The less said about the rest of sailing In Vänern, the better. We had another day of fickle winds that promised much but failed to deliver, though we managed somehow to cross over from our night bay to Sikhallsviken, leaving us only a few nautical miles to Vänersborg and the start of the next canal.

This was Trollhätte Canal, something we had been quietly dreading. People had complained to us about how scary it was as it was primarily designed for commercial shipping rather than leisure boats. We were worried about getting through it without any damage to the boat. Fortunately I had read some tips from the crew of Kissen and their experiences were invaluable, especially the advice to head straight for the ladders! (Thanks for that, Ivan). Though of course we didn't know how helpful it all was until we'd done it - it was the approach and the wondering that was the most nerve wracking.

After successfully negotiating the bridges, we came up to the first of an impressive flight of four locks covering a 32 metre difference in water level at Trollhättan. And we headed straight for the ladders, ignoring the advice on the official brochure to grab one of the hooks. Even Blind Freddy could see that the hooks were spaced too far apart for a leisure boat. Just to be safe we had plenty of fenders out as well as a sturdy plank tied to them to prevent us scratching the boat on the uneven walls of the lock.




I think the thing that daunts most people about these locks are the sheer size of them. In Göta Canal, the locks are small and cosy looking. Here at Trollhätten, the locks are enormous. They are capable of taking large ships, so we were rather dwarfed by them as we locked down around 9 metres. There was no turbulence at all and we found it far easier to hold the boat steady than we had in Göta Canal. In summer the locks are jammed packed with leisure boats, but today we were all on our lonesome, keenly watched by passers by.




After the third lock, we were asked to wait while a large commercial vessel was locked up from the canal. We pulled to one side close by the two old sets of locks that have been replaced by the ones built in 1916 and still in use. The latest set are much bigger than the earlier ones and allow quite large commercial shipping (up to 4,000 tons) access to Lake Vänern. I'm glad we didn't have to share the lock with them!




By the time we came to the final lock for the day, we were feeling surpremely confident and could laugh at our previous nervousness. I got Lars-Göran to pose for a picture where he was meant to look tough and confident. Instead he resembles Dirty Harry!




As you can see in the next aerial shot, the old locks have been stripped of all their gates and mechanical equipment, leaving only the bare excavated channel, which winds its way down a series of steps totalling 32 metres, that were excavated through solid rock. This was an amazing engineering feat for the time (1844). At the bottom of the old channel is a large pond, Åkersvass, which nature has reclaimed and it was here that we moored for the evening.




Several people had told us that this was a beautiful spot to stay. The main guest harbour at the top of the locks was far too close to roads and pedestrian traffic and not appealing to us at all. This small nature harbour on the other hand was remote and quiet, surrounded by water, rocks and trees. And of course, the best thing of all was that we could stay there for free.




The water had a strong current as a result of lying close to where water is expelled from the locks through tunnels and it was quite a challenge to moor the boat. A couple of people having a picnic in the park by the mooring places lent a helping hand and soon we were able to relax and enjoy where we were. I was excited by the sight of a beaver swimming in the pool just past our boat and a local fisherman catching his dinner nearby. In the trees surrounding the boat, we saw squirrels scurrying around - it was all so lovely.




The next day after enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the sunshine, we set off for the next part of our journey. SMHI had promised northerly winds which means we can SAIL. Äntligen! We are in no real hurry, so we are hoping to find anchorage somewhere around the area where the channel splits into two at Bohus. Immediately, we saw a pair of ospreys majestically rising from a small, wooded islet as the the boat nosed its way downstream through a tiny channel between skerries. One of them casually swooped down to the water and deftly flew off with its breakfast firmly grasped in its claws. It was a scene of the utmost beauty and tranquillity.




I really enjoyed the scenery in this early part of the journey. Trollhätte canal is 82km long, but only about 10km of it is man-made. The rest of it is a natural waterway, the river Göta Älv, which drains from Vänern to the sea. The land was different on each side of the river. To our right was farmland, with hills in the distance. This rather surprised Lars-Göran as he had never thought of the Göteborg area as being hilly. To me, it very much resembled the sort of country you get east of Horsham as you drive from Adelaide heading towards the Grampians. Those of you who have travelled this route will no doubt recall the countryside I mean - rich farming land, with the mysterious blue hills in the distance.




To our left, the land was high, sheer, heavily wooded cliffs which I guessed had been formed by the river over millions of years. Along the route, here and there we saw small clusters of homes clinging on to the side of the cliffs. They made a pretty picture and did a lot to break the intensity of the dark pine forests.




We were able to glide along quite happily and I did the steering today so that Lars-Göran could enjoy the scenery in peace and check out the charts for the west coast as we hope to be heading into Göteborg either today or tomorrow. The promised northerly winds did not materialise (surprise, surprise) but the water had quite a strong current and fortunately we were going with the current, which I guessed was running at just over three knots. With some sail up we could coast along for quite a while, only turning on the motor occasionally when we needed a bit more power or the river curved away. But mostly we had to content ourselves with motoring along, with the mainsail raised for a bit of help. I tell you, I can't wait to get to the sea where we can sail in peace.

Not far downstream from Åkersvass, we came across this group of crazy swans. I know they look just like ordinary swans, but believe me they were certifiable.




As we came close to them the first time, they all took off. I guess there were about a dozen individuals, which was unusual to see as they mostly hang out in pairs or family groups. Maybe this was a gang of teenagers, who knows? Watching swans take off is always amusing. It takes quite a bit of power to lift their weight, so they kind of run across the water, beating their wings which make a huge whooping noise and then they become airborne, flying off with slow, powerful strokes. I suppose they were startled by the boat and wanted to move away to somewhere quieter. This is all well and good, but why fly in the same direction in which we were headed?

Time after time this happened. They would take off, fly away a kilometre or so downstream and then when we arrived there, they'd take off again. A couple of times we thought they had gone away, only to round a bend in the water and see them just ahead. They followed us (or were we following them?) all the way from Trollhätten to Bohus, a distance of 30NM!




We were happy floating along Göta Älv (älv is the Swedish word for river) admiring the pretty countryside. It was so quiet here, with barely another boat out on the water, even though it was a Saturday and the weather was warm and mostly sunny. Some of the farmhouses were quite old, as you can see in the above photo. The whole area has been inhabited for centuries and ships have been using this river for just as long. A Norwegian king brought a fleet of 60 warships up here as early as 1064, though he didn't have the luxury of locks. There were waterfalls at the points where the locks are located these days and so the ships had to be hauled overland just to bypass the falls.

Soon we passed through one last lock at Lilla Edet and prepared to make our way down towards the start of Göteborg.




Not far along the river was the historic town of Lödöse which was a trading centre as early as the middle of the 11th century. Today, it is a tiny place, a mere blink of an eye and you'd miss it, but it was strategically very important in the middle ages, located right on the borders with what was then Denmark and Norway. In fact, this was Sweden's main western port at the time and you can visit Lödöse Museum and see how history shaped this whole area. It is quite a fascinating story.

The piers are largely deserted and forlorn looking these days as the main port has moved westwards to Göteborg when Sweden expanded her territory. Still there are many old signs of how big a port this used to be. One of the waterfront sheds though had us wondering. Did some large ship crash into it? How on earth did it manage to cave in like this?




We hadn't seen any particular place that looked good to moor for the evening, but around now we started to keep an eye out for something suitable. We could of course head all the way to Göteborg, but I would prefer to arrive there earlier in the day rather than right at the end when I am tired. Lars-Göran checked the charts and thought that a short distance away we could veer off into one of the shallow tributaries near Älvängen. However when we arrived there, it was not a good place to anchor. It was very open, which really shouldn't have surprised us given the name of the place which means "river meadow".

One could not stay on the actual canal, even at the side of it as very large ships use this route and the waves they create would risk crashing us into the shore if we anchored on the canal. Just to give you an idea of the size of these ships, here is one fully laden timber vessel that we passed. I chose to stay well out of the way!




Every now and then the countryside became hilly and we watched some people out hang gliding from the top of the cliffs, getting a bird's eye view of the surroundings. By now, evening was approaching and it did not look as though we could find anywhere suitable to moor. We discussed whether we should continue on Göta Älv, or perhaps turn off towards Kungälv and follow the other river (Nodre Älv) which would take us out into the North Sea just north of Göteborg. But when I read the chart more carefully, I saw that along Nodre Älv, there were two fixed bridges that at 12.5m high were too low to allow our mast clearance!

But there was simply nowhere to moor on Göta Älv and we contemplated turning back towards Lödöse and taking our chances at the pier there. This was not ideal as around 10 ships a day pass by and we would be open to the waves they create. We did turn up towards Kungälv, trying to moor in the open reeds just below a castle, but the current was too strong and the anchor would not grip in the fine silt. The wind was also howling across the open plains, driving the boat further into the shallows. We thought of heading to the guest harbour at Kungälv, but we needed to pass a bridge and had missed the last opening time for Saturdays! Grrrr......




As it turns out, we later learned that the guest harbour was too small and shallow for a yacht our size, so it would have all been in vain anyway! By this stage, it was getting late and we were both hungry, tired and worried about what to do. It certainly looked as though we would have to push on to Göteborg, which neither of us wanted to do. So we made our way reluctantly back to Göta Älv and prepared to wait for the bridge at Jordfallsbron to be opened. Just as we were about to contact them via VHF, Lars-Göran spotted a barge which was tucked away in a little pocket of water behind a small breakwater. We decided to try and tie up to the barge just for the night and we were able to just squeeze in. Only afterwards did we see that it was an area owned by the Swedish Maritime Authority, so we wondered if we were going to get into trouble. There was no-one around, so we decided to stay until someone chucked us out.

Soon after a person who was guarding the area arrived and he was really understanding about the fact that there were so few places to moor on the river, so he said we could stay the night and even left us his telephone number in case we needed anything. What a nice man! And it was just what we needed at the end of this long day. I can assure you that we slept like logs the whole night and woke up to a cloudy day, but a lovely view.




This is Bohus Fortress, built in 1308 by King Håkan V of Norway. It was used by the Norwegians (who then ruled this part of the country) to regulate traffic on the Göta Älv by extracting dues for goods transported on the river. Hmm... some things never change!

You have to remember that during the 13th and 14th centuries, Norway, Sweden and Denmark were often at war with each other, and it was during this turbulent time that the fortress was constructed. It was built as a central defence point on what was then Norway’s southern border. By 1330 Bohus had become the governing centre and residence of the Swedish-Norwegian king Magnus Eriksson and his fairy tale queen, Blanch from Namur. It was important right up till the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, which resulted in Bohus and its domains falling under Swedish rule. The Danish troops left after ransacking the stores and burning most of the records and after this Bohus lost its importance as a border fortress.

It's hard to believe it's long, violent history when you look at the pastoral scene these days. Well, now we'll be travelling further downstream where the river broadens and we will make our way into the industrial and commercial centre of Götenborg, Sweden’s second largest city. I'm sure that the rush and roar of the modern city will be quite a contrast to the gentle pace and peacefulness of the canal journey.