Monday 5th August - Surviving the 'divorce ditch'!!

A perfect day dawned in Söderköping …

… and Becca and I went for an early morning walk (well, 8.00 am anyway!) up the Ramunderberget Hill to a viewpoint with an excellent vista …

… passing this rather curious sculpture on the way down …

Then it was time to go through the final two locks at Söderköping.  This is looking back at the very last lock actually on the Göta Canal …

So, we had survived the so-called ‘divorce ditch’, the nickname for the Göta Canal!  It earned this nickname from the troubles and arguments that couples apparently have while trying to navigate the many locks by themselves.  Perhaps it was just as well that we had Jo, Caroline, Becca and Gar on board!  It certainly helped to have plenty of hands when negotiating the locks and made the whole experience a lot of fun.  Apart from the first day, the weather also helped as it was mostly warm and sunny the rest of the time.

We just had one last stretch of canal to go – quite narrow and overgrown in places …

… till we arrived at Mem …

… and the final ‘sea lock’ …

This is just before we are released into the sea …

… along with a large clump of weed …

… and we’re out!!

The Trollhätte and Göta Canals together link Gothenburg on the West coast of Sweden with the Baltic Sea just South of Stockholm in the East.  We’ve travelled right across the middle of Sweden via canals and lakes, negotiating 65 locks in total – 6 on the Trollhätte Canal, 58 on the Gota Canal, plus the sea lock at Mem.  We’ve also been under numerous road and rail bridges, many of them opening for us, and plenty of power lines.  It took us 2 weeks in total and we visited many interesting and pretty Swedish towns and villages on the way.  It is quite an experience to traverse the middle of Sweden by canal, and feels like quite an achievement when you get out at the other end!

At first it didn’t feel like being at sea at all – it was flat calm, and just like being in one of the lakes …

However, gradually the wind did increase and we sailed part of the way …

… stopping at Oxelösund for stores.  We didn’t stay long as it was quite industrial and noisy with ships unloading, and the marina was very choppy with the moderate South-East wind plus the wake of passing ships – though it looks quite nice in this picture …

We motored a short way into the islands off Oxelösund, found a comfortable anchorage and enjoyed quite a nice sunset, though you could still see the industrial smoke from Oxelösund in the distance.