We have been steadily moving and exploring. I may write additional posts on the different legs, but for now there is too much. Let me sum up: We left Holyhead harbor the very night we arrived, and arrived at the Isle of Man the next morning, where we spent 4 adventurous days. Then we were off to Northern Ireland, bowing to the dictates of the prevailing winds. After 2 nights in Northern Ireland, the winds were good for our sail back across the North Channel to Loch Ryan in southern Scotland. Next morning we had a cracking sail north, past Ailsa Crag (clouded over or we would've stopped to climb it), and into Ardrossan Harbor, just south of Glasgow. There we sadly said goodbye to Ry, enjoyed a day in Glasgow, then took the train to Edinburgh for an overnight and to pick up Ella, another of Natalie's friends.
With Ella in tow, we sailed to Arran and anchored right under Brodick Castle. The next day we went further north to await our appointed date to go through the Crinan Canal.
The next morning at 8:30 am we were waiting at the lock...and thus began our day in the Crinan Canal - what an experience.
It's a beautiful waterway - so serene and cozy. At times also a little mind-bending as we glimpsed cars, houses, and even the sea below us. The narrow green corridors were periodically interrupted by the hard work of negotiating the locks.
Mentally it's challenging to repeatedly dock, throw/secure lines, and manage the turbulence as the locks fill and empty.
Physically the kids thrived on the work of cranking open and closed the locks, and running from one lock to the next. Murray and I stayed on the boat, so didn't get the workout they did, but I was still tired at the end of the day.
We went through the 15 locks in a convoy of 3 boats and developed a sense of camaraderie over the course of the 7 hrs. The kids, especially Sam, enjoyed being part of a larger team and he was thrilled to be invited to join their crews...But we wouldn't agree to give him up.
The hero of the day was another wonderful connection: weeks ago, a friend from Pomfret had emailed us that he had a friend who lived near the Crinan Canal. He mentioned, but we missed/forgot, that his friend was a pilot on the canal. The canal recommends private pilots to take people through, and we naturally thought after reading the literature available that we could probably do without. But the morning of, as we were arriving at the canal and thinking a pilot would actually be quite nice, Murray re-read the email and saw that George's friend was a pilot.
So we emailed him, just to introduce ourselves and ask if he had any advice...not only did he reply, but he came right down! And really made the day wonderful. I don't know what we would've done without him - I mean, obviously, we would have made it (I think), but the crews of the other boats (who had done the canal before) both raved about how smoothly and well this transit went all due to him.
We were all knackered when we got to the final basin, where we rested a day, explored, kayaked and ate at the lovely hotel/pub. We also met Mike's wife and got to see their amazing farm, overlooking the canal. A highlight of the trip.
