M.A.R.I.N.

Off at 09h00 sharp and into the sea lock of the Caledonian Canal where we interview the Lock keeper who is very friendly and informative.  The canal system is well organised and very carefully maintained ~ fantastic to experience heritage as a working and functional environment.

We proceed slowly through series of swing bridges, lock gates and wooded canalised waterway sections that finally open into Loch Ness which is an extraordinarily beautiful stretch of deep water bounded by rugged wooded hills ~ this is the beginning of the Great Glen, a natural fault line that bisects Scotland diagonally between Inverness and Fort William.

The crew of course are more interested in the virtual world, Tapio and Mike (and even the skipper Lars) are below, on-line ~ I am the analogue boy preferring to handwrite and draw up on deck.

Dreaming of sighting the Monster and a single malt when we dock this evening!   We tie up in Fort Augusta at the Northern end of Loch Ness, no Monster but the single malt is highly possible as the lock sides are lined with comfy bars which we loiter in too long and miss dinner ~ having to make do with fish and chips!

We continue to work up the East coast the air is extraordinarily clear, as is the sea.  The coastline looks beautiful and dotted with small settlements as we gradually track to the West into the Firth of Inverness where we plan to moor overnight before entering the Caledonian Canal.

We are accompanied by pods of Dolphin up the Firth which I take as a good omen and finally berth in a small and brand new marina just west of the suspension bridge.  The marina has a distinctly Nordic population, our Danish flag fluttering alongside Norwegian and Swedish pennants; there is even a sailing replica of a Norse longship on our jetty, a reminder of the cultural heritage of these islands ~ it is only a two day sail to Norway from here.

We re-supply in Inverness and spend the evening on-board preparing work schedules and equipment.

Neptune is still demanding his pound of flesh but I am getting on top of the nausea and can begin to focus again.  The solo night watches are have sublime moments with phosphorescence streaming out from the twin transoms and large wracks of rain filled cloud looming over the horizon.

On the midnight to 02h00 watch a serious spate of hand steering as the ship roars dead downwind, sails set Goose-wing and big lumpy breaking rollers piling up from behind pushing her this way and that.   Finally we spy the Scottish coastline and follow it northwards keeping a sharp lookout for the coastal and oil-rig traffic centred about Aberdeen.

Mike volunteers to make a pasta and I realise that I am starving and actually want to eat, even though the idea makes me nervous.  I manage to keep it down and am glad that the boat motion in the following seas is quite different than the rocking horse effect when going straight into it!