S/Y Babette Sails to the Caribbean

S/Y Babette sails to the Caribbean, carefully avoiding the Pirates, and then sails back again to Norway.

The crewmembers: Shannon
About the crew:
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See more of our photos at www.flickr.com
(Want to read the posts in chronological order?)

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Up Neptune's Staircase


8am. A reasonable hour. "Adventura II" and "Babette" are lifted up the sea lock. And who do we see? "Vanvara"! Last seen in The Azores. And now with no motor. Well, not quite true. They've jury-rigged their 4hp dinghy outboard on the stern and whizzed across still waters at top speed, 3 knots. Comfortable here in the canal.
Now, at Banavie, we're at the foot of Neptune's Staircase, eight locks in a row. But the push-button type, no heavy wooden doors to shove open, unlike Crinan. We're up at the top in a jiffy. And, Per Arne, with hang-glider along, on "Adventura II", is even further up. Up our mast. Retrieving our genaker halyard. Now we're ready for following light winds over the North Sea. (light, following? The North Sea?!)

And we're off. Leaving the other Norwegian boats behind, we hope to make it to Augustus where "Noravind" is helping to celebrate "Don't Worry's" wedding, and we can get a meal at The Bothy pub. How many locks and lochs can we do today? In rain and fog, in full foul weather gear we climb the locks and sail the lochs: Gairlochy Locks, Loch Lochy, Laggan Locks and swing bridges. We get through Aberchalder Swing Bridge and. Full stop. Cullochy lock will open tomorrow morning, 8am. Meanwhile, between the bridge and the lock, we have the whole rainy, pine-lined canal all to ourselves.

Hello! Anybody out there?

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