On Thursday we ventured through the first lock and gently motored along the narrow canal. Unlike the Caledonian, in the Crinan canal you have to operate the locks yourself. With two people this is somewhat tricky, but by no means impossible. Initially we got lucky and went through the first 5 or so with another boat. Many hands make light work and we were getting through them at a good pace. We decided to stop after number 8 and went alongside a pontoon for the night. We ate well at the Cairnbaan Hotel and had a little too much to drink. Neither of us slept that well. This could have been due to the alcohol, or it could have been the torrential rain waking us up. We thought we were in for a whole day of it but we dragged ourselves up and through a few more locks. This time we were on our own. Graham was on the boat and I was ashore operating the locks. By the end we were well practised and I was relishing the challenge. By lunchtime the sun came out and it stayed out. We arrived at Ardrishaig at about 1700 and promptly relaxed with an ice cream followed by a beer.
Tomorrow we'll head back out to sea as we begin the last few days of our 14 week trip.
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