We were up bright and early this morning and when the lock keeper arrived just before 8am, Lars-Göran went up to speak with her and see how many boats would be in today's convoy. The keeper was another of the young, bright enthusiastic girls we have had on the previous sections. She said that there were six boats today and asked if the two of us already waiting would like to lock up now. She operates the Karlsborg bridge by remote control from here at Forsvik, so she was more than happy to put us through while she waited for the other boats to come. She said that we could then continue at our leisure to the next bridge at Brosundet, where we would all catch up and continue the rest of the section together. The owners of the other sailing boat agreed, so at 8am we were happily locking at Göta Canal's highest point - nearly 92m above sea level.





I walked up to the lock to wait for Lars-Göran and saw that the other boat used a different technique, similar to that used by Dennis and Beenie. The boat drove up to the lock, let one crew member off just before the walls began to slope up and that crewmember led the boat into the lock using the ropes. I stepped back to let the woman on the other boat pass in front of me, only to have the ropes shoved into my hands and being ordered to help her out. I was a little taken aback as I needed to be in position for my own boat and anyway I resented being told to help her instead of being asked to help. It soon became obvious why - the poor woman had no clue what she was doing, her partner on the boat was getting rather annoyed with her (already!) and she suffered from vertigo, so getting close to the four metre drop to attach the ropes to the bollards was terrifying for her.

I was much more sympathetic at that point and hoped Lars-Göran would understand when I told him why I helped out (he did). I also managed to attach our own ropes and waited for the boats to come up so I could loosen the ropes of both boats and get back onboard. While I was busy with that, I heard raised voices and looked up to see a man, who we came over the next few days to refer to as Mr Knob, deep in a dispute with the lock keeper.




As you can see, he's giving Lars-Göran and Lambi the hairy eyeball, while at the same time he is berating the lock keeper about the fact that we are being locked up so early. He was arguing that an 8am start meant 8am in Karlsborg, not in Forsvik and it was not fair that we were getting an early start unless she agreed to lock up his boat as well. They had arrived as we were already underway, so he couldn't lock up with us and the lock keeper said that the other three boats would be along from Karlsborg in about 20 minutes and they could then use the lock.

He was being quite loud and aggressive which I thought was ridiculous in the circumstances. We were not getting any advantage, in fact we were helping out the other boats who would not have to wait to use the lock - with six boats, there would need to be two locking sessions anyway. As we were all meeting at the next bridge, where was this "advantage" he was so worried about? To her credit, the young lock keeper kept her cool and proceeded to be very polite but firm about him having to wait for the other boats to join him. They were still arguing when we finished, but I was by now concentrating on my own boat and the crew onboard.




Moving on from Forsvik, we passed through two narrow, wood lined passages. The long stone towing piers were built along the channel to haul the old sailing barges when they were unable to use their sails. We came out into a small lake before passing a bridge and steering out into the beautiful Lake Viken at 91.8 metres above sea level. This lake, which serves as a water reservoir for the towns in the western section of the canal, abounds with small islets, shallows and reefs.




Just before Viken, we had a scare with Lambi. We had to wait at Brosundet for around half an hour for the other boats to arrive as they only open the bridge once. We tied up at the waiting pier just as Mr Knob arrived at full speed in his boat to tell us that we couldn't go through the bridge until the others came. Hmmm.... we already knew that, but he was determined to make a point that we could expect to have no benefits from our early start. He spent the next couple of days trying to make points the whole time. What a knob!

Anyway, to get away from him we decided to take Lambi out for a walk along a narrow spit of land next to the pier. Against my objections, L-G removed her life jacket as it was a warm morning and we set off. It is spring and the birch trees are bursting with pollen so the little body of water between the spit and the shore was thick with pollen. I was just thinking that it looked like solid ground when I heard a splash and saw Lambi sink below the surface like a stone! Obviously she thought the same thing. L-G lay down and reached into the water, dragging out a limp, bright yellow rather bedraggled looking dog. We rushed her back to the boat, washed her thoroughly in fresh water and shampoo and I busily towelled her dry while we motored the 10NM to the next lock at Tåtorp.




Having successfully negotiated the lake we re-entered the canal and soon arrived at at the second of the hand operated locks. I had to laugh at Mr Knob again. We were told that it would take us a couple of hours to negotiate Viken if we kept to the canal speed of 5 knots. Five of us managed that, but Mr Knob sped off the microsecond the bridge was open and roared along at full speed, arriving at the lock before even the lock keepers, where he then faced a long wait. This continued all afternoon. He would dash away at seven or eight knots from the locks and bridges as though he was somehow the leader of this expedition and be impatiently waiting at the next place for everyone to catch up. What can I say?

The next section up to our night harbour at Töreboda is lovely. The countryside is open and very pretty, with many farms lining the shore. I have never seen the countryside looking so green and beautiful. All of that rain in May must have done it some good.




At one place, we came across a herd of cows lazing in the shade under some trees. A small calf was both curious and a little worried by the procession of half a dozen sailing boats passing his home. My guess is that he had never seen a boat in his short life. While the other cows barely bothered to turn a hair, he marched up and down the shore stamping his feet at us. Must be related to Mr Knob.




I really like this Västra Götaland section of the canal. It is relaxing and very picturesque. We were passed by cyclists who were travelling along the pathway by the canal and all of them waved and called out hello as they rode by. It is a great time of the year to be here as the trees are just beginning to blossom and in some sections, we were surrounded by the heady scent of spring. Of course, it would be awful if you suffered from hayfever!




In the late afternoon we made our way to the guest piers at Töreboda for a welcome shower and to stretch our legs on land and plan out tomorrow's route. I like to look at the section ahead and see what is coming up. We also struck a little luck with our fellow travellers. The owners of the boat I had helped early this morning chatted for a while and told us they had just bought the boat on the east coast and were sailing her home to Mariestad (a town on Lake Vänern). We got a few tips about places to stay on Vänern as well as an idea of the towns in the southern part of the lake.

We also spoke at length to another pair who were also taking their newly purchased boat from Stockholm to Karlstad (a town in northern Vänern) and they spoke about that northern part of the lake. I also learned that their son was currently "studying" in Australia. The inverted commas are on purpose as it was his father's opinion that he was hitting the beach rather more than the books. Apparently he went there for a three month course eleven months ago and shows no sign of wanting to come home. Each time the parents speak to him he extols the beauty of the country and the wonderful surfing he is doing. Mum and dad were a little worried about the fatal shark attacks in Australia that make the news over here, but he assured them that there was no cause for concern, after all "there are only five or six a year". Funny that this news didn't exactly reassure them....




It is warm and sunny again, with hot weather forecast for the next few days. They are even predicting temperatures up to 30C (86F) - a veritable heatwave for Sweden! It will make a welcome change from the grey, wet weather we have been having lately. The only worrying aspect is that when we get a stable high pressure system like this one, it is usually accompanied by very weak winds. This does not look promising for our trip around the lake. But we can deal with that when we get there. Tomorrow it is another bright, early start for the final section of the canal to Sjötorp. And this will be a section with a difference - for a change we will be locking downhill on our journey towards the North Sea. Wish us luck.