Dirona through Scotland's Crinan Canal (MV Dirona Channel)
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- čas přidán 1. 09. 2017
- This video with audio commentary shows Nordhavn 52 Dirona making a three-night pass through Scotland’s 15-lock Crinan Canal system.
The Crinan Canal is a 9-mile, 15-lock passage between the villages of Ardrishaig and Crinan. The canal came online in 1801 largely serving commercial traffic and allowing them to avoid the longer run around Kintyre Peninsula and the exposed and current-swept Mull of Kintyre. Today the lock system is used by recreational boaters either avoiding that same long run around the Mull of Kintyre or just wanting to experience the beauty of the canal.
On Dirona, we have in the past transited large lock systems including the Columbia and Snake river locks (www.mvdirona.com/Trips/Columbi...) but what makes the Crinan Canal special is the intimacy of the trip. It’s barely bigger than the boat, the Scottish countryside is beautiful, and the locks are all operated by hand. Boaters have to run the locks themselves including providing the “horsepower” to open and close the large wooden gates and actuate the sluice gates. It makes for a really fun trip and, with only two people on the boat, it’s surprisingly busy.
As is often the case in Scotland, we had driving rain, bright sun, still conditions, and wind gusts to 30 kts. The rain and wind made things more challenging with Jennifer on shore operating the locks and James on the boat moving in and out of the locks and tending the lines.
For context and additional photos, see mvdirona.com/trips/britishisle....
Wow, that looked so tight and no margins for error. Job well done, nerves of steel
really appreciate the work that went into adding the narration!
Excellent video and great commentary. I had several questions that you answered along the journey. Well done, Hamilton's and Dirona.
Great video, the canal is so beautiful, calm and relaxing.
My hat is off to you guys! I have been at sea in big ships and small fishing boats that size many years ago. Keep up the travels, and keep spreading the wanderlust amongst us land locked heathen! Thank you!
Great video. Looks like you had some fine Scottish weather. At least it wasn't snowing.
Thank you for the experience Safe Voyages Happy Landings
That was so awesome to see. Thank you. Subscribed!
Great upload. I live in Dunoon ,Argyll and regularly work around Crinan and Lochgilphead. It was pretty neat to see Dirona going through the Crinan Canal.
Love your “little ship” and your uploads.
Nordhavns are a dream for many people. You guys are living that dream!! Happy sailing
We had a GREAT trip through the canal.
Jennifer, you are very articulate. It’s a pleasure listening to you describe the trip and the challenges.
Thanks. We've got to get going on the next video ...
Wow, I had to have a beer just watching a lot of work trans-versing all those locks.
That's where we were by the of each day as well! Jennifer from hard work and me from the tight quarters and winds on the second day.
Well done. Great video. I especially liked the narration.
Fantastic trip segment.
Seeing that you made it puts a huge smile on my face. I say all of the big crossings that you have made. Wow! Impressive. The single engine boat and what you have put it through is a testament to your skill as a sailor and the endourability of the Nordhaven brand.
Thanks Steve. Our longest crossing was St. Helena in the South Atlantic to Barbados which was 3689 nautical miles (6832 km) and 25 days at sea. With more than 600 hours underway we even had to change the oil on the main engine :-).
What a great trip, thanks!!
Thanks for taking the trouble to make, edit and post these videos, I know it is a lot of effort but much appreciated.
Watching your videos and those from other " wanderers"..makes me going down memory lane and all the COULD HAVE...SHOULD HAVE...WOULD HAVE...
but never did because of life happening and putting the brakes on dreams or throwing a rock in the cogs..!
I am envious but have great pleasure watching the "young ones" doing their thing while having fun..!
All the best...and good wishes.!
That was exactly whey Jennifer and I decided to take time off our jobs and do a trip around the world. In the end, I didn't even end up taking time off work. That slowed the trip down greatly but we still got it done.
We had been warned by some older cruisers that crossing oceans in a small boat and standing watch just gets harder as you get older and they recommended we do it now rather than wait for retirement. We're really glad we made that choice.
Very scenic & interesting... THANK YOU! =]
Great narration and editing. Hope this video is indication we will see a greater percentage of narrated videos. Y'all do a great job.
Ah my part of the world enjoy its beautiful. Have a nice trip.
We had a great trip through the Crinan. It's a very unique and picturesque passage at a relaxed pace.
Very cool video and boat handling skills. .
Great video. Excellent VO Jennifer!
Thanks Timothy. We finally got some affordable connectivity here at Loch Maddy, so it's fun to see it up.
Splendid! Some really neat boat handling too.
It was a wonderful trip if a bit busy for a two person boat crew with all manual locks.
Wow your boat is beautiful.
nice ship handling. complements to the entire crew.
My compliments to the captain on navigating such tight canals. I would imagine that your boat is one of the larger one’s seen through those canals. People are commenting on here about the manual labor as opposed to automatically operated lock gates but isn’t that really part of the charm? Hundreds of years this has worked out just fine.
Yes, no question hand operating the locks was part of the adventure. We are currently going through the Caledonian Canal which uses electrically driven hydraulically operating sluice gates and lock doors and we both had to admit it's way easier. The locks are much bigger so my job is easier and Jennifer only needs to toss lines. It's feeling like a vacation :-).
The Crinan Canal was a really cool experience but it was definitely an experience rather than an efficient way to get from point A to point B.
Fun stuff. Thanks for posting.
Glad you enjoyed it.
I'm used to watching CruisingTheCut for UK canal videos... this is wild, lol...
Good job!
Thanks!
Wow, loved the video! A little wierd to hear Jennifer talk in third person, lol, but a really helpful video!
Nice video of a place I know, used to help opening the locks when I was a kid and my father bought our first boat at Crinan back in the 1960s, this brought back many happy memories. Thank you for sharing your trip with us.
That's a GREAT place to grow up. It a beautiful area.
Thanks for the feedback on the video.
@@MVDirona Yes it was, I remember them filming James bond's From Russia with Love there for the boat chases, and seeing the boats out the water they were HUGE to this little kid :)
I didn't know that From Russia with Love had some boat chase scenes filmed there. It's always fun seeing in film places we have been. We'll go back and watch it again.
@@MVDirona Bond used a Fairey Huntress 23 as did the Spectre agents they also had a pair of Fairey Huntsman 28 filming was done in Loch Crinan, more info about it here: www.berthoninternational.com/berthon-blog/fairey-huntress-23-liberty-hull-no-48/
Oh, that's cool. We'll definitely watch From Russia With Love again. Thanks for passing that along.
Awesome. Man those are very tight spaces. Bernoulli principle is such a cool thing. I'm a retired airline pilot and aircraft use it for fuel flow among other things. Can't wait for the next video!
Thanks Michael. It felt particularly tight on the second day with the wind gusting over 30 kts.
Looks like a video for a special kind of people.
You made all the lock handling look easy, a tough job, well done.
We're currently working south through the Corinthian Canal where the locks are larger and they are all powered. Jennifer feels like she is on vacation! :-)
Excellent navigation. Hi to AGT and AT.
Would love to see more videos of this... we have been shopping for nordhavn but with this video it really is making me think to change size to be able to do this. Please more detail on this trips thru the canals
Towards the end of last year we did a cruise south through the Caledonian Canal system and we will post a video on that trip. For now, here are some links to that trip in our blog:
*mvdirona.com/2017/12/caledonian-canal-day-1-clachnaharry-sea-lock-to-muirhead-basin/
*mvdirona.com/2017/12/caledonian-canal-day-2-muirtown-basin-to-dochgarroch/
*mvdirona.com/2017/12/caledonian-canal-day-3-dochgarroch-to-fort-augustus-via-loch-ness/
*mvdirona.com/2017/12/caledonian-canal-day-4-fort-augustus-to-laggan/
Exceptional job Jennifer as this is no mean fete. In other words it's hard graft.good job.
Jennifer was working hard on some of these locks. They can get stuck together and require a fair amount of force to begin opening. Even the easy ones require a bit of running around. Mostly it was great weather but on one of the three days it was raining with gusts to 30 knts which makes entering small locks a bit more delicate of a job. Still, overall, I had the easy job on this one.
James got himself a dapper and efficient mate...!
Yeah, Jennifer worked hard through that set of locks but we had a great time.
I like watching the Falkirk wheel !
Very cool!
It was a really fun adventure.
Cool trip.
Love this boat
It's a good strong boat that has taken us around the world and now has racked up just over 11,000 hours underway.
I still remember when i was in halifax n looked over the side of the hmcs sacksville n there was dirona moored up.. i love nordhavn cant wait untill retirement
And we remember the HMCS Sacksville from while we were there. You know, we would have happily traded a tour of the Sacksville for a tour of Dirona although admittedly we would be getting the best part of that deal. :-)
Great videos guys. Truly an inspiration. I stumbled across Nordhavn boats only a couple of days ago and I'm convinced it's the right boat for my wife and I when we go full time. We have plenty of coastal experience but are just crazy enough to make passages. We would love to get your opinions on the good, bad, and the ugly. We are a few years out but I guess we have to start somewhere!
We post a lot about our travels, how we manage boat problems, provisioning for longer trips, and clearing in and out of different countries at: mvdirona.com.
Nice absolut cool 👍👍👍
Glad to see you got good weather whilst using the canal. Well good weather by Scottish standards
It did rain one of the three days we were there but, as you said, the weather was remarkably good.
@@MVDirona you want to see the Scots when the sun comes out, first they start worshipping it, then the human sacrifices begin (Celtic versus Rangers).
:-)
That’s wild
I must have watched this video 6 times and have heard you say that you hope to cross the caledonian canals one day but I have yet to see you post it. I hope you can do it soon.. I enjoy your posts so very much and hope to follow in your wake and much as possible
Thanks for the feedback on the video and, yes, your right we should post the Caledonia canal passage sometime soon.
@@MVDirona please do. I need more to drool over ..have you ever done the rhine to danube loop black to Baltic sea? That is one of my dream trips
We made what is an unusual choice for us and did a river boat cruise from Basel Switzerland to Amsterdam and really enjoyed our time on the inland waters (mvdirona.com/2020/01/basel-switzerland/).
@@MVDirona well that's no fun..lol.. do you know of any nordhavn since the sinks did it in their 46 back in the day?
If you mean circling the world, quite a few Nordhavns have done it. Last I heard the count was 8.
Bellissimo l'ho visto agosto 2019
Pretty skilled boat handling through small spaces. It never occurred to me there existed manually operated locks, and that any werent served by paid people.
That's quite a ship thank you so enjoyable (sv esfani)
We're really enjoyed the boat over the last nearly 9 years and we just crossed over the 10,000 hour mark on the main engine so it certainly has been getting use: mvdirona.com/2018/09/john-deere-6068-at-10000-hours/
Nice looking boat and someone should make all those locks gates work on auto.
I would've loved to be with you on this trip through the canal.
Absolutely marveles (sorry about the spelling) //C
Crazy lock system..
It was a unique experience. I suspect it would get old if you were constantly going back and forth but we really enjoyed the trip. The small size of all the locks made it more exciting, the country-side is picturesque, and it adds to the adventure to be operating the locks ourselves.
ive done this many times with my brothers canal boat...once we did 2 narrowboats side by side over 14 locks......never again lol
We're reasonably tight in those locks as well. It wasn't a quick or efficient trip but we had a really good time.
Sorry to ask what might be a stupid question. But how do you avoid damaging your boat on the sides of the locks. As you might have guessed I know nothing about boats. Great video by the way.
Good question. We have over sized fenders so that if we are up against a cement wall in a heavy surge, we don't have to worry. We use inflatible fenders which can be inflated and deflated using a shopvac. This allows us to us large fenders but not have to allocate space to store them. We just suck them down flat.
Here's more detail on them: mvdirona.com/Trips/Australia2014/Australia11.html?bleat=3%2F31%2F2015%3A+Inflatable+fenders
@@MVDirona *THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!*
Very interesting route.Where are you betwixt and between?
The trip through the Crinan Canal was part of a 10 year trip around the world. It's documented here: mvdirona.com/. If you click on the "+" and "-" buttons you can scroll out to see the entire trip or drill into any detail. We spent months in New Zealand, the South Pacific, Australia, South Africa, Hawaii, Norway, UK, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, US, Canada, Caribbean and many shorter stops along the way.
YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I hope some one bought Jennifer a few drinks after this, lol
Yes, Jennifer did end up having to cover a lot of territory on that one and was ready for an end of day drink.
interesting video have you sailed the caledonian canal
Yes, we have done a cruise the Caledonian canal and eventually will find the time to do the video.
Great video, how big a Nordhavn can you get through the canal? N64? Probably
Thanks Brett--glad you enjoyed it. The maximum size for a boat to transit the canal is 88ft long and 20ft wide with an 8-ft 10-in draft and a 95-ft air draft.
Great video - just wish the audio was louder...
Yes, you are right. We're getting better at it and newer videos have better volume control (e.g. czcams.com/video/DbLTG2jyVwE/video.html)
Is it hard to coordinate traveling when another big boat is coming from the opposite direction? I was imagining another 52 and thinking now what. Some spots are so narrow that even a canoe would have had a hard time getting by. Love your videos. Any idea when the caledonian canal will be available?
It's tight but in most places if you slow down and move over to the edge another similar sized boat can pass. Other than meeting in corners, passing is always supported with care. If you got unlucky and met in a corner, it might be necessary to backup.
Thinking through some other places we have cruised, in some locations in the Gota canal in Sweden backing would be required to allow large vessel passing. And this would also be true in some parts Finland's Saimaa Lakes Region.
Your note is a good reminder that we should get the Caledonian canal video. We keep expecting to do during the next "slow period" but find we remain remarkably busy. It's mostly a good thing but, your right, we should get going on that video.
@@MVDirona don't mean to nag but it would be nice.i understand ,or try to,that you are busy.
Knowing that there are some out there interested in the video helps encourage us to find the time.
@@MVDirona I put out a plea on the dreamer sight to politely ask for the caledonian video hopefully it will help provide more reson to move it up in the work list..not that there is much room in it . You seem very busy.
Thanks Paul. We're enjoying Norway but we hear you on the Caledonia Canal.
Do you use the bow thruster to navigate those tight curvy waterways?
In the canal, the corners aren't that sharp so just using the rudder is sufficient and the thrusters are not needed. We do use the thrusters in the narrow lock entrances. I also often use them to keep the boat stable against the wall as the water rushes in when the lock is filling.
How come you guys visit this place with so many locks? Looks like to much time and work going in and out!
The canals we have done of late (Ijsselmeer, Kiel Canal, Caledonian Canal, and the Crinan Cana) have been real high points of the trip. Each for different reasons -- the Kiel was super interesting because we were with big ships and it was super interesting to see them operating up close. The IJsselmeer because of the history and beauty in the towns we visited (Hoorn, Enkuizen, and Edam). The Crinanan because it was incredibly beautiful, just barely big enough for our boat, and the manual locks were a new experience. The Caledonian because of the natural beauty, the history along the way, the wonderful relaxing trrip through the lochs, and we actually get to pass through the famous Loch Ness. We have been loving the Canals even through thy are sometimes more work and always slower than unobstructed waterways.
Fun
I still blame you for turning me on to Nordhavns and wanting one! 😁😁 How's Admiral Jennifer and Spitfire doing?
I love it. They are a boat not perfect for everyone. You can't ski behind Nordhavns, they aren't as big inside as many boats. But they can go anywhere in the world and get you there safely. The freedom to be able to contemplate going anywhere and actually be able to do it is really quite an experience.
It's 7:45AM in Amsterdam City Marina. Jennifer is working at her computer beside me and Spitfire is sleeping between us. All the best from the crew of Dirona.
@@MVDirona Hopefully I'll be able to meet you guys stateside someday. Cold ones are on me! 😁
Deal. Work brings us to Vegas once a year and in Seattle 3 or 4 times per year. And, of course, we'll eventually bring the boat back to North America.
Do you tip the helpers when you get help?
No, we don't tip passerbys along the way who offer to help with the lines. However, there are people that offer there services for the entire canal and they charge for their services.
What was your speed while cruising down the canals?
Richard, the speed limit in the canal is 4 kts. We bounced around between 3.8 and 4 kts.
HOW COOL *SEAFARER'S HELPING EACH OTHER NO MATTER ONES NATIONALITY IN NAVIGATING THE LOCKS. THE BUFFOONS OF THE UN COULD LEARN A THING OR 2 HERE.*
Is there a fee to use the canal and or the locks?
Yes there is a fee to use the canal. I forget the exact fee but it is right around 300 pounds for a boat of our size to be in the canal for up to 7 days. There is an additional daily fee for longer stays.
This is a lot of work. Why dont they have motors running the gates?
It's the way it was done and it's still the way it's done. In many ways, having to operate your own locks is part of the adventure. The sea lock on either end is fully automated and adding automation would be fairly easy. The sluice gates are hydraulically operated with a rotary hand pump driving the oil. Adding an electric pump and valve to feed the sluice gates wouldn't be that complex. Adding a large hydraulic ram to actuate the gates would be more design and installation work but it certainly could be done.
If the primary purpose of the canal was to get from point A to point B, they should automate it but, for a one time adventure, having to run your own locks is kind of cool.
Gbenro Oduyela Because not every boater is a lazy American! There are literally hundreds of locks on the UK canal network, which covers over 2000 miles. Many are well over two centuries old, and listed historical structures. They aren't going to mechanise them, at vast expense, destroying their originality in the process just to make life easier for people who can't be bothered to do things for themselves.
Did you pick up by the fine examples of scotch
We had a great time and saw a lot but, no, we didn't. I guess we now have a yet another reason to return to Scotland!
I don’t know if we could fit our Nordhavn 60 in there. Does anyone know if it has been done with a N60?
We know of a N55 and a N57 that have gone through and, from going through ourselves and watching clearances, I'm confident a N60 would be able to pass through without problem.
What’s the max width to go through this Canal?
The canal is fairly tight for us. Dirona is 16' 1" and the max beam for the canal is 20'. Draft is close as well where Dirona draws 6'7" and the max for the canal is 8'10".
The trip through the canal was really fun and it's unique in being the only manually operated lock system we've visited where the boat operator is expected to also run the locks while navigating.
@@MVDirona ah okay, thanks for the info!
Am Curious on how much fuel it took to cross the Atlantic
We adjust our speed to match the fuel economy that we need so we end up going slower and getting better fuel economy on longer trips and running faster on less long trips. In this case, we spent 17 days to cover, 2,801nm ,our average speed was 6.86 kts, and we consumed 2,386 gallons of diesel for an average fuel economy of 1.18 nm/gallon. We arrived with 346 gallons of diesel on board, 46 gallons above our 300-gallon reserve because we’d slowed down near the end to approach Kinsale in daylight, and a flooding tide carried us in.
More detail at: mvdirona.com/2017/05/newport-to-kinsale/
I feel sorry for those guys working hard on those lock gates.
The sea locks at either end of the canal are fully automated. Those in the middle are all manual. The actual sluice opening system is the same in both cases. It's hydraulically operated where, in the manual case, its a human driven pump. In the auto case, it's a electrically driven hydraulic pump that operates the sluice gates and the hydraulic rams that open and close the doors.
It would have been nice to hear the sound ..water , etc like how Tony Fleming did with his video's Silent footage doesn't tell the whole story .. otherwise .. nice to see . I notice the texan flag on the bow . How did you find the difference in price of fuel food purchased here in Scotland to that off else where ??? During to travels
Yes, sound underway is a popular request but, because we frequently operate at sea, the microphone on the forward camera doesn't last. We end up with some interesting footage at sea. For example: czcams.com/video/guEnTp2a6Sc/video.html
But, we don't have the sounds underway.
No worries .. Overall how much did the trip cost all in ???? Fuel , food
It's been 5 years so, in some ways, all we have spent in the last 5 years has been part of the "cost of the trip" but, on the other hand, much of that is just cost of living. It's hard to say with precision the cost but, like that Mastercard commercial, the trip has been priceless from a personal perspective. So many incredible sites, so many great people, so much learning, and many once in a lifetime opportunities. No regrets!
When you pass through the Panama Canal 😬😬
We were planning to do it as the end of our round the world trip. We started from Seattle and crossed every ocean returning to Florida. We were then planning to return to the west coast but decided it would be crazy not to enjoy the east coast of Canada and the US first before returning. We loved it and decided to declare success on our around-the-world run, not bother to return to the west coast and instead head to Europe. We've been in Europe for 3 years and are loving it.
At this point, we've no clue when we'll get a chance to do a pass through the canal but I'm sure it'll be fun and we're looking forward to the adventure.
I wish someone would sail this route.leave California head straight west,no turns very little adjustments and see if this damn thing is flat or globed
It's been flat everywhere we've been so far Jerry :-).
I've spent many years at sea,haven't found the edge yet :)
Many have sailed out of sight, never to be seen again...
VOLUME TO LOW?
Yes, others have mentioned that as well, we think your right and we have more volume on new videos. Thanks for the feedback.
Does Jennifer always talk in the third person? I wish you had shown this is real time and explained clearly the process of how the locks work and how and what Jennifer was doing to operate the locks. Time-lapse is of no use.
Thanks for the feedback. It's a good suggestion to cover the way the locks work and how the controls are used to change the levels.
@@MVDirona I like your style, always getting your wife to open the locks.
With only a two person crew, you don't have much choice. One runs the boat, the other runs the locks, and we share line handling. Many boats chose to hire line handlers to get a big more help but it's easy to do with two people and kind of fun (the first time).
@@MVDirona I'm not getting at you as I said I like it, but even with a two person crew you still obviously do have a choice about who opens them.
Yes, of course you right, it's our choice who operates the locks. Generally, on all boat jobs we always have a choice of which of the two of us does them but, since there are only two of us on the boat, all jobs will be done by one or the other or they won't get done.
hmm !!! amazing people helped you. but i guess it was 2017. would not try this today.
Many, if not most, of the locks we operated alone and it's a bit of work but not complex. I suspect if you were making the same trip multiple times per year it would get old but, for our single pass through, it was really fun to operate the locks.
How come so many locks to go throw?
Each lock in this design gains only15' or so. The number of locks is just a function of how high the canal needs to be above sea level to get over to the other side. More locks gets more height.
Keith Johnson Did you not see the landscape? Scotland has a hell of a lot of hills!
Not going anywhere in a hurry
Rather- "going everywhere in a hurry". I hate the speeded up videography.
Yes, many have commented that speeding it up isn't as effective as more careful editing to pick out the useful segments and show them in real time. It's more work but here's an example of taking that approach: czcams.com/video/DbLTG2jyVwE/video.html
It would be better to show your video at normal speed, so we can enjoy it more. Thanks.
The speed limit on the canal is 4 kts -- just a bit above a swift walk. Entering and exiting the locks, we'll be down below 1 kts. You really don't want to watch that epic multi-day film. It's the boating worlds version of a cricket game but, well, perhaps a bit slower paced :-)
Hard labour, but probably worth it!
Yeah, Jennifer had to work for that one but we both thought it was a truly unique experience.
How were the midges?
We were warned that they can be a real problem but we didn't see any. Perhaps it was the weather or the time of year but it was great and bug free.
Nice ..and well done .. your boat is a bit out of tune ..size wise.. ;-) . It must have a been quite a different view for the locals to see Dirona pass by ..
In some places, our boat seems way small and others it seems quite big. We've seen superyacht tenders that rival the size of our boat. But, we're definitely on the big side for the canal.
Normal video speed please.
We agree that an edited version is better than unedited at higher speed but it's more work. Video is time consumptive and it's one of the reasons we don't publish nearly as many videos as we would like. We spend too much time having fun :-)
Can’t relax watching this I’m afraid
sorry to say but your sound is really bad its up and down but more down (very low)
Yes, but this one was much quieter than we intended. Sorry about that.
horrible wet gross conditions. blah great vid tho
One day was blowing with gusts up to 30 kts and lots of rain but the other two days were bright and sunny so, overall, we can't complain. It was a fun trip.
Poor Jennifer 😢....work like a horse.
Jennifer did have quite a tough job on this one. Those lock doors can be super sticky to force apart even after the water pressure is relieved. They can get sprung in place when closed.
We probably wouldn't enjoy this as an every day means of travel but it was a real cool three day adventure that we still look back on fondly.
@@MVDirona Has you say...🙂
audio is bad
Your noggin is full o’ mince, thats why you think the audio is bad. Nowt wrong with it.