Friday 17 July, Gairlochy to Laggan

Caledonian Canal Transit Night 4.

Left Gairlochy around 0945 and entered Loch Lochy.

As our friend Steve Rodgers commented: ‘Ah, I see youre entering the imaginatively named Loch Lochy! Of course, nowadays it would be Lochy McLochface... 😂’

Steve has a point.
Lochy McLochface is about 7.5 miles long and the wind was howling straight at us at 26 knots (Force 6 in English money.) so we just motored into it, glaring jealously at the sailing boats coming the other way, enjoying a ‘Chesapeake Bay Reef’ (means just a headsail.) Some were just motoring, no idea why. Anyway, we arrived at Laggan Lock at 1150, secured up and went to look at the Eagle Barge Inn, which just happens to be straight across the canal from us.

Topped up fresh water, plugged into electricity and went to the pub.

Suitably refreshed it was back onboard for a quiet afternoon, where Barbara is perched in the wheelhouse in her favourite place and Steve is in the saloon doing some Fisher Owners Association Admin stuff and subsequently catching up on this blog.

All of a sudden Barbara heard a drone flying around. A chap from across the canal was having fun flying his toy, so Steve had to join in (from the other side of the canal of course, and at different altitudes in a gentlemanly manner.) Some nice video shot, Amelia (Steve’s drone is called ‘Amelia Airhead’) was put back in her case and the battery back on charge for next time.

We have decided that, after a long and arduous day, we will go back to the barge and have dinner there. Very sensible.

Onboard the ‘Eagle Restaurant’ barge we met up with Kel (Kelston), Jackie and Kel’s son Bradley. Kel too the challenge for a very hot chilli – foolish – the chilli won.

Had long natters with them about boat stuff (like you do) and were invited back onboard their Broome motor cruising ‘Boisterous Mistress’ (!) where more libation was demolished and Steve went back to Wight Mistress (!) to liberate some more whiskey. It was actually getting a bit dark by the time we meandered our way 2 boat lengths along the pontoon and back onboard for bed.Read more