8th August

My alarm awoke me at 0545 and I got up, started the engine and weighed the anchor, setting course through the mid Vanern Archipelago. By 0600  people were appearing and cups of tea with them and for around an hour we weaved, or mostly the autopilo weaved it’s way in and out of narrow passages between rocks. It was a relatively calm morning and other boats were appearing  and heading in a similar direction. Ailsa and I had spotted a boat in the bay to the North of our anchorage and had thought that it may have been the Swedish yacht that had come through the lock with us at Sjotorp. Had it been we thought we had stolen a march on it but then it appeared weaving through a passage inshore from us ending up ahead of us. The autoroute on the gps kept us clear of shallow water but not necessarily the buoys and we had to make a couple of alterations of course to prevent buoy / boat interactions. It was a grey dry morning but interesting weaving in and around the rocks and islands, within a couple of hours we were in clearer water with the wind pretty much dead on the nose. With it due to increase later we decided to press on under motor and did so. There were about 4 boats ahead of us and 2 astern, all heading South and we ended up leading the pack after about half an hour. A couple of them had half hearted sails up but I thought they’d just be a nuisance, flogging so we didn’t bother. The lake is a nature reserve, there are some fish farms on it and lots of little dan buoys with flags on them marking something or holding nets, we never discovered which. A couple of showers passed through, heavy at times but we made good progress and by lunch time were approaching Vanersborg the town at the top of the Trollhatten canal. We hadn’t found out exactly how the canal worked but thought that we just had to go into it and would be told at some point how to continue. The rain showers got heavier and we were mostly dressed up in oilskins and I deployed the ship’s umbrella. It was 1235 as we approached the first lifting bridge, a Norwegian boat ahead of us had gone underneath it as it had  16 metres clearance but we weren’t going to fit. Ailsa had found on line that the canal operated from 0900-1230 and 1330-1500 and we were wondering whether we needed now to wait until 1330. The boat ahead had become caught in the no man’s land between the higher bridge and a lower one 400m further on, a rail bridge. I tried calling the bridge on channel 9 without result. Sheena found a number and called it and the operator said that they would open in about 10 minutes which was unexpectedly good news. Another shower passed through and we drifted and motored alternately for a bit before the lights on the bridge indicated that it was preparing to open and we then closed up to it. It was a biggish road bridge with towers at either end of the lifting section and soon the lifting section started lifting  and, eventually, a green light gave us permission to carry on, in the meantime the railway bridge further on was opening and  soon we were through them both and heading for the next one. The Norwegian boat seemed to be going quite slowly and we asked if he knew when the next one would open but didn’t really understand the answer. It seemed a bit rude to overtake him so we tucked in slowly astern and after a bit the lights on the next bridge indicated ‘opening soon’ which, indeed, it did. Once through we carried on following the Norwegian boat. The canal here was bigger and more industrial looking than the Gota canal had been. We had sandwiches whilst heading in intermittent sunshine for the first lock. We had fallen a little behind the Norwegian boat by the lock and he had taken the lay by berth to port, as we came close we could see a smoky funnel getting taller in the Lock and surmised a boat was coming up. We slowed right down and pulled over to the Starboard, windward side of the channel. Once the gates had opened we continued hovering whilst the smoky funnel, which had by now turned into a passenger tripper boat, oil fired steam I think, came out and after a bit an angry man on the bridge wing was waving at us indicating we should pass him port to port, as this had been my intention anyway and it was happening anyway I didn’t do much, expecting him to pass and continue along the canal however he a came out again gesticulating more vociferously and had by now stopped. We then motored past him and he started turning to starboard in the space, it appeared that he had come as far as he was going to and was now turning around to go back again. We ended up, first going into the lock, a far bigger affair to the ones on the Gota canal, we stopped at a ladder and put a breast line on and then hooked long head and stern lines onto hooks built into the sides of the lock. The Norwegian boat came in astern of us and then the steamer astern of him. We had thought that someone would come out with a bill for us but soon we were going down. And Down. And down. Near the bottom, about 30 ft down we were running out of length on the ropes and had to pull in the breast line which fell on Jean who was guiding us down the ladder. The whole process was very calm and peaceful in comparison to the Gota canal because the locks were so big and we were sheltered from any wind in them. Once out of the lock the steamer overtook us and seeing an opportunity I increased speed to shadow him and we bowled along at 8 knots for a few miles in a wider more riverine stretch than the previous bit which had been more canaly. Several miles further on we approached Trollhatte and a bridge, as the steamer slowed, so did we and the bridge took ages to indicate it was opening but, eventually it did by which time the Norwegian boat was also approaching. As the bridge opened a railway bridge  300 metres further on opened too and soon we were through them both and heading on down stream. The Norwegian boat made it through the first but not the second one which was more satisfying than it should have been. As we came into the town of Trollhatten and another bridge the steamer pulled into the port side and put out a spring, we weren’t sure whether he was stopping but soon he departed again having possibly picked up or deposited a passenger and we let him go past whilst we both hovered waiting for the bridge to open. Once through we continued for a bit before the next lock appeared and the steamer pulled into a berth on the starboard side and we hovered. Soon the lock opened and we went in, by ourselves this time. There was a sign to say payment would be taken at the next lock. On this lock we dispensed with the head and sternlines and just used the breast line on the ladder  moving it after about 8 steps to save Jean from getting it on the head when it ran out of length. At the next lock we, or Ailsa, paid the fee and were told that after the final of 3 locks there was only one more a bit further down before Goteburg.  Now in the river proper we carried on down with a bit of a flow with us. The river is actually quite attractive with plenty of swans and geeses, Sheena saw a Kingfisher, and we saw a raptor, probably a buzzard. We still had plenty of distance to run to Goteburg and decided to stop at the locks at  Lille Edet. We arrived at around 1730 and although visitor berths were marked could only see big berths with ‘No Yachts’ marked clearly on them, however, shortly an arrow showed us into a peaceful little harbour behind the big berths and we found that there was sufficient water alongside for us, as we were finishing berthing a little varnished motor boat with a family who had passed us in the Vanern Archipelago tied up ahead of us and then the lock opened and 3 other boats pulled in and secured around the harbour. The little varnished motor boat, a 27 footer with a family of 4 aboard and 2 berths turned out to be a Dutch family taking her to Goteburg before having her trucked back to North Holland. Ailsa and I went to the shops whilst Sheena cooked a Chilli and we had a very good chilli and rice for dinner before retiring to bed, soon after which a big freighter must have come through the lock as it disappeared up river; propeller noises are quite loud down below.