Nessie

At 11:30 we're going through a swing-bridge and up the locks, on another sunny day. We're following "Mitar", a huge Russian catamaran which has some difficulty manoeuvring in the narrow locks. An English sailboat, "Solan", ties up alongside us, giving us plenty of line handlers. As we pull the boats through the locks Terry, crew on "Solan", has a romantic tale to tell. His childhood sweetheart is now a widow in New Zealand. And that's where Terry is heading now.

From Muirtown we tie up and go shopping at Calley Marina's chandlery. Along the other side of the canal we can see a Norwegian boat. "Sesam" from Harstad. Its skipper, Lasse Nordang, has built the boat himself. Tired now of sailing the seven seas he thinks he might retire to the Mediterranean. Maybe remove the mast and sail the canals in France.

We go up the last lock, Dochgarroch, and then motor-sail the Loch Ness, right against the wind. We don't we Nessie but we notice "Solan" tacking nicely, about halfway up the loch.

At 8:30pm we tie up at Fort Augustus. No problem finding a lively pub with music and a pint of good ale.