Sail the Caledonian Canal: Inverness to Oban

FULL VOYAGE DESCRIPTION

Embarking in Inverness

Standard embarkation time for Provident is 2pm, so you may wish to arrive the evening before and stay in Inverness for a night, exploring the city’s old town and perhaps paying a visit to The Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, which has fantastic collections spanning local and Highland history and culture.

Once on board you’ll enjoy a familiarisation from the crew before setting off through the Clachnaharry sea lock to start your inland waterway adventure.

The Caledonian Canal

Passage through the canal is a fantastic sailing holiday, especially for those who aren’t quite ready for a deep sea adventure. There are some sedate stretches along the narrow channels, but there are also plentiful opportunities for ‘proper sailing’, across stunning steep-sided Lochs with a stiff breeze.

This vital link between the North Sea and the West Coast doesn’t actually include all that much man made canal. Thomas Telford, the engineer behind the canal, recognised that the ‘Great Glen’ fault-line did most of the work already, and what was needed was to link up the Lochs Ness, Oich and Lochy with a few additional channels (the man made sections totalling only around a third of the total length).

One of the biggest challenges to shipping through the canal is the difference in altitude across its length, with some sections reaching 32 meters above sea level.

To combat this there are 29 locks along the Caledonian, including the famous ‘Neptune’s Staircase’, the longest chain of locks in Britain. 8 locks raise ships a total of 20m in under half a mile. This is a real sight to behold, and apart from the upgrade to hydraulic rather than manual capstans (speeding up the process considerably), the technology in use is pretty much the same as it was when it was first built in the 1820s.

With Ben Nevis behind you, the final stretch of this passage includes a sheltered sail down Loch Linnhe, past some of the small isles and into the bay behind Kerrera to reach Oban. These are some of the most spectacular landscapes yet, with the Isle of Mull stretching out in front opposite the dramatic mainland coast.

Disembarking in Oban

The unofficial capital of the West Highlands, Oban’s transport links make onward planning nice and straightforward.. There are good rail links and some of the most glorious landscapes to pass through en route home again. Standard disembarkation time for Provident is 10am, so following a hearty breakfast you can have time to explore ashore before making your onward journey.

WINDS, WAVES & WEATHER

Mostly flat water, with the possibility of some slightly stiffer conditions once you set out down Loch Linnhe towards Oban on the last day of your trip. The wind can be quite strong along the canal, especially in the more open natural sections and, as its Scotland, you should expect a bit of rain!

HANDS ON HOLIDAYS

Whether you are an experienced sailor or a complete beginner, the professional crew will train you to be guest crew from the moment you arrive, with the intention that everybody works together to sail the ship. The common thread to all Classic Sailing holidays is ‘Hands on’ participation on ships that use ropes, blocks and tackles and ‘people power’ to set sail.

SAILING STYLE & LIFE ON BOARD

We cater for a wide range of ages and physical abilities and how much you are expected to do varies a bit between vessels. See the vessel tab above which explains all about the ‘sailing style’ and what to expect in terms of hands on participation. There is a lot of information about day to day life, the ships facilities and accommodation on the vessel pages.

AGILITY & FITNESS

Every customer sailing with us will need to fill in basic medical questions on their booking application. If you are not sure if your current level of fitness and agility are up to a voyage, then please ring the Classic Sailing Office on 01326 53 1234 and we can chat through your concerns and possibly find options that might suit you better.

Provident - Kit List

What is Included:

• Bedding
• All meals and soft drinks aboard.
• All safety equipment, including lifejackets
• Fantastic sailing

What is Not Included:

• Travel to and from your voyage
• Personal travel insurance.
• Alcohol (although reasonably priced wine, beer and whisky will be available to purchase on board). Consumption of alcohol is always at the discretion of the skipper
• Waterproofs - If this is your first voyage good walking waterproofs will be fine. We only recommend buying sailing waterproofs if you are frequent sailors.
  • You will find exploring ashore in walking gear much better than struggling around in sailing kit!

What to Bring

• Enthusiasm!
• Waterproofs - see above.
• Your own towel.
• Hats for sun and cold weather.
• At least two sets of warm clothes - layers e.g. tracksuit bottoms, shirts, fleece jacket, wool jumpers, thick socks, and neck scarf. It can get cold at sea even in mid summer.
• Swim suit, towel, and suntan lotion.
• Flat shoes with a good grip e.g. trainers or sailing deck shoes. Sailing boots or wellies are also helpful.
• (An alterative to boots in summer is to bring another pair of flat shoes with a good grip in case the first pair get wet).
• All terrain type Sandals are great for dinghy trips ashore – but you do need shoes which protect your toes for sailing.
• Camera, binoculars, sketchbook, a relaxing read.
• Any medication, spare spectacles. Seasickness tablets or pressure-point wrist bands (talk to your pharmacist)
• Your own logbook if you'd like to keep track of your sea miles
• Tech chargers (USB sockets are available in all the cabins) and waterproof cases for anything valuable

N.B. BOATS HAVE LIMITED STORAGE SPACE SO PLEASE LIMIT YOURSELF TO ONE SOFT BAG OR RUCKSACK  (NOT SUITCASES)