We leave our berth and head for “Neptune’s Ladder” a series of eight locks that take us to the Sea Lock and out to the Firth.
“Boogie Woogie” is a big vessel, 11.9 metres long and 6.7 metres wide, sitting high in the water and so attracts a good deal of attention from the tourists who track our relatively slow progress through the serial locks. We walk the big boat along the lock-side paths, leading her like a horse on a halter, and holding her as the water falls and gates swing open.
Once we have cleared the final Sea Lock we cruise down the Firth heading for Oban and watching for the foul weather that has been forecast. Predictably it arrives, heavy grey rain wrapped in a cold wind, Ben Nevis has its peak shrouded in low cloud moody as a pagan God.
All hands to the keyboards below as the ship once again turns into a typing pool, The robot ship running on auto-pilot, blindly forging out to sea, deaf dumb and blind but with a great sense of direction!
We arrive in a marina nestled behind a fortified Manse, some 3 nautical miles North of Oban and head for the Restaurant ~ finally we are in time to eat!