We did the first of the fifty eight Göta Canal locks today! It is a full day early, but we were lucky to notice that a couple of boats were coming downstream. We asked the lock keeper if we could go up to the next level, still in Mem, where the water was calmer and he happily agreed to let us pass through after the other boats had come down.

It went really smoothly, so I feel less apprehensive about my ability to help out with the ropes having had this practise run all by ourselves. We are going up in height above sea level, so there is a special technique that needs to be used to keep the boat level as the powerful currents flow in and fill the lock. We have studied the illustrations and Lars-Göran had prepared fenders, a block and two long mooring ropes with loops in the end to attach to the mooring rings. I waited by the pier and he eased the boat into the empty lock.




You can see how wavy it is outside of the lock for the boats who have just come through from the canal. The current was so strong that Lars-Göran didn’t even need to start the engine, merely steer the boat while the lock keeper drew her along with ropes, pushed by the strong current. He was very helpful after we told him that this was our first time!




The boat is secured to the pier with ropes in the fore and aft. These must be kept taunt as the water level rises, which is why it is easier on a sailing boat to install a block to thread the rope through and winch it in. If you allow the rope to become loose, the fore of the boat can swing out with the power of the water and become damaged. The lock gates are then closed behind the boat and the sluice gates are opened to let in the water.




This is an idea of the force of the water, even though it is quite a small lock and only raises us 3m above sea level. It would be easy to damage the boat on the rough stone walls if one wasn’t careful. Luckily, Lars-Göran has it all under control and a peep down shows him winching steadily to keep the ropes taunt, while Lambi looks on from her basket.




You can see how the water is swirling around the boat, so it can be a tense time for both those aboard and those on the shore watching. When the boat is at the new level, the crew member on shore (that would be me!) unhooks the mooring ropes, puts them onboard, climbs aboard and the boat sets off. In our case this was only a few metres to our night mooring in a lovely, calm, pond-like basin.



It’s idyllic here and we are feeling better about the whole locking process now. The tiny hamlet is so quiet that it can be hard to believe that this was where the canal was officially opened by the king (Karl XIV Johan) with a great deal of pomp and ceremony in September 1832. Apparently the “after party” was legendary in its length and excesses of food and alcohol. The over consumption of the latter causing more than a few people to fall into the canal on their homeward journey. Sounds a bit like the usual Midsommar party today – some things just never change!