Caledonian canal - Dochgorrach.

Nano's blog.
Nigel Anderson
Thu 1 Jun 2006 18:56
Date: 01-06-06     Time: 17:30 UTC      Position: N57.25.82  W004.18.46   Name: Dochgorrach, Caledonian canal. 

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Vi har kommet hele 4,4 sjømil fra der vi overnattet - men har ellers fått mye gjort. Vi lå si å si rett utenfor en butikk som forhandler gassflasker, og siden våre norske gassflasker ikke kan etterfylles her, fant vi ut at vi vil kontvertere til europeisk standard "Camping Gaz". Forhåpentligvis kan jeg nå bare bytte flasker over alt frem til vi forlater Gran Canaria. Vi hadde også gått tom for smør, så en liten tur innom supermarkedet var påkrevd. Bra vær idag - varmt nok å ta av genseren når sola skinner og det ikke blåser.
 
Første hindring til vår videre ferd opp kanalen var en sving-bro, og her måtte vi vente en halvtime slik at andre båter kunne reise gjennom samtidig. Bare kort avstand etter stod tre nye sluser for tur, og denne passering tok oss til en logisk lunsjpause rett før neste svingbro. Molly styrte båte med stø hånd opp til neste sluse, som er den siste før Loch Ness. Nå var det et stykke ut på dagen, og vi fant ut at vil ville legge til her for ettermiddagen og gå en tur. Vi kjøpte nydelig iskrem fra den lokale kaféen like ved slusene.
 
Jeg fikk en video-kamera i gave fra mine foreldre, og mye av ettermiddagen gikk til sette den sammen, lese manualen og installere programvaren på PC'en. Alt fungerer, så nå kan vi også dokumentere turen vår med levende bilder.
 
I skrivende stund er det G&T-tid, og kyling-karri står på menyen. Bildet under - Molly ser bare såvidt over rattet!
Molly steers us along the canal.
We put the grand sum of 4.4 miles under the keel today, but have been pretty busy doing it! The day started with a leisurely breakfast. As there was a good shop for gas equipment just a hundred yards away, we decided to buy a european standard gas bottle (camping gaz) and pressure regulator. Our Norwegian bottles can't be refilled here, so I hope the "standard" bottle we bought will keep us going on exchange refills until we get to the Canaries. As we had also run out of butter, we had to make a trip to the supermarket which also was nearby. Better weather today - warm enough to take the pullover off when the sun shines.
 
The first hurdle to get over was a swing bridge, we had to wait half an hour for this to open, letting us and another couple of boats through at the same time. Shortly after this we had three new locks to negociate, and this took us to a logical time for lunch - especially as our path was now blocked by another swing bridge, whose operator was on his lunch break. Molly steered the boat (see picture above) to the next lock, after which we decided to moor and take a walk - buying delicious ice cream from a little café by the lock. By this time it was getting to late to move on, so we took it easy for a while. I have just got a video-camera as late birthday present, and much of the afternoon went to sorting this out, installing software on the PC etc. Still, it all seems to work, and we can now document our adventure with video as well as stills.
 
At the moment it is G&T time, later chicken curry is on the menu.