20.06 – Upwards through the Göta Kanal
25 August 2020 | Picture: Norrkvarn Lock
Twenty locks up from Lake Vänern to the summit and another thirty-eight going down to the Baltic: that's what we'd let ourselves in for. There are also forty-one lifting bridges across the 190 km length of canal, a distance which includes the crossing of four lakes. Construction of the Göta Kanal commenced in 1810 and it was opened in 1832, forming an alternative to the sea route between the east and west coasts of Sweden. The lead consultant was none other than Scotland's Sir Thomas Telford, the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers (of which yours truly is a somewhat less distinguished member), who had recently designed the Caledonian Canal. He also provided much of the technology and many of his craftsmen. The canal is now largely used by private pleasure craft and passenger vessels. The maximum size of boat it can accept is 30m x 7m x 2.8 m draught x 22 m height.
During the main summer season, all of the locks are manned and boats can come and go as they please, once they have paid the fee. However, in spring and autumn, boats have to be pre-booked into a convoy, which follows a preset itinerary and takes five days to make the transit, accompanied by a lock-keeper with a car. By prior arrangement it is permitted to drop out of one convoy for a break, then tag onto the next one two or three days later. The canal company provides a number of gästhamns along the way, usually consisting of a timber jetty ("brygga") next to the canal bank, with electricity connection and access to well-kept toilets, showers and laundry facilities all included within the transit fee. The canal is closed during the winter.
Our trip didn't exactly get off to an auspicious start. The lovely lady who had signed us in and was to operate the locks for us, tripped on a bollard at the very first locking and needed treatment for a nasty head wound. A relief lock-keeper soon arrived however, and we got under way. We were in company with two other yachts, probably the ideal number as three fit easily into a lock in a staggered arrangement. There was a young couple who had just bought their boat Blues and were bringing her home, and an experienced trio of men on Stormhatt. We all got along very well and helped each other with lines. The lock-keeper, it seems, will not assist with boat handling other than to operate the lock gates and bridges.
The recommended procedure for going upwards in the locks worked reasonably well. The hardest part was the arrival, when the boat had to be brought close enough alongside a short jetty ahead of each lock so that a crew member could step off carrying both lines. A bowline on each line was placed over an eye-bolt on the lock edge, under but not through the iron ring. The aft line was set up vertically and made fast to the stern cleat so it was tight. The for'd line was secured some distance ahead of the boat, the other end having previously been rigged to pass through a block seized to the bow mooring cleat and back to a sheet winch. As the boat rises, the helmsman winds in the winch to keep the boat tight to the wall. Once at the top, the crew lifts off the warps and steps back aboard. We used a fender board and every fender we had, with the socks removed to avoid them getting engrained with dirt. One needs to agree beforehand with your lock-mates which yacht goes where, so that fenders and warps can be arranged accordingly.
We travelled only 10 miles on the first day but negotiated nineteen locks, of which two were doubles and one a triple. We also went through ten bridges which were remotely opened as we approached. The design of road bridges varies between substantial bascule bridges to narrow decks that retract to one side on rollers. One tended to have longer waits at railway bridges because the lock-keeper had to negotiate for a time-slot. The land either side of the canal is low-lying, with farmland and occasional homes beyond the tree-lined banks. There were cyclists, runners and walkers on the tow-path, and invariably a group of spectators at each lock. Both locks and bridges normally have a pretty keeper's cottage alongside, nowadays in use as a home or sometimes a café. We stopped for the night at Töreboda, a rather dull looking town, once important as the junction between canal and railway. It came to life in the morning when a stream of teenagers walked past on their way to school.
In contrast to the previous day, on day two we encountered only two locks but travelled 25 miles. There were still ten bridges but in addition we had two lakes to enjoy. For the first 8 miles we followed one contour sinuously through the countryside until we reached Tåtorp. Here the gates are still operated by hand, and boaters are invited to help. A capstan with a pinion engages with a rack on a timber beam which pushes or pulls the gates. With a rise of just 20 cm we had reached Lake Viken, the highest section of the canal: 91.8m above sea level. The lake is V-shaped, each arm about 6 miles long, and the shores and numerous islands are covered in trees. The western arm has open water, and it was a relief to cut our engine and sail for a while. Round the corner, the channel becomes more intricate and the wind became fickle, so soon the engine was back on. After a mile or so stretch of canal we reached our second lock of the day, which again was a water-control lock with a minimal fall. This marked the start of our downhill passage and led onto the small lake Bottensjön and across to the town of Karlsborg. Just one more bridge and we were out on Sweden's second largest lake: Vättern.