First order of the day was to find a shop for some fresh bread and milk. By the time I returned the lockkeepers had started for the day and it was time to go. They soon welcomed us and had us moving through the first few locks.

While waiting for the boats to rise up the first lock it soon became clear that this would be another credit card abusing moment. The charge for using the canal is £9 a metre, Silverwind is classified as 8 metres - work it out! For a three-day licence it came to £24 a day. It was only at the last moment that they realized they could offer me a two-week licence to get through both the Crinan and Caledonian Canals at a “reduced” £140!

That was not the end of the expense as they soon made it clear that it was “impossible” to go through the canal single-handed. It seemed a little stupid that I could have sailed the west coast single-handed but a small freshwater canal would be impossible! In any case I soon agreed to hire an off duty lockkeeper to help me through – a nice sideline for them.

The Crinan Canal consists of fifteen locks over a distance of nine miles. All but the sea lock and first internal lock at each end are manually operated. The inland locks are unmanned and need to be operated by the boats crew. For this you get a “Skippers Guide” with instructions on all aspects of the canal navigation and operation. There are also five road bridges all operated by staff positioned along the canal.

At lock three just after 10am we met up with Jimmy who would be our guide for the day and soon we were on our way.

The general idea when going through the locks is to drop one or two members of your crew (in theory anyway) onto the landing platform. You then motor into the lock, with as many fenders out as money can buy. First hand up a stern line and then bow line. With a loop on the end of each line you place them over the mooring eyes or hooks positioned around the lock. The length of the lines is then controlled from the boat.

While I controlled the lines (mainly adjusting the stern line), Jimmy looked after the lock gates. Many of the instructions relating to the lock seem to be aimed at larger boats with large loads on the ropes. Silverwind however was very easy to control even in the fastest of the flow. The only issue was stopping the fenders being pushed out of the way exposing the hull to the wall of the locks as we rapidly rose.

The control of the lines is far more important when going “up” through the lock as the water comes towards you. Having said that Jimmy always opened the sluice gate on the same side as the boat that keeps you against the wall. The guidebooks suggest that the minimum passage time for the canal is 6 to 8 hours.

By midday we were through lock eight and it was clear that this was going to be a faster than normal passage. To be fair we had a bit of luck, as all the “uphill” locks were open in our direction and we preformed a perfect cross over with a yacht coming up from the north. In any case at midday we had obtained a new altitude record with Silverwind now at the “unusual” height of 68 feet above sea level. It did seem a little strange as we motored along the canal with cars travelling 20 feet below us on a main road.

According to the lockkeepers it had been busy in the canal earlier in the week with many people coming back from a summer in the north of Scotland. However, on this Friday morning we only passed the one yacht and there were no signs of anyone behind us.

Shortly after 2pm we were at the last manual lock. After passing Jimmy a cheque for his services we motored the home stretch down to the Crinan Basin. The only barriers before getting to the basin were two bridges, which were moved at exactly the right moment. In fact with so few people on the canal the lockkeeper controlling the bridges was cycling alongside us and racing ahead to sort out the necessary. By the time we left the last bridge he had arranged a space for us to moor up alongside the bank just above lock 14.

We moved into the last space with the total passage having taken just over 4 and a half hours. It didn’t take long before I realized that this was not the village town we had ever been to. With no mobile or radio reception, no shop and one café I was keen to get going north as soon as possible. To be fair Crinan is a very nice little village set in a valley on the north shore at the head of the Mull of Kintyre peninsular.

Having listened to the 15:20 forecast it was clear that any plans of moving north would have to be shelved for a few day. Gales were forecast to sweep across Scotland for the next few days – the next possible gap appeared to be Monday. After a quick snooze in the late afternoon I woke to a large yacht coming through the locks from the north. As it rose into view I thought I recognised it but was not sure as my eyes were still sleepy.

A quick walk to the lock confirmed it was “Forever Changes” the wildlife research yacht from Falmouth. The skipper had done a talk at Penzance Sailing Club a few years ago. They were heading south after a few months in the northwest of Scotland and I said hello as they promptly made there way down the canal. Saturday and Sunday were spent investigating the local area. It was soon clear that were as the surroundings were very nice the facilities were lacking. To get a shower would mean walking 4 miles! By Monday morning it was clear that any departure would have to be put back again to Wednesday at the earliest. I was pleased I had gone for the two-week licence to get through the Canals otherwise at this point I would have to fork out another £70!

By this point I had run out of any fresh food and discovered the only way to get milk was from the local chandlery, which is the one shop in the village. It was by now a little depressing to know that if I had been one day earlier (remember I got held up for one day in Troon by the gas regulator) I could have made it to the Caledonian Canal by now before the weather and be making may way to Inverness. In a desperate attempt to find something to do on Tuesday I got up early and started the walk to the “local” shops. 8 miles later I was in Lochgilphead at the south end of the canal. After working out how to get a bus back to Crinan (there are two per day) I when to the local supermarket and acquired some bread and three more bags of food!

Wednesday is currently looking about 50/50 for a fast passage to the Caledonian Canal or Oban in between two weather systems.