BLUEMOMENT

In a couple of weeks (about 20th) I hope to be coming south through the Caledonian Canal returning from Orkney.
Scottish Canals literature suggests 2.5 days transit time.

How long does it really take?
I'll probably average 5 knots sailing on lochs, with whatever usual delays are for the 29 locks and 10 bridges.
Can I do this in 2 days?

No.
It'll be nearer 4 days.
If you do it in 3 it'll be rushed, but possible at a push.
Bear in mind when you want to leave Corpach sea loch to go through Coran,is that in canal working hours?

We came through in just about the full remit of the 8 day pass in mid July.

We certainly weren't rushing but there are several imponderables on the way. For example, the day before we got in at Inverness the main road bridge in Inverness broke down. It was fixed overnight but the knock-on lasted all next day as the Lord of the Glens had been held up and was expedited through. That delayed us getting into the canal by about 3 hours. We also spent a day on Loch Oich because it's nice and the wind was strong. We never were on the move more than 6 hours/day; those locks are hard work 2 up and I still came home with a bad back.

I think to achieve the 2.5 days you would need to arrive at Fort Augustus and Banavie in particular at just the right times; I don't suppose speed on the lochs is a significant parameter.

My advice is : retire and take it slow.
Derek

The other point to note is that the Corpach sea lock doesn't open an hour or so either side of low water, so if you've been waiting there and you head for Corran when the lock opens you have a strengthening foul tide. When I was in that position I chose to instead go with the tide into Loch Eil (which I'd wanted to visit anyway), anchored for the night, then left at high water getting favourable tide through the narrows at Corpach and Corran.

I found a sheltered bay in the SW corner of the loch, but there was a very smelly landfill site upwind so I moved to the less sheltered head of the loch. If the council have introduced food waste recycling (anyone know?) then the smell should be greatly reduced now.

Thanks for that.
I'm a bit disappointed, I didn't really plan a sightseeing trip, just wanted a quick return route from Orkney.
Will have to re-plan my journey to leave Scapa Flow a day earlier, and maybe do some overnighters to clock the miles.
Guess I could sail the lochs (Ness, Oich Lochy) without any stops so as to be only waiting on locks and bridges anywhere.

Retiring sounding all that more attractive, but I'd need a winter hobby too!

mm5aho wrote: Retiring sounding all that more attractive, but I'd need a winter hobby too!

I once read a chapess's chest whose tea shirt read something like "May to October beach bum, November to April, ski bum". It sounded like a good way of life if you can manage it.

mm5aho wrote: Retiring sounding all that more attractive, but I'd need a winter hobby too!

You own a boat of a certain age - winter's taken care of.

The winter maintenance isn't enough for the long period between October / Nov and end of March!
I usually manage all the winters jobs in about 4 Saturdays, but then I usually enlist the assistance of 1st mate son Matt.

Well our plan is to leave Friday night after work, hoping to sail into Hoy sound on the following Friday. Spend the weekend there, mostly at Hoy light on Graemsay, visit some friends at Cantick Lighthouse on the way out, and head to Inverness. Might overnight Sunday at Wick. Collecting 2nd Mate in Inverness to make a threesome for the Canal. Need to be back at Rhu Marina Sunday night 22nd. Might be an overnight sail in there somewhere if we need to make up time.
Can report how that went in late August.

mm5aho wrote:The winter maintenance isn't enough for the long period between October / Nov and end of March!
I usually manage all the winters jobs in about 4 Saturdays, but then I usually enlist the assistance of 1st mate son Matt.

Well our plan is to leave Friday night after work, hoping to sail into Hoy sound on the following Friday. Spend the weekend there, mostly at Hoy light on Graemsay, visit some friends at Cantick Lighthouse on the way out, and head to Inverness. Might overnight Sunday at Wick. Collecting 2nd Mate in Inverness to make a threesome for the Canal. Need to be back at Rhu Marina Sunday night 22nd. Might be an overnight sail in there somewhere if we need to make up time.
Can report how that went in late August.

If you're looking for something else to do in winter I could suggest skiing, which also involves spending money...

If you run out of time on the way back, both Inverness and Banavie are fairly safe places to leave a boat. I used both on my trip through the canal, in each case using the sleeper to get to and from London for one and two day meetings respectively. I have heard it suggested that Corpach is not recommended.

One of the problems stems from the closure of certain bridges at land-based rush-hours. Another is getting stuck partying.

Our own return trip went like this. Left the marina at Inverness after lunch on a Wednesday and got to the first big bridge just as it closed for the tea-time rush of traffic. Passed through about 17.30 and got to the lock at Loch Ness just before it closed but opted to stay below the lock as there seemed to be no free berths above it. Thursday morning saw us entering Loch Ness and we went to Foyers for lunch. (We were not in a hurry and it was a nice day for a change.) Got to Fort Augustus at tea time and were told we would be in the first lock in the morning.

Friday morning, we were getting untied to enter the loch when about 20 other boats rushed past , filling the lock. The same happened next time as well but we got in. Just. As the bridge closed behind us threatening our mizzen mast and boats further in would not move up, the skipper of a large MFV next to us said "I'll get them f-ing moved" and put on full power. At every lock in the flight, the frist boats in tied up half-way up instead of going to the front and eventually the canal staff sorted the problem by moving them up at one lock and telling them that any repetition would result in them getting their warps cast off until everyone was in. Left the top about 11.00 and got to Loch Oich where we tied up with the MFV for lunch. After lunch another boat arrived and a bit of a party developed, broken up by a torrential shower about 17.00. When the rain went off after an hour, we found that everyone else was asleep, so I dozed off as well. Woke with a hang-over at about 21.00.

On Saturday, we managed to get to Banavie, held up a bit at a lock where the hydraulics had failed and the gate was being pulled open using a rope attached to a tractor. Spent the night in Banavie. On Sunday morning, we got to Corpach in time to miss the last locking before he tide got too low and had to wait till afternoon. As was reported above, we then had to plug the foul tide past Corran and only got through by using the eddy on the west side, getting to Dallens Bay about tea-time.

That makes four days, but we did "waste" some time, going to Foyers, getting queue-jumped at Fort Aug, getting drunk at the Well of he Seven Heads and overnighting at Banavie instead of going on to Corpach on SaturdaySo you may be able to get through in 2 1/2 days but I wouldn't count on it.

Stay out of The Eagle at Laggan Locks, especially if the weather is dreich and cold. There is a time anomaly there that makes a quick pint inside equate to a couple of hours outside. If asked, the lock-keeper will come and get you out before the last lock down/up.

I found this one snowy April a few years back. When we finally emerged from the warmth of the fire and the genial craic there were two hire boats waiting in the lock with their rope handlers dutifully standing on deck as the snow flurried around them. Goodness knows how long they had been there but our cheery greetings were returned by very frosty stares.

The last two posts is the Caledonian Canal at it's best !

So we made it through the Caledonian canal. Here's the timetable.

Departed Wick 0730, wanting to venture out to see the 2 wind turbines at Beatrice Field. Fog (and the caution it creates) prevented our getting too close, so deviated back to course for Inverness.
Arrived in Inverness from Wick at 2100, 17th. Too late for sealock closing.
18th Aug. 0800 Called sealock to find earliest locking time (low tide neaps), told 1030.
11:00 into sealock Corpach and paperwork done, out of there by 11:15
11:20 into second lock
11:45 arrival Seaport Marina to find that the Police had closed the Muirton Locks in an effort to find a suspected body. ROV cameras, talk of bringing Police divers. Interestingly locals seemed to ignore all this, and the Police and helpers were quite alone and unwatched in their efforts, by all except us, wanting to get on. No body found, only a pair of boots and a whisky bottle. (empty).
15:15 allowed to proceed.
16:15 through Muirton bridge
17:15 out of locks
18:25 past working hours, so moored up at DOchgarroch. (tip, restaurant there, a short walk, excellent food, bearable prices)
19th Aug
08:20 through Dochgarroch and onto Loch Ness
12:20 arrive Ft Augustus
15:40 through Ft A locks after some delay for "lunch", during which time we watched a Bloodhound passing, a Viking longboat, heard umpteen languages spoken and did some shopping at the overloaded Londis.
16:25 out of Kytra Lock
18:00 arrived Laggan Locks just too late
20th Aug
08:15 Through Laggan
10:15 into top lock Gairlochy
10:25 through bridge
11:25 arrive Banavie to be told we'd have to wait for boats coming the other way, and then lunch. At this time Marisca called to say that the sea was windless, so no rush to sail anywhere. We'd heard him several times ahead of us, mostly telling the lock keepers that their radios were rubbish and all he could hear was squelch.
13:40 into top lock of staircase
15:30 through the bridges after waiting on Harry Potters train
16:15 out of Corpach double locks
16:35 out of sealock.

So best part of three days, though choosing our arrival not to coincide with low tide at sealocks might have helped.

We got gold stars from one lock keeper because we were wearing life jackets.
All Canal staff were friendly and seemed keen to please.
Facilities along the way were usual canal standard, all OK.