Inverness and Canal
PROGRESS
Andrew and Hilary Clark
Mon 22 Jun 2009 20:32
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57:29.44N 04:15.84W
We left Peterhead at sunrise and made our way
westwards towards Inverness. The day became calm and blue, and then eventually a
light brezze filled in which enabled us to sail. We had the normal abundance of
wildlife for company, and as we approached Inverness we had groups of seals
dozing on the sands to port, whilst a pod of dolphins frolicked on our starboard
side.
 Entering the Moray Firth, and then under the
Kessock Bridge into the Beauly Firth, one has to negotiate large areas of very
shallow water, where even the channels have as little as 2 metres at low tide.
We slowed down to time our arrival for two hours after low water, but even then
failed to find the ruined church to line up with the small wood on a cliff to
show the safe transit. We shot under Kessock Bridge with the tide, and
turned into the brand new Inverness Marina, which has yet to be formally opened
by Dame Ellen. Direct entry to the canal was thwarted as the locks do not
operate after 1800. The pontoons were very nice, but it did seem expensive
compared with nearby places, at least until the facilities move out of a steel
box and into the new planned facility building.
The next day we moved the one mile to enter the
Caledonian Canal through the Clachnaharry Sea Lock and on into Muirtown Basin to
berth at Seaport. In so doing we transferred from the turbulence of
the North Sea to the shelter and calm routine of the canal system, where
progress and schedules are governed by the passage through locks and bridges
controlled by others, and tides have no significance. And it was 10 degrees
warmer!
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