Day 4 - Cairnbaan to Crinan

Tuesday 10th August dawned warm and sunny, and it wasn't long before the Good Ship was again chugging away down the canal in the wake of Frank and Dannsa na Mara. The descent throught the canal was a good deal smoother than the trip to the summit, mainly due to the fact that the water is leaving the lock on the way down whilst entering it on the way up. Shipmate Farago prepared a great fried breakfast again whilst on the move, and it was a happy ship that made her way towards Crinan. The canal is superbly beatiful along it's length, especially so on the final descent to the Crinan basin. We passed through woods and fields, nature snuggling up against the boat on all sides, the bright white lock-keepers houses and neatly kept gardens providing further interest to the visual feast. One particularly wooded section lead to some swamplike by-lanes with a couple of small wooden cabins built on little islands. The first of these was a techni-coloured delight which could have been dreamed up by Hans Christian Anderson himself, being utterly gingerbrad house-like in appearance save for the multitude of different colours on every different piece of timber and pane of glass. A little painted sign titled 'Rainbow Island' completed the picture. A jolly middle-aged man emerged from the front door and called over how beatiful the Good Ship looked, and we returned the compliment about his house.

On arrival in Crinan, we decided to raft up alongside Dannsa na Mara for the night, and after a bit of 'this boat doens't steer in reverse' jiggery pokery we tied up facing the opposite direction, a decision that the skipper was to rue the following day. Showers were obtained from the Crinan Boatyard, a thriving, go-ahead sort of a place with many wooden boats in various states of repair adorning a traditional shed and slipway. Indeed Crinan itself consists mainly of the boatyard and the hotel, with less than a dozen homes to speak of but a beautiful and historic canal basin in which the Skipper's cousin Mike lives on his boat whilst commuting to work in LochGilphead.

After dinner, the crew headed down to the Crinan Hotel to meet with Frank and Tanya, and cousin Mike. True to form, Mike regaled us with tales of the canal (it seems that 'Rainbow Island' man washes naked in the canal...!!!) and of the various people and boats that he and Pat, his brother, had raced on over the years. The stories about 'bionic' yacht racing legend Bill Mackay were particularly well received, old Bill being impervious to the harsh cold of ocean racing after a number of operations following a racing car crash had left him without any perception of temperature. Very useful it would seem, at times. It was shortly after midnight and the canal was as placid as ever when the crew stumbled back to the ship and turned the glowing lamps down for a good night of well earned rest.