6/30/13 2:00 PM EST

Current Location:

18:00 UTC

56 02 N

05 27 W

Tied to a dock

Crinan Canal

Hi Everyone,

Big day for us...we made it to Scotland and are currently tied to a dock a few miles up  in the FRESH water of the Crinan Canal.  It is quite a spot.  We are maybe 50 feet above sea level looking down on roads and the roofs of houses, its bizarre.  We learned of the existence of this canal by talking withsome sailors at a pub in Cork, Ireland.  This canal cuts off some nasty exposed areas on our

way to the Caledonian Canal and is just plain a coolplace.  The scenery is spectacular and everything you might imagine.  The weather sucks just as much as you have heard as well.  So when the sun peaks through you just gasp at the beauty but you spend a lot of time hunkered down in your foul weather gear.

We have to go through about 14 locks of which 12 of them we actually operate ourselves.  Grandpa excels at the lock operations.  It is all manual but works very smoothly and is a lot of fun.  Grandma is still pretty messed up from being sea sick but she seems to be improving.  Actually I think grandpa is willing her to improve.  For now we just throw a rain suit on her, yes it rains a lot, and

set her in Mark the chair in the cockpit and tell her when to wave to the folks we pass by.  Her vision is pretty sketchy...we are all crossing our fingers that she will get a good nights sleep tonight and wake up herself in the morning.

Our plan is to take our time getting through the canal and we are watching a gale that is set to blow in the next couple of days.  We will have a little

exposure to the sea on our path to the Caledonian and grandma will not tolerate any more big waves so we will travel cautiously.

Anna is doing a great job running the stern line as we work our way through the locks.  Finn seems to prefer watching superman in the aft cabin, we are going to have to work on that one.  I guess tomorrows main goal will be to get Finn and Grandma off the boat for a walk.

All for now...