91.8m above sea level - The Gota Canal part 1

We had just arrived at Arkosund when the blog was last updated. We will remember Arkosund for several reasons. It was very attractive - see photos below. It was the first, and so far only, place we've stayed where the showers are actually outside! And it was very popular with families. With children. Very noisy children. Children that stayed up until gone 2230. Being very, very noisy......

Anyway, some pictures:

The view from Cyclone at Arkosund

Cyclone at her Arkosund berth

View of Arkosund

... and another

If you can't move the rock, build around it!

We set off for Mem and the start of the Gota Canal just before 0700 on 8th July, aiming to arrive before the anticipated rush (July is the month that all of Sweden take holidays). As it happened, Mem was very quiet and this was how we found the canal for the first few days.

The start of the Gota Canal

The Gota Canal is one of  Sweden's best known and most popular tourist attractions. It has been named the Swedish Construction of the Millennium. The 102.6 Nm canal was built between 1810 and 1832 by a total of 58,000 Swedish soldiers who dug 47 Nm of it by hand.

The Gota Canal stretches between Mem at the Baltic Sea and Sjotorp on Lake Vanern, with 58 locks along the way. It's 64 Nm across Lake Vanern to Vanersborg, from where the Trollhatte Canal leads a further 43 Nm to Goteborg on the Swedish west coast.

As well as the locks, there are 45 bridges that need to be lifted, swung or slid out of the way for boats to pass - 4 of which are railway bridges. Last but not least, there are 2 aqueducts and 2 high bridges that boats can pass under. All in all, quite a feat of engineering.

It's not cheap to navigate - approximately £500 for our boat - but when you take into account the number of staff required to man the locks and the maintenance requirements of all those bridges etc, you can see why. That £500 also enables you to stay at any of the marinas along the canal free of charge for up to 5 nights - including showers, washing machines and electricity. The longer you take, the better value it becomes!

From the Skipper's Guide:

"Plying the Gota Canal in your own boat is one of the most relaxing activities there is. The amazing surroundings entrance you as you sit at the rudder, gliding along at a peaceful five knots. Now and then you arrive at one of the 58 locks. The landscape shifts between cities, plains and even untouched forest."

Relaxing? Now and then you arrive at one of the 58 locks?! Let's do a bit of basic maths. The canal is 102.6 Nm long. That includes Lake Roxen, Lake Boren, Lake Vattern and Lake Viken which together account for 51.3 Nm. So the canal "proper" is actually 51.3 Nm long. There are 58 locks, so that's 0.88 Nm on average between each lock (1.77 Nm if you include the Lakes). At 5 knots you cover 1 Nm in 12 minutes, so 0.88 Nm takes 10.6 minutes to cover. (1.77 Nm takes 21.2 minutes). Now and then you arrive at one of the locks. Yeh, right!!

In practice the locks are often grouped together, with double locks being common and two staircases - one of 7 locks and one of 5. This means that there is actually a stretch with no locks for 10 miles - known as the long canal - although that does have 7 bridges and 2 aqueducts!

So having established that the canal isn't at all relaxing, what's it like? As always, I think pictures give a better impression than words:

The view from Cyclone at Mem

A view over Soderkoping - our second stop. The canal runs between the town and the cliff

The Ramunder Berget nature reserve on the cliffs above Soderkoping

Huh?

Ahh! Will he make it? 

Phew. They got him!

The bell tower of S:t Laurentil Church - 1583. 50m high with 4 tonnes of bells 

A Soderkoping street. The town goes back to the middle ages when it was an important port

OK, it's pretty. But how do you see out?

Soderkoping mill

A very greedy person!

So what are the locks like? Well, they're nothing like those at Chichester, Port Solent or Hythe, that's for sure. Going up (which is all we've done so far) you rig a bow and stern line with bowline loops tied at the shore ends. The stern line goes to a stern cleat as you'd expect. The bow line passes through the bow cleat (or around a block mounted at the bow) and back to the cockpit where it is led to a sheet winch.

Note bow line going through the cleat and being led aft to a winch

As you approach a lock, the crew (Jo!) stands poised on the deck with both bow and stern line in hand. She then steps off the boat onto a jetty or wall as the boat slowly passes it and walks alongside the boat as it enters the lock with the lines ready to drop over rings on the dock wall. She places the stern line first and the skipper (me!) stops the boat and secures the other end of the stern line to the stern cleat of the boat. Meanwhile, Jo has swiftly moved forward to drop the bow line over a ring, after which I haul it tight around the winch.

Cyclone secured in the lock. Note the dock ring

The lock is then filled by a student on a summer job (I assume!) at great speed, so that the boat does its best to dash itself to pieces on the lock wall. OK, I exaggerate, but the flow into the lock is very fast (the lift is typically 3m so I suppose it has to be) and I have to work hard to keep the boat close to the lock wall by hauling or winching in the bow line as the level rises. Multiple fenders are a must!

The lock being filled

Then it's just a case of removing the lines from the dock wall, stepping back on board (Jo) and motoring out of  the lock. Then repeat. And again. And again......

What could possibly go wrong? Well, so far we've:

• Lost the stern line from the boat when entering the lock so that I've had to catch it as it hung from the dockside ring before securing it.
• Lost both ends of the stern line (luckily it fell onto the boat) so that I've had to secure it to the boat and throw the other end up to Jo so that she could secure that to the dock.
• Bounced gently off the lock wall when dropping Jo off before entering the lock (thank goodness for those teak rubbing strakes!)
• Left Jo behind at a lock so she's had to walk/run to the next one (it wasn't deliberate, honest!)
• Had difficulty securing the bow line such that the bow has drifted dangerously close to the adjacent yacht before being caught just in time
• Jo has tripped over a ring (when I told her to hurry up!) and added a small cut to her many bruises (mine are bigger though!)

I've heard the canal referred to as divorce alley, but I've no idea why! So far Cyclone has come through unscathed and Jo and I will heal!

Time for some more pictures:

One of the passenger boats which have priority and can cause delays at locks

A canal view

Cyclone at Norsholm, our 3rd port of call

Norsholm lock with railway bridge

Looking back at Norsholm lock

Lake Roxen

Carl Johan lock staircase at Berg - 7 of 'em

On our way up

Berg marina

Our line attached to a stern buoy at Berg, complete with squatters!

Lake Roxen from the top of the Carl Johan locks

Vreta abbey near Berg

Vreta kloster attached to the abbey and Sweden's oldest monastery (1120)

Passenger vessel in Oskars slussar at Berg

Our first queue. Everyone left Berg at the same time. 8.5 hours to cover 19 miles 

One of many bridges

A pastoral scene. The sign indicates 300m to a lock or bridge

Not a bad pad!

An aqueduct with a road underneath

Manual lock at Borensberg. Weight loss programme?!

Lake Boren

The foot of Borenshult lock staircase - 5 locks

That's a first!!

Lake Boren from the top of the Borenshult locks

Too late for the Borenshult locks, so this was our berth for the night. Not a bad view

Railway museum near Motala

Motala railway bridge

The view from Cyclone at Motala

As above

Nesting Swifts(?) in the Motala facilities

And Motala is where we currently reside. It blew a houlie last night and it's still windy now, with wavelets cresting the pontoon that separates us from Lake Vattern.

Our view of Lake Vattern in a F6. A lumpy night!

We're now at an altitude of 88.5m with only another 3.3m  to go before we reach the canal's highest point at Lake Viken. It's all downhill from there!

37 locks behind us and just 21 to go!