Crinan Canal

[grandpaboat]

I am sorry to say I have stopped using the canal in recent years. Having first transited in the 1960s as a nipper on my father's boat and latterly wintering afloat berthing at Belanoch and Crinan.
Two reasons really I became fed up with other yachts expecting a free passage in not putting crew ashore to help with the lochs. Secondly the bad attitude of a particular Loch Keeper near the Adrishaig end on my last transit.
Also I now enjoy the thrash round the Mull and back between my winter berth on the Clyde and my mooring in Loch Craignish.
I'm a little sad as I also have many fond memories of the canal.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I am sorry to say I have stopped using the canal in recent years. Having first transited in the 1960s as a nipper on my father's boat and latterly wintering afloat berthing at Belanoch and Crinan.
Two reasons really I became fed up with other yachts expecting a free passage in not putting crew ashore to help with the lochs. Secondly the bad attitude of a particular Loch Keeper near the Adrishaig end on my last transit.
Also I now enjoy the thrash round the Mull and back between my winter berth on the Clyde and my mooring in Loch Craignish.
I'm a little sad as I also have many fond memories of the canal.

Another reason is simply that from the east side of the Clyde, there isn't a time advantage to using the canal. You've got to allow at least a day to transit the canal - yes, it can be done faster, and I've done it, but you still have to allow a day for planning purposes. And given the extortionate cost, there certainly isn't a financial advantage! I used it once when I wanted to get to Mull and happened to be starting from Portavadie, when the alternative would have been silly, but I've also gone round the MoK and got to Craobh in pretty much the same time it would have taken to use the Crinan Canal, if not faster.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Another reason is simply that from the east side of the Clyde, there isn't a time advantage to using the canal. You've got to allow at least a day to transit the canal - yes, it can be done faster, and I've done it, but you still have to allow a day for planning purposes.

It's not even safe to allow a day. Last time I went through we were correctly booked into the first convoy, but didn't leave Ardrishaig until past ten and were dumped at Dunardry at 5pm. The next morning three boats watched as staff sent a lockful of water (which we could have been in) all the way to the bottom to bring a boat up, neatly delaying our start down till almost 11am. So that was lock in to Ardrishaig at 8.30am, arrive Crinan 1.30pm the following day. Utterly pathetic. To be fair, I have also had a couple of very smooth and efficient passages with Hugh and Quandary assisting, but it's the unpredictability which is the problem.

We had to get back to the Clyde from Colonsay last summer, and with a reasonable forecast for the Mull it was a no-brainer. Colonsay to Gigha on the morning of Day 1, left Gigha 1.30am and arrived at Campeltown at 11.30am on Day 2, chose to stay there and pick up crew in Lochranza on Day 3 but could easily have made it back to Bute late on Day 2 if we'd wanted.

 

[mainsail1]

Sailing should not be all about the time things take. Why the hurry? The Crinan canal is a wonderful experience which should be repeated now and again.

 

[FlyingGoose]

Perhaps with the new locks and some needed maintenance , which in lock down might be a good thing as they can get at it it will be a little better , There convey system seemed to be a mess, but I do not think its all the canals fault to many people booking and not turning up, ,
Anyways I Had a lovely experience coming back to the Clyde from the canal , Just another Journey to enjoy , as we went the MOK heading North, as every service industry there is good and bad times and good and bad customers and good and bad staff ,

Oh another Story , so I was at the Reception booking in a client and his wife to the hotel late one evening, they gave me their name and booking references and for the love I could not find it , I Kept checking and could not find anything , the Hotel was fully booked so I could not give them a room but if this happens we phone up hotels in the Area to get a room for the guests, nothing anywhere fully booked everywhere ,
This took my time and patience as the customers were getting really angry at this point, so I finally asked to see there booking confirmation to re check everything , well they had only gone and booked the wrong Hotel miles and miles away with the same Name ,
They swore cursed me stormed out of the hotel, next we knew a vile horrible review went up on Trip adviser nothing about their mistake Just about me and the hotel in not a nice light , so Customers are sometimes wrong

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Sailing should not be all about the time things take. Why the hurry? The Crinan canal is a wonderful experience which should be repeated now and again.

The Crinan Canal was created to provide a safe short-cut round the Mull of Kintyre. Yes, it's a pretty ride, but I bought a yacht to sail it and make passages. If I wanted canal holidays, I'd have bought a narrow-boat. WIth modern yachts, it only fulfils its original purpose for yachts based around Loch Fyne and possibly Bute (JumbleDuck might comment on that)., except when there is bad weather round the MoK. I've done both, and from places like Kip, James Watt Dock and Largs there is no doubt that the MoK route is faster unless the weather is bad.

My main grouse is that the pricing is done on the basis of your comment, not on the utility of the passage. If the canal is repaired to work at a proper efficiency, then speed of passage should be emphasized, with a more leisurely passage allowed for those who wish it, possibly with differential pricing - perhaps a lower price for those who are prepared to crack on and get through in a day (with allowances if canal operations prevent this), and a higher price for those who wish to take their time, with the latter being managed so as not to obstruct the former. I've transited the canal twice - and once we did it in not much more than 4 hours, and that as first-timers with only three aboard and no pilot. The return journey took two days, because of delays caused by the operation of the canal - we could have done it much faster.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Sailing should not be all about the time things take. Why the hurry? The Crinan canal is a wonderful experience which should be repeated now and again.

Of course. There should be space for those who want to dally and also for those who want to belt through. Having done, probably, fifty transits now some of the magic is wearing off, but I still enjoy it even when I am in a hurry ... as long as things go smoothly.

 

[JumbleDuck]

The Crinan Canal was created to provide a safe short-cut round the Mull of Kintyre. Yes, it's a pretty ride, but I bought a yacht to sail it and make passages. If I wanted canal holidays, I'd have bought a narrow-boat. WIth modern yachts, it only fulfils its original purpose for yachts based around Loch Fyne and possibly Bute (JumbleDuck might comment on that)., except when there is bad weather round the MoK. I've done both, and from places like Kip, James Watt Dock and Largs there is no doubt that the MoK route is faster unless the weather is bad.

From Kip or JWD you're going to be passing the south of Bute pretty closely, so it's much the same for Brandanes too. We went out through the canal last year only because the weather wasn't suitable for the Mull. Now that my crew is big enough to stand a watch alone - just after the lighthouse to Island Davaar last summer - we no longer need to stop every night and I expect to make more use of the Mull in teh future.

My main grouse is that the pricing is done on the basis of your comment, not on the utility of the passage.

They used to sell single and return tickets, then BWB decided to align it with English canals, for some unknown reason, and so when first went through in 87 (I think) they had just changed to 3, 8 or 15 day licenses. Two threes cost a LOT more than an eight, so being a skint student my first venture outside had to be completed in eight days, Ardrishaig to Ardrishaig. The small discount for a return trip is a step in the right direction, but I agree that charging those who want to belt through on their way somewhere the same as someone who wants to take three days over it makes it unattractive.

By the way, our tradition is that every time we go round the Mull we donate the cost of the canal to Campbeltown lifeboat, who were very kind to my crew a few years ago.

 

[Quandary]

I can just imagine the mayhem if there were two rates, those going for five hours and those wanting to take three days, the only way it would work is if the slow boats were charged less, otherwise they will resent having to give way to boats in a hurry. You can get some proper stooshies if you ask to pass already, I would need to get the oul shillelagh out. Transit has always been processional but I can not remember an occasion where we failed to get a boat through the locks in a day if they started early.
I am sure you guys will be gratified to learn that your concern about transit fees are not shared by the dozens of camper vans that park all along the canal every night for free. We have one couple who spend a good part of every summer in the service car park beside lock 10, the shower/ toilet code is a lot less secure than the keys which they still provide on the Cally.
One of SC current proposals is to reduce hours, I made a plea for extending the sea lock hours at Crinan and for more Sunday opening, they were adamant that there was no demand for it. This despite Argyll Charters moving out of the Canal because they could not get their boats back at weekends.

Some news for the Goose and his friends the swallows, SC were unaware of the birds nesting in the gates but now that they have been told have promised to consider it in their proposals

 

[Aja]

Crinan transit times are all due nowadays to the size of yachts.

Two, at a push three boats in a lock at a time when in the past you would get five in a lock. All those boats (just like mine) with huge ar$es and you won't get through.

Add in that husband has to steer and wife does all the rest of the work you might be lucky to have two women ashore. When we were young there might be ten kids per lock full of boats.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I can just imagine the mayhem if there were two rates, those going for five hours and those wanting to take three days, the only way it would work is if the slow boats were charged less, otherwise they will resent having to give way to boats in a hurry.

All it would need is a one day, or maybe 24-hour, ticket as well as the three-day one.

One of SC current proposals is to reduce hours, I made a plea for extending the sea lock hours at Crinan and for more Sunday opening, they were adamant that there was no demand for it. This despite Argyll Charters moving out of the Canal because they could not get their boats back at weekends.

As I recall, when I started the sealock hours were 8am - 8pm in the summer, 10pm on fishing boat night (Wednesday?) at Crinan. On the other hand most people now seem to overnight in Tarbert or Portavadie before a westbound transit, so maybe there really is no call for late night access to Ardrishaig. I wondered where the hire boats had gone.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Crinan transit times are all due nowadays to the size of yachts.

It reduces the number perlock, but there is so little traffic nowadays that I am not convinced it has much overall effect. I like to spend a day in the basin at Crinan before heading out and it's sad to see how few boats come through nowadays. In two days last year I think we counted about ten in total; when I started (lad) there would have been four in a lock every hour at the very least.

Add in that husband has to steer and wife does all the rest of the work you might be lucky to have two women ashore. When we were young there might be ten kids per lock full of boats.

Went through a with a beautiful but veeeeeerrrrrrrry slow classic yacht last year. Three blokes on board, one wife on shore doing all lines, paddles and gates. No wonder we caught up with them.

 

[Quandary]

It is like ironing, many men do not appreciate that they might ever need to do it.

 

[FlyingGoose]

Well I went through last year W to E and I was on the ropes and locks and the good lady did the Steering , only one light touch on a pontoon and an extremely close call on the starboard side and a wall it must have been millimetres as I Manged to push her off thinking ah well at least I would have something to repair over winter
But she is pretty good at small spaces and angles ,

 

[JumbleDuck]

It is like ironing, many men do not appreciate that they might ever need to do it.

My first university girlfriend dumped me - this is my story and I'm sticking to it - when she discovered that I only ironed the parts of shirts that show. Unfortunately she did not make this discovery in as entertaining a way as I might have hoped.