{"id":17442,"date":"2026-01-06T17:16:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T17:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/?p=17442"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:39:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:39:29","slug":"navigating-the-crinan-canal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/?p=17442","title":{"rendered":"Navigating the Crinan Canal."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Navigating the Crinan Canal. A talk by Andrew Davidson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andrew presented details of his trip through the Crinan Canal in Scotland. This was a very well attended meeting both at the RNA and with several members joining in via Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here is a quick summary of the Talk.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Oban to Rhu<\/p><\/div>\n

The trip was from OBAN to RHU at the end of May 2025.
The trip was organised by PREMIER SAILING who operated in support of Macmillan Cancer. The group sailed in 3 off Sigma 38s.
The OBAN to RHU leg was one of 8\/9 legs that travelled around the UK.
Note PREMIER SAILING no longer operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CRINAN CANAL<\/span><\/a>
<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Opened in 1801, 9 miles long used by 2,000+ boats per year.
15 locks and 7 swing bridges, 10 metres above sea level, height limit = 30 metres, maximum draught 2.5metres. It also has one small marina near the highest point.
Cost \u00a3127,00 in 1801 equivalent to over \u00a312,000,000 in todays money, (Which seems good value for money).
Current fee for using thge canal for a 40ft yacht is ~ \u00a3200 one way \u00a3350 return.<\/p>\n

Click here for link to Crinan Canal Website<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trip from Oban to Crinan
<\/strong>Started at the Corryvreckan pub in OBAN. Weather not the best for the leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Corryvreckan Pub Oban<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A pint in the Corryvreckan Oban. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oban<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oban. Waverley docked<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Leaving Oban<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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travelling fast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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En route to Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Corryvreckan
<\/strong><\/span>Corryvreckan is a famous, powerful whirlpool in the narrow strait (the Gulf of Corryvreckan) between the Scottish islands of Jura and Scarba, known as the world’s third largest. Caused by strong tides squeezing through the channel, encountering an underwater pinnacle and deep hole, it creates powerful standing waves and turbulent waters that are dangerous but also a major tourist attraction, accessible by boat tours or hike<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Corryvreckan Whirlpool<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Location of Corryvreckan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Geology of Corryvreckan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bathymetric data<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bathymetric data<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Need to judge state of tide correctly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Approaching entrance to the Crinan Canal.
<\/strong><\/span>Entry to the Canal is via a lock system so it was necerssary to wait for the entry time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vista Approaching Crinan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Anchorage waiting to enter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Approaching Canal entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Crinan Hotel (White Building)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Entry to Crinan Canal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sharing Crinan entrance lock with RNMB Hebe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Inside Crinan Basin<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Travelling through the Crinan Canal.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arriving at Ardrishaig<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rinamara RYS (Queen of the Sea in Gaelis). 47ft Yawl 1968.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rinamara in Ardrishaig basin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ardrishaig<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ardrishaig basin locks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ardrishaig entrance to Crinan Canal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ardrishaig basin entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Canal entrance lock gates at Ardrishaig<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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RNMB Hebe leaving Ardrishaig basin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steamer passing Ardrishaig <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leaving the Crinan Canal the group continued onto Rhu. But the story of that trip will maybe be told at a later meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Navigating the Crinan Canal. A talk by Andrew Davidson Andrew presented details of his trip through the Crinan Canal in Scotland. This was a very well attended meeting both at the RNA and with several members joining in via Zoom. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[27,14,13],"class_list":["post-17442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sailing","tag-27","tag-sailing","tag-soca"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17442"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17534,"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17442\/revisions\/17534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socasailing.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}