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Sunday, June 3<\/h2>\n
It was Sunday morning when we saw the G\u00f6ta Canal for the first time. Exactly put down it was its beginning or its eastern end, if you want. Long sea bay, first lock with a harbour above and then only a narrow ribbon of a water stream disappearing into a forest. But this all we watched from a car on our way to S\u00f6derk\u00f6ping where we were about to embark.
\n\u201eOur\u201c boat was touched at a jetty. It carried a stately name \u201eRegina von Platen\u201c given to it after a wife of Baltazar von Platen. At 3 P.M. Stefan Sahl\u00e9n arrived and without unnecessary explanations gave the ship into our custody for a week. I have no idea what Ms. Platen was like, but our Regina was a kind of \u201ea real tanker\u201c: fully metallic construction, size 10,8 x 3,3 x 0,9 m and a diesel engine 75 hp. Its maneuverability was great due its rotary propeller and a hydraulic propulsion. Especially reversing was pleasing and easy. The ship was equipped for 8 people staying in – \u201elike meant\u201c for our two-men plus fox-hound Aida crew. We made ourselves at home and went for a test navigation in the evening, waiting for the very start on Monday morning.<\/p>\n\n\t\t
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Monday, June 4<\/h2>\n
Monday morning finds us in S\u00f6derk\u00f6ping waiting for a ship convoy from Mem. It should arrive around 10 A.M. but you know convoys \u2026 And why to wait for them? The full season on the canal hasn\u00b4t started yet and locks and bridges function only according to a limited timetable. They let through only the boats that set sail together from Mem on Monday and sail for Sj\u00f6torp on Sunday and the ships navigating the opposite direction. I do not think anyone minded this \u201eorganized sail\u201c as the daily laps are scheduled suitably – both the number of locks per one day and an overnight stays in some of the comfortable harbours along the way are well chosen.
\nFinally just before the noon we are puting forth accompanied by 8 other ships – most of them are sailing vessels – heading for nine one-step and two double-step locks and few swing-bridges and flying-bridges. This does not make our pace any faster, while the usual speed on a clear canal is about 10-12 km\/hour. After doing some \u201ehard shipman\u00b4s drudgery\u201c in the locks we are enjoying cruising the first lake – a reeden Aspl\u00e4ngen.
\nIn Norsholm – a beginning of The Roxen Lake – we arrive at 7 P.M., having more than two hours of navigation against the setting Sun on a long lake sheet ahead. Thanks to almost white Swedish nights it feels like noon when we are arriving at Berg a while after 10 P.M. We have made 50 km on the canal and straight above us there is \u2026 but this is a tomorrow story.<\/p>\n
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Tuesday, June 5<\/h2>\n
Last night we were falling asleep and today we are waking up looking at an unique seven-steps lock stairs in Berg (Carl Johan slussar). The view is imposing esp. when streams of an affluent water are swarming through all the lock gates. We get into the bottom chamber at 11 A.M. as today\u00b4s third round. Sailing through the stairs are quite demanding. Filling the chambers with water through the bottom of the upper gate causes a strong stream and keeping the ship calm requires a lot of attention and work with ropes.
\nAnd the result of all of this? Two hour later we are 160m farther and 18.5m higher up \u2026 And there are still four double-step locks ahead – one every 300m.. But first of all we have to wait for a big holiday motor boat Juno to cope with this cascade. Boats of this size always have the right of way.Than we navigate few kilometers to a harbour in Borenshult, we anchor at 6 P.M. But not even this part of our journey is flowing smoothly. We have to wait for few bridges to open. One of them are out of order for one hour! Over here the locks operators are the masters of our time. But why to rush?<\/p>\n\n\t\t
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Wednesday, June 6<\/h2>\n
Today\u00b4s plan is not difficult – except for another \u201elock delicacy\u201c. At 10 A.M. we should bi under the Borentshult five-steps lock stairs. That means latest at half past eight we have to sally for 13 km long crossing The Boren Lake.
\nUpheaving up the lock stairs became almost routine, but this time the waterfalls from the upper gate are mightier and we take a front place in the chamber. One and half hours later all the ships are 15.3m higher. 4 km long navigation with few bridges follows. The last three ones are 3,5m high what allows us to pass without lifting. Our fellow sail-vessels cannot do that. At the end we are not any faster, because just before the harbour there is one more lock and we have to wait for our sail-companions. This lock is worth mentioning: it is built to equalize an occasional raise of The V\u00e4tern Lake against the water level in the canal – at the we are passing it the difference is 10 cm.
\nAnd early in the afternoon we anchor in Motala harbour and as every day of our trip we enjoy the luxury of a well equipped bathroom a few steps from the boat.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thursday, June 7<\/h2>\n
We could call this day \u201erelaxing and distributary\u201c. \u201eRelaxing\u201c because we will move only from Motala to Vadsena – it is about 12 km cruise across The V\u00e4ttern Lake. \u201eDistributary\u201c because Vadstena is not situated on G\u00f6ta canal, but on the lake bank to the south from Motala.
\nThe weather is still beautiful: Clear sky, air temperature at 9 A.M. is 20\u00b0C, the water temperature is 12\u00b0C, wind 1 m\/s, the wind direction NNE, high pressure area staying in the place (information from the W.S. in the Motala hatbour). We arrive in Vadstena at 11 A.M. and we gaze at the marina – it is situated in a real moat under a forcible fortification of a large renaissance castle.. We sail in through a short canal straight from the lake. We have never seen more curious and more romantic harbour. This castle and other monuments of Vadstena are the reason why we decided to deflect from the canal.
\nEven though our ship did not mind the water temperature at all, our bodies found it very, but very cold when we decided to go for an afternoon swimming \u2026 But how many times in life you get the chance to swim in The V\u00e4ttern Lake?<\/p>\n\n\t\t
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Friday, June 8<\/h2>\n
We leave the \u201erenaissance marina\u201c before nine a.m. and set out to put over the lake \u2013 it will be 32 km long cruise. Even though the orientation in the terrain is easy, I recommend to insert 3 or 4 way points into GPS. This way you easily pass the underwater rocks in the middle of the lake, that are marked only with a few tame cardinal signes. Only problem is that Aida is a bit worried when the boat swings more than usually\u2026
\nWe arrive in Karsborg before lunchtime and a lowered road bridge is standing in way. It will open for us in the evening. But never mind, the Karlsborg fort (Karlsborgsf\u00e4stning) tour takes almost whole afternoon and is definitely worth visiting.
\nJust pass the bridge there is a refueling station. We would like to refill the tank, but it excepts payment cards only and seems out of order\u2026we do not have enough courage to insert our card\u2026so we carry on. An hour later afer crossing a small lake The Botten, we anchor near a lock in Forsvik. And we feel the touch of the canal history. It was here where the idea of the canal existence was born, here the first G\u00f6ta lock was built, here you can find the oldest flying-bridge in Sweden,\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Saturday, June 9<\/h2>\n
Saturday morning: hop and we are up. The \u201ehop\u201c is the last lock elevation in Forsvik and the \u201eup\u201c means that we are in the highest part of the channel, one the level of The Viken Lake, 91.8 above the sea level. Before we get to the lake we navigate for one kilometer through narrow rocky runway with one way traffic and through straits enclosed with stoney embankments in the lake bay.
\nThe Vikem Lake is 23 km long part of the canal. Beauty of its scenery will make happy even the ones, that have seen a lot on the waterways and the sea. The lake rim is not wide, horse-shoe shaped and very jagged. Narrow canals among tens of small islands and rocks are marked with buoys. The banks are deserted and rimmed with coniferous forests. The sunny weather and calm make an incomparable feeling of a total relaxation, disturbed only by the engine crooning.
\nAnother part of the canal stirs out of the lake in T\u00e4torp, where we have to tackle one pitoresque \u201esluss\u201c this time all the way down. It is one of two locks on the canal that kept in manual operation and release of 20 cm. We end the day in T\u00f6reboda after two hours of navigating, of which a lot of time was taken by \u201edrifting\u201c at closed bridges.<\/p>\n\n\t\t
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Sunday, June 10<\/h2>\n
We are going for fast ride today, we will navigate \u201edownhill\u201c: the 19 km distance and the height difference of 48 m will be tackled by 17 locks \u2013 single ones or the ones compounded into double or tripple steps. We will go all the way to The V\u00e4tnern Lake.
\nIt is still warm weather, actually the warm weather is reaching its peak. Long delay while waiting for opening a rail-bridge is not annoying, but it is an opportunity to go for a pleasing swim in the canal. Water in this western descending part is quite clean thanks to a sufficient water supply from The Viken Lake.
\nAs we are geting closer to Sj\u00f6torpe, our week long navigation is coming to its end. At 3 P.M. we say good bye the other ships in our convoy and turn into an upper harbour of Sj\u00f6torpe\u2026gl\u00fcckliche Schifffahrt\u2026happy navigation\u2026dobrou plavbu.
\nStefan Sahl\u00e9n is already waiting in the harbour, we exchange his ship for our car, which he brought to us from the start of our journey\u2026se you next time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Swedish G\u00f6ta Canal wa perfect. I know, the weather was very kind to us, actually unbelievable considering the fact that it was Scandinavian late spring. But even if the weather was worse it would have been worth going there: wonderful countryside, pleasant harbours. \u201eactive sweat\u201c at the locks, long cruising the lakes, comfortable ship\u2026 <\/p>\n
\nWith goo weather forecast we left to wander around Sweden\u2026but this is a topic for inland travelers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n