Arrival: Borensberg
Pelagia
Frans & Sarah Toonen
Sun 20 Jul 2014 16:18
| Sunday 20th July. Still sweltering. 11.4nm. 7 hours on the canal today and just over 11 miles to show for it. We had a good start at 0845 from Berg marina getting straight into the 5 lock flight just ahead of the passenger vessel ‘Ceres’. There are 3 such mini cruise boats on this part of the canal and the leisure craft have to give way. The lock keepers control this between them and hold the leisure craft back or direct them to moor up and wait. At the top of the flight we had to wait for Ceres and 2 others to pass us so we were there for a couple of hours. The canal between Berg and Borensberg is higher than the Norrbysjön lake to the north and the difference in colour between the murky canal and the blue lake below was very noticeable. We passed through farmland and saw several grand villa style houses alongside the water. At Borensborg lock they asked us to overnight on the town quay as one of the lock gates at Borenshult ahead had a fault and the waiting area there was already full. We could have carried on and anchored in Lake Boren but we didn’t think of it in time. The lock keepers wouldn’t suggest it because swing anchoring is not common in Sweden as the locals prefer to use a stern anchor and go bow on to the rocks tying lines ashore to trees or hammering pegs into the rocks. Many of the yachts are smaller so they have less draft (to get close in) and the bow is closer to the ground making the jump to land easier. They can do this easily in the rocky islands but not in a lake with a shallow shore line. Tight fit. Lake Roxen in the background Ceres on the way back |