Fort William

It was raining this morning, but this had almost stopped by the time we heaved up the anchor in Loch Corrie. We then had a fine sail up to the top of Loch Linnhe. The wind was very variable as it came gusting down the hills, but was more or less Westerly most of the time. At one point we were doing over 5 knots under mizzen and headsails. It was refreshing to have a reasonable fair wind at last.

The picture shows Step Back in Time with a backdrop of dramatic hills.

 There is a narrow gap half way through the trip at the Corran narrows where the tide runs at about 6 knots so its important to get the timing right. We went through about an hour before slack water when the water was swirling around impressively. Our speed under sail dropped to about 2 knots, but we were soon through. We passed Fort William under the shadow of Ben Nevis and tied up at Corpach marina at the beginning of the Caledonian Canal.

 We were met by Sian and Ant who had come up to Scotland to help us through the Canal. However it looks as though things may not be so straightforward. One of the swing bridges over the canal is out of action and the canal authorities don't seem to have any idea when it can be repaired. Several gaffers are trapped in the canal at present. If they can't open the bridge then Bonita can't go through, though some of the smaller boats might be able to lower their masts. The uncertainty makes it very difficult to plan anything, and we don't even know if they will let us into to the first few locks of the canal tomorrow in the hope that the bridge might be fixed. Very frustrating.

On a more restful note, this picture shows Ben Nevis, its peak shrouded in mist, taken from beside the canal.