and close the gates for them. The canal was busy as it is a way to make passage and not a pleasure trip so boats were hurrying along and skippers and crew were not always pleasant.


However, the scenery was beautiful. The cats really enjoyed their time there. Dante jumped ship at the first bridge and stowed himself under it. After that he had to be locked in the cabin during lockings and bridge openings. But at the pontoons they did get off world to hunt wee beasties and eat grass. There was lots of rain, “the rain is persistent in Scotland” as the BBC weather reports like to say.

We had a great seafood meal with a tempura haggis starter yummy! in Cairnbaan at the hotel which is one of the designated www.theseafoodtrail.com restos. We met a very nice Dutch couple who were going through the canal at our pace and who we will see again in Oban. They too are out for 4 months and have sailed widely in northern Europe and gave us some great cruising suggestions. We spent 3 nights in the canal and left Crinan on the tide at 3 PM on Thursday to head for Oban and the Malts cruise. However, before leaving Crinan we replaced the old battery for the bow thruster. Hopefully we will have no more problems with that equipment.