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1st August 2007
Italy may have 48 degrees, France may have a huge high pressure hovering over it and England may have 30 degrees of sunshine, but in Scotland it’s raining and we’ve got the fire lit!
Well since Jase and Tom arrived and with having Lil already with us, it’s been like having yet another a mini holiday within a holiday. OK, life’s been a little tight with five of us aboard Tiger but there’s barely been a dull moment with Jase’s sharp wit never more than a few words away and Conny’s fantastic cooking keeping spirits high.
We headed up along the length of the Caledonian Canal through last week reaching Fort Augustus on Wednesday. That night we went to a couple of local pubs and met two Guys (Moose and Mark) from a nearby construction site building a new dam for hydro electric generation. How small a world is this then….it turns out that Moose (originally from Canada hence the nickname) and his family have owned one of the prettiest riverside cottages on the river Soar for the past 60 years. Anyone who has been along the River Soar towards Loughborough will know it. Called ‘Windy Corner’, it’s the last cottage on the left having passed through Normanton on Soar and one we’ve admired every time we’ve passed it. And how odd as well, although completely unconnected….in one of the pubs there was a Swiss pipe band playing! It turned out they were over to play at a concert with a Scottish band the following weekend and were having a practice night in the pub.
Thursday and with binoculars at the ready we headed out of Fort Augustus. Conny and I had cast off quite early leaving all the others still ‘zedding’ in their bunks. Within a few minutes of our departure the view opened up and there in front of us, lying majestically with it’s bordering hills and mountains, was Loch Ness. It was breathtaking…….and how deep…the depth sounder went blank at 182 meters!
The trip up to Drumnadrochit took us three hours and by the time we passed Urquhart Castle the others had emerged from their bunks. After anchoring up it was off to the ‘Monster exhibition’….
Well…. after finding out that you could fit the world’s population into Loch Ness we returned to our anchorage and decided to stay overnight and have a fire on a small pebble beach on the wood lined shore….It turned into a wind still night with barely a ripple on the surface of the loch. With Tiger anchored in the background, some great food and the fire crackling away, it made a picture to cherish….
The next day and the Loch had changed character completely. Gone was it’s pond like appearance and instead were tumbling white caps. The forecast had predicted force 5 gusting to 7 which would’ve been a big ‘no go’ for us out at sea, but how bad could it possibly be on an enclosed loch? It was only a few minutes before we found out! As we lost the relative shelter of Urquhart Castle the effects of 15 odd miles of open water hit us. Waves quite unlike others we had encountered before thrashed down the loch, about four feet high but very close together. Fortunately we were heading north and running with the waves so things weren’t too bad. However, after five minutes I started to get concerned about how things would look when we reached the end of the loch and these waves hit shallower water! I decided I could live without knowing which meant plan ‘B’ and heading back to Drumnadrochit. Knowing that things were about to change for the worst, Conny went down to secure things as I turned Tiger round. Full throttle and with hard lock on the wheel Tiger went quickly around and was immediately launched off the first crest and down into the next on coming wave…. crash…..(it is said that the worst waves a boat can encounter are those that have a wave length equal to half the boats length. This is because one wave launches the boat in the air only for it to land in the trough of the next oncoming wave) and so it was….
The book reading and conversation inside the cabin stopped as the guys reached out for something to hang on to. Every time we hit a wave the cockpit windows received a deluge of water as if someone were outside throwing buckets of water at us. There was none of the rolling we’d experienced in the North Sea, just an exaggerated see-saw movement from bow to stern as we crashed through the waves…
Fortunately it wasn’t too long before we reached sheltered water again and dropped anchor. Our second attempt to head towards Inverness only three hours later was a completely different ‘kettle of fish’ and we reached our destination of Dochgarroch without fuss.
With Tom, Lil and Jase visiting...although Jase has now gone, the blog has been taking second priority. We'll try and get up to date soon. We're now back at our original start point on the Caledonian Canal at Fort William and this morning we're nursing aching muscles as we climbed Ben Nevis yesterday! All 1,344 meters of it! Yesterday we were blessed. The sun came out (according to the visitor centre, 'the best day in weeks and weeks') and the views were stunning!
Try and update more as soon as......X
With the weather often being rainy, playing cards became a popular way of passing time with the guys. Rummy was the preferred game but when we eventually tired of it at game 1,346 we decided to play Tom’s game ‘Black Jack’. At first however we really struggled with the rules with Jase accusing Tom of introducing new rules whenever it suited his cause J.
With Saturday came a trip into Inverness. This place has really changed over the years and is now much more cosmopolitan and a ‘happening’ place. After looking around the town, doing some shopping and having an M&S sandwich (yum yum) we returned to the boat (30 mins walk) only to walk back that evening for an Indian, courtesy of Jase. The meal was fab and matched equally by the view from the restaurant which overlooked the river Ness. The strong winds had returned and a pair of hanging baskets outside our window thrashed around so much during the evening they looked like they might part company with their hangers at any second. Needless to say they didn’t…We finished our meal, went for a quick drink in a local bar where Tom introduced us to a very odd tasting apple shot, and then returned to Tiger.
Sunday was an early start to get Jase on a bus back to his car. He had offered to do this rather than having all of us rush back the 60 odd miles of the Caledonian by boat. The week with Jase had flown by and it was sad to see it over so quickly L.
We headed back into Loch Ness and visited the ‘Monster Hunter’. This is a guy called Steve Feltham who gave up his life in Dorset in the early 90’s to take up residence by the Loch in a converted library van. Some may remember him as he featured on his own BBC2 video diary in the mid 90’s. Anyone interested can also follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H1LZ-hwbdU
Anyway…after buying a monster from Steve we headed back to Drumnadrochit. Unfortunately we’d only been there 30 minutes when I noticed a change in wind direction. Double checking the forecast I found it had changed completely, potentially leaving our anchorage very exposed to a newly forecasted force 7.
Doh….there was nothing for it but to press on to Fort Augustus, another 3 hours away. Wind on our stern, we reached the end of Loch Ness at nightfall (11 o’clock), just as the big wind was arriving. Although in relative shelter from the loch we had a bumpy night and were very pleased we hadn’t stayed put….
We awoke from our bumpy night tied up to a hire boat and due to the volume of boats trying to occupy such a small pontoon decided it best to precede up the Fort Augustus ‘staircase lock’. The weather was pretty dire and Conny and I got a soaking whilst the kids continued to sleep blissfully unaware of what was going on. At the top we decided to get what shopping we needed from the town, shower, fill up with water etc. and head on. Having done all of this we reached Kytra Lock later that evening and after a quick wander (midge city) returned for dinner….
With a week left with the kids (soz guys….not so much kids anymore!) we faced a bit of a quandary. On the one hand the Caledonian was beautiful and begged more exploration but on the other was the chance of heading back up the Sound of Mull to show the kids Loch Sunart. With this partly in mind we set off ‘early doors’ the next morning. This ended up quite a mammoth day. We reached the end of the Caledonian 9 hours later, having covered some 23 miles, about 10 lochs and swing bridges, and Neptune’s Staircase (7 locks back to back near Fort William).
And after all that what did we do?….we decided to stay there and climb Ben Nevis (what Muppets!)
Italy may have 48 degrees, France may have a huge high pressure hovering over it and England may have 30 degrees of sunshine, but in Scotland it’s raining and we’ve got the fire lit!
Well since Jase and Tom arrived and with having Lil already with us, it’s been like having yet another a mini holiday within a holiday. OK, life’s been a little tight with five of us aboard Tiger but there’s barely been a dull moment with Jase’s sharp wit never more than a few words away and Conny’s fantastic cooking keeping spirits high.
We headed up along the length of the Caledonian Canal through last week reaching Fort Augustus on Wednesday. That night we went to a couple of local pubs and met two Guys (Moose and Mark) from a nearby construction site building a new dam for hydro electric generation. How small a world is this then….it turns out that Moose (originally from Canada hence the nickname) and his family have owned one of the prettiest riverside cottages on the river Soar for the past 60 years. Anyone who has been along the River Soar towards Loughborough will know it. Called ‘Windy Corner’, it’s the last cottage on the left having passed through Normanton on Soar and one we’ve admired every time we’ve passed it. And how odd as well, although completely unconnected….in one of the pubs there was a Swiss pipe band playing! It turned out they were over to play at a concert with a Scottish band the following weekend and were having a practice night in the pub.
Thursday and with binoculars at the ready we headed out of Fort Augustus. Conny and I had cast off quite early leaving all the others still ‘zedding’ in their bunks. Within a few minutes of our departure the view opened up and there in front of us, lying majestically with it’s bordering hills and mountains, was Loch Ness. It was breathtaking…….and how deep…the depth sounder went blank at 182 meters!
The trip up to Drumnadrochit took us three hours and by the time we passed Urquhart Castle the others had emerged from their bunks. After anchoring up it was off to the ‘Monster exhibition’….
Well…. after finding out that you could fit the world’s population into Loch Ness we returned to our anchorage and decided to stay overnight and have a fire on a small pebble beach on the wood lined shore….It turned into a wind still night with barely a ripple on the surface of the loch. With Tiger anchored in the background, some great food and the fire crackling away, it made a picture to cherish….
The next day and the Loch had changed character completely. Gone was it’s pond like appearance and instead were tumbling white caps. The forecast had predicted force 5 gusting to 7 which would’ve been a big ‘no go’ for us out at sea, but how bad could it possibly be on an enclosed loch? It was only a few minutes before we found out! As we lost the relative shelter of Urquhart Castle the effects of 15 odd miles of open water hit us. Waves quite unlike others we had encountered before thrashed down the loch, about four feet high but very close together. Fortunately we were heading north and running with the waves so things weren’t too bad. However, after five minutes I started to get concerned about how things would look when we reached the end of the loch and these waves hit shallower water! I decided I could live without knowing which meant plan ‘B’ and heading back to Drumnadrochit. Knowing that things were about to change for the worst, Conny went down to secure things as I turned Tiger round. Full throttle and with hard lock on the wheel Tiger went quickly around and was immediately launched off the first crest and down into the next on coming wave…. crash…..(it is said that the worst waves a boat can encounter are those that have a wave length equal to half the boats length. This is because one wave launches the boat in the air only for it to land in the trough of the next oncoming wave) and so it was….
The book reading and conversation inside the cabin stopped as the guys reached out for something to hang on to. Every time we hit a wave the cockpit windows received a deluge of water as if someone were outside throwing buckets of water at us. There was none of the rolling we’d experienced in the North Sea, just an exaggerated see-saw movement from bow to stern as we crashed through the waves…
Fortunately it wasn’t too long before we reached sheltered water again and dropped anchor. Our second attempt to head towards Inverness only three hours later was a completely different ‘kettle of fish’ and we reached our destination of Dochgarroch without fuss.
With Tom, Lil and Jase visiting...although Jase has now gone, the blog has been taking second priority. We'll try and get up to date soon. We're now back at our original start point on the Caledonian Canal at Fort William and this morning we're nursing aching muscles as we climbed Ben Nevis yesterday! All 1,344 meters of it! Yesterday we were blessed. The sun came out (according to the visitor centre, 'the best day in weeks and weeks') and the views were stunning!
Try and update more as soon as......X
With the weather often being rainy, playing cards became a popular way of passing time with the guys. Rummy was the preferred game but when we eventually tired of it at game 1,346 we decided to play Tom’s game ‘Black Jack’. At first however we really struggled with the rules with Jase accusing Tom of introducing new rules whenever it suited his cause J.
With Saturday came a trip into Inverness. This place has really changed over the years and is now much more cosmopolitan and a ‘happening’ place. After looking around the town, doing some shopping and having an M&S sandwich (yum yum) we returned to the boat (30 mins walk) only to walk back that evening for an Indian, courtesy of Jase. The meal was fab and matched equally by the view from the restaurant which overlooked the river Ness. The strong winds had returned and a pair of hanging baskets outside our window thrashed around so much during the evening they looked like they might part company with their hangers at any second. Needless to say they didn’t…We finished our meal, went for a quick drink in a local bar where Tom introduced us to a very odd tasting apple shot, and then returned to Tiger.
Sunday was an early start to get Jase on a bus back to his car. He had offered to do this rather than having all of us rush back the 60 odd miles of the Caledonian by boat. The week with Jase had flown by and it was sad to see it over so quickly L.
We headed back into Loch Ness and visited the ‘Monster Hunter’. This is a guy called Steve Feltham who gave up his life in Dorset in the early 90’s to take up residence by the Loch in a converted library van. Some may remember him as he featured on his own BBC2 video diary in the mid 90’s. Anyone interested can also follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H1LZ-hwbdU
Anyway…after buying a monster from Steve we headed back to Drumnadrochit. Unfortunately we’d only been there 30 minutes when I noticed a change in wind direction. Double checking the forecast I found it had changed completely, potentially leaving our anchorage very exposed to a newly forecasted force 7.
Doh….there was nothing for it but to press on to Fort Augustus, another 3 hours away. Wind on our stern, we reached the end of Loch Ness at nightfall (11 o’clock), just as the big wind was arriving. Although in relative shelter from the loch we had a bumpy night and were very pleased we hadn’t stayed put….
We awoke from our bumpy night tied up to a hire boat and due to the volume of boats trying to occupy such a small pontoon decided it best to precede up the Fort Augustus ‘staircase lock’. The weather was pretty dire and Conny and I got a soaking whilst the kids continued to sleep blissfully unaware of what was going on. At the top we decided to get what shopping we needed from the town, shower, fill up with water etc. and head on. Having done all of this we reached Kytra Lock later that evening and after a quick wander (midge city) returned for dinner….
With a week left with the kids (soz guys….not so much kids anymore!) we faced a bit of a quandary. On the one hand the Caledonian was beautiful and begged more exploration but on the other was the chance of heading back up the Sound of Mull to show the kids Loch Sunart. With this partly in mind we set off ‘early doors’ the next morning. This ended up quite a mammoth day. We reached the end of the Caledonian 9 hours later, having covered some 23 miles, about 10 lochs and swing bridges, and Neptune’s Staircase (7 locks back to back near Fort William).
And after all that what did we do?….we decided to stay there and climb Ben Nevis (what Muppets!)
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