The Gota Canal

Once out of Lake Vanern we were into the Gota canal proper, about 100 miles of half lakes and half canals which meander across Sweden where you could get close up and personal with the locals!

All the locks in the Gota canal are of the older English style and size; there was no large shipping here. The lock gates were all mechanised but, like our locks, when lifting up in a lock the water enters the lock through sluice gates which causes a rather frightening turbulence. Unlike a canal barge the flared narrow bow of a yacht with its relatively low weight is easily grabbed by the turbulence which pushes the bow one way, pauses then throws it quite violently back the other way. The danger was the lock walls; despite 8 good size fenders we did sustain one bruise on the timberwork.

Chatting up a Swedish yacht I learned that there were nice fresh water
'Norway Lobster' to be had by the cunning; lobster is a grand word, langustine we would call them or famously not caught by Waddy and I in Ireland, Dublin Bay prawns. This highly skilled hunting expedition requires 1 net purchased from the local book shop for £5 and some bait fish cunningly secured from the supermarket. Put a couple of the bait fish on the giant safety pin in the centre of the pot and throw the pot over the side. Retire below for a calming cup of tea, after a few hours creep quietly up on deck to retrieve the pots and........

Yes Waddy it really does work!






Hows this for a seaside home?!








Some of the canal sections got a little tight.

There were a lot of bridges most of which opened on demand (note busy, very handy crew member rushing round the deck)

Locking down was much more sedate; the water simply drained out of the bottom of the lock gate, no fuss, no turbulence and no stress!


This is the top of the final flight down of 7 locks - almost in the Baltic!