Banavie to Oban

In the locks. The waterfall was only in the last one and we were the chief beneficiaries of the spray

Alex is up there somewhere 

This was very much a day of two halves. We got up early and were ready by 0800 for the call from Scottish Canals to go down the Neptune staircase. Finally, we were called about 0840, and unfortunately were the last of five boats into the lock, due to some rather rude pushing and shoving ahead of us, and by far the smallest. 

As a result, in every basin we had to ask the boat in front of us to move forward, so that our rudder didn’t hit the cill as the water level dropped. Alex and David walked along the bank as in the other staircases, and guided the boat very professionally now that they have had quite a lot of practice. In the last lock they needed to jump on board and the aft line, a mere 15m long, was not long enough, so we had to tie another rope to it. Fortunately, a member of the Canal staff was available to chuck the rope down. I really don’t like ropes with knots in them, and I’m sure we had longer warps at some time, but I couldn’t find one on board despite our vast selection. 

Finally, after just under two hours, we passed through the rail and road bridges, through another tiny staircase of two locks, and through the sea lock out into the terrifying sea itself. 

Into Loch Linnhe with three other boats

All of the forecast models showed northerly winds, but they varied in how strong they thought the wind would be. GFS showed light airs, the Met Office gusts up to 16kt. At the top of Loch Linnhe we had very variable winds with the pointer rotating right round. Closer to Oban we had NW winds increasing in strength, giving us a final hour of excellent sailing before dropping the sails to wiggle in to Oban Bay, dodging the ferries as we did so. I thought we were out of the ferry route but perhaps we should have been over on the Kerrera side. 

Finally the wind had a little play with us as we looked for a berth in the Oban Transit Marina. We’re staying here for two nights, for stocking up with food and other essentials, possibly a hairdresser for Alex, and a meal out on Wednesday night. Once we were settled we were approached by someone from a neighbouring boat offering a bag of fresh mussels. He’d bought too many at a mussel farm yesterday. How could we say no? So it was an extended meal as I cooked the mussels as a starter and David cooked the main course pasta. 

This is a splendid facility but apart from the mussels it seems the least friendly marina I have been in for a very long time. Lots of huge boats and unchatty people. 

Sunshine and blue sky!

Calm evening. Sunset is currently at 2215