Off-road across Sweden (Part 1) - The Trollhätte Canal - 57° 51' 37" N 12 00' 02" E

We love a loop!  Much preferable to an out-and-back. Be it trail running, cycling, hiking or sailing. So, rather than sail around the south coast of Sweden and up the east coast, just to sail back down, we are charging straight through the middle. So cool!

Sweden's Blue Ribbon (Sveriges Blå Band)

This is possible by travelling through the canal system that cuts across Sweden, the Trollhätte and Göta Canals, known as Sweden's Blue Ribbon.  Built back in the days before railways, the canal system was one of the largest civil engineering projects ever undertaken in Sweden.  And aren't we happy about that!

The first canal on our overland journey was the Trollhätte Canal. It was opened in 1800 to run cargo between Gothenburg and Lake Vänern.  It runs the 41nm (82km) from Gothenburg and spills out into Lake Vänern, 44m higher.  We had to pass through six locks and under nine bridges. The majority of the waterway is natural along the Göta River with just a 5nm (10km) section being man-made.  

The Trollhätte Canal runs from Gothenburg to Lake Vänern

Day 1 - Gothenburg to Kungälv

We let the rain blow through and did the washing before setting off up the Göta River and under the first of the four bridges - three needed to be opened for us to pass through.  The Hisingden Bridge opens on a schedule but the others were on demand.  All we needed to do is approach the bridge, call them on the VHF and magically, they opened!

Gothenburg stops as the Hisingden Bridge opens for us!

We motored (sailing is strictly forbidden) through industrial areas with both used and disused docks.  We went past a huge Ikea but sadly, there was no dock so we could pop in for a shop. We motored through marshland with beaver dams and canada geese.  It was eerily like sailing across Vermillion Lakes without the mountain backdrop.

Our mooring for the evening - gotta love a castle

Day 2 - Kungälv

Very pretty town with beautiful flowers and very smelly roses!

It rained all day so we stayed put! We did some planning for the next section of the canal - many bridges and locks to navigate. Hurray for Google Translate!  With its help, we could brush up on the light signals:

• Solid red - stop
• Solid red with flashing white - we've seen you, stay tuned
• Solid green - clear to enter lock/pass under bridge

We sorted lines and read up on lock procedures.  The locks are big, lifting up to 8m, but they have a system that lets in the water without the turbulence so the boat can be managed by holding the tie points in the wall of the lock, rather than needing the long lines to the top of the lock that we will need in the Göta Canal.  Let's see how this all works out!

Day 3 - Kungälv to Trollhättan

Under the threat of rain, we started along the canal.  This is not the most exciting section.  It is the Göta River and is quite industrial.  There is also some fairly large traffic on this section.  The commercial shipping has priority which was just fine with us, we were happy to wait.

Commercial traffic has priority so we had to wait before going under the bridge and into the lock.
No probs, we really do not want to share a lock with you!

Our first lock was not steeped in grace and efficiency.  We had expected to be starboard-to the wall but at the last moment, we found ourselves having to go port-to and needing to move a couple of fenders.  We did learn a lot and our lock procedures improved dramatically on the next lock. 

We tied up at the foot of the Trollhätte staircase, a series of four locks lifting 32m.  The current locks are the third generation of locks built in 1916.  The older locks can still be seen so it's quite fascinating looking at the different lock mechanisms and gates over a century of locks.  

The right hand locks are the original locks from 1800, the left are from 1844. 

The book advised this was a good place to tie up. 
What you cannot see is the crumbling wall and rocks!

We spent a delightfully peaceful evening.  We even had a beaver swim past to say g'day.  After a quick google, we learned this was a Eurasian beaver.  As with their North American cousins, they were hunted to near extinction in the 1800s but were reintroduced into Sweden in the early 20th century.  What a treat to see one!

Ahh the serenity ...

Day 4 - Trollhättan to Sörbo

In glorious sunshine, we entered the first lock with just two boats. These are deep locks, bringing the boats up 8m. It's a bit like motoring into a dead end alley!  The water enters these locks through a system distributed along the bottom of the lock rather than through a sluice gate in the gate.  This means the water rises calmly without the turbulence we experienced in the Crinan Canal.  It make for much simpler boat handling.

A boat hook to catch a ladder at the stern and a line fed through a bollard in the lock wall
is all that's needed to manage the boat

When the gate of the second lock opened, we found there were six boat heading towards us - locking down as we were locking up.  An efficient use of water but somewhat of a surprise to us!  We managed to do-si-do around each other and into the third lock we went. 

A lockful of boats heading our way!

Secured to the pegs on the lock wall, we are ready for the water to rise

Almost full ... and we are 6 metres higher!

The next section of the canal was absolutely delightful as we passed straight through the middle of towns and by cafes filled with Swedes enjoying a meal, flower boxes with bright blooms and families enjoying the cycle path.  The bridges opened on our command as we glided along towards Lake Vänern.

Open Sesame!

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