Mooring in a Moat - The Gota Canal part 2

Motala has a motor museum and several km of sandy beach north of the town centre, but we didn't visit either. Instead, we just took a quick look around the town and stocked up with groceries from the Coop and wine from the Systembolaget (I think that's how you spell it). Supermarkets in Sweden don't stock wine - just beers up to 3.5% abv. We had expected it to be really expensive, but it's actually about the same price as in England.

Cyclists in Motala - I know cycling's supposed to be green, but.......

Graham and Fay of the Cruising Association had told us about a rather special mooring place in Lake Vattern. Vadstena is famous for its castle and the marina is actually located in the castle's moat! Check out the pictures below:

Approach to Vadstena marina

That's Cyclone in a moat!

And again!!

The view from our orangery

Cyclone's position on our chart plotter

We visited the castle itself, but it's still being restored and not much more than an empty building. Impressive sized rooms though.

Inside Vadstena Castle

Unsurprisingly you often see the same boats as you travel along the canal. Most are fairly average yachts and motorboats, but you do get a few that stand out.

We photographed 2 that fall into the latter category in Vadstena. We'd shared a few locks with the catamaran below and the splintering of fibreglass (fortunately not ours) still rings in my ears whenever I think of it! If you look closely, this boat is held together with numerous patches of fibreglass matting. It was berthed near us at Berg and I watched it being bailed out in the morning before the engine was started, at which point the skipper almost disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke. I do hope they made it across the lakes OK.

I hope they made it

We first saw Erna (below) in Motala, but it was in Vadstena that we really took notice of her. Her skipper had motored her up to the castle but her size meant that there were no suitable berths available for her. He therefore had to turn her around in a space that was about 1.5 times her length.

Such events often make for good spectator sport - providing your own boat is at a safe distance! - and this one was no exception. Erna had bow and stern thrusters - propellers that push the bow and stern sideways - which were operated by remote control! The skipper stood on the deck and calmly rotated her in her own length using nothing more than a small box and a couple of joysticks. Well cool (as the kidz would no doubt say).

Erna

That wasn't the only trick Erna had up her sleeve though. Look closely at the picture above and you can just see the Fiat 600's roof in the bow. It's much more obvious in the picture below, as is the crane which is presumably used to lift it on and off. Wicked (how am I doing Ashley?)!

Fiat 600 (I think) and crane

We also came across this in Vadstena:

Why?

A poor weather forecast meant that we left Vadstena to cross Lake Vattern and rejoin the canal in Karlsborg after just one night. We actually managed to sail across which was bliss!

Our engine had been getting too hot if we ran it at more than about 1800 revs and, whilst it looks like I've managed to fix the problem by cleaning a partially blocked pipe and fitting a new thermostat, I'm still not completely relaxed when forced to push the engine a bit. Sailing is unsurprisingly what Cyclone does best, and to cream along with just the sound of the water rushing past the bow is what it's all about. Lovely!

Karlsborg's claim to fame is its fort, which is enormous. It took 90 years to build and when it was completed in 1909 it was already out of date. It has a museum in part of its massive reduit.

Karlsborg museum entrance

From Karlsborg, we set off for Forsvik and thence Lake Viken - the highest part of the canal.

Bottensjon - en route to Forsvik

Forsvik was where work on the Vastergotland section of the canal began and, in 1813, the first of the canal's 58 locks was completed there. This was partially blasted through the rock, and it shows! The picture doesn't make it obvious, but that lock wall is really not smooth.

Forsvik lock - check out the walls

The Forsvikskanalen was hugely expensive to create as it had to be blasted through the headland between Bottensjon and Dammsjon. Understandably given the difficulty of construction, it's not very wide, so you just have to hope that you don't meet something coming the other way unless you're in one of the designated passing places.

A narrow section of canal between Forsvik and Lake Viken

Lake Viken itself has some interesting channels too:

Sometimes you wish you had someone to follow. I know it says keep left, but....

Channels in Lake Viken...

.. and again

Once across Lake Viken (into up to 30 knots of wind, despite the forecast of light winds) you re-enter the canal proper at Tatorp - one of 2 hand operated locks on the canal and our first downhill one. The following section of the canal is, at 91.5m, the highest point of the dug canal. This is celebrated by an obelisk which was positioned on a hairpin bend at Lanthojden. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, the decision was taken to bypass this dreaded bend and, between 1930 and 1933, a new section was blasted through to do just that. The result is that you can no longer see the obelisk from the canal, but we walked back to find it in any case.

Obelisk (and a mad woman pretending to be an obelisk......)

Bridge over disused part of the canal

Boat moored in disused section of the canal

Rock spoil alongside the canal

Bypass!

The scenery in this part of the canal is rather different, with lots of agricultural land.

Field near Vassbacken, where we moored for a couple of nights

Cows

We're now in Lyrestad, our second stop after Vassbacken. We'd enjoyed a few lock free miles since Tatorp and boy did we pay for it today! We've come about 6 miles from Toreboda, during which we've passed beneath 7 lifting/sliding bridges and descended no less than 11 locks! Relaxing? Don't get me started.....

En route to Lyrestad, prepared for yet another lock

The last lock before Lyrestad and it's behind us. Yippee!!

We got here soon after midday and just before the rain started. Now for a rest!

Only about 5 miles (4 bridges and 8 locks) to go before the end of the Gota canal and then it's Lake Vanern, the Trollhatte Canal and Gota Alv to Gothenberg.