How it all started

If anyone's to blame it's Simon... We were enjoying our usual Thursday night pub quiz last year when Simon mentioned he'd always wanted to canoe the Caledonian Canal (an unusual ambition as we later found out he'd never actually set foot in a canoe before). As the evening wore on the rest of us, me, Shaun, Andy, Jason and Eddy gradually warmed to the idea (unfortunately the beer was now starting to effect our judgement). Simon explained where the Caledonian Canal was - a 60 mile passage of water that connects the west coast of Scotland with the east coast, from Fort William to Inverness. Canoe across Scotland - wow that sounded impressive. Heck, we could even raise some money for charity. The only downside? None of us had any experience of long distance canoeing...

For several weeks we discussed the trip, usually ending with references to 'Deliverance' and 'Squeal like a pig'. But with Christmas fast approaching and the thought that if we didn't start organising something soon we'd miss the boat (pardon the pun) we got our act together. After discovering that we'd have to allow a week to do the trip, we decided our support crew (families) would have to come with us. Breaking this news to them wasn't easy and I'm sure it will cost us dearly at some point. It was decided that our companions would set up a base halfway along the route and a location was duly found and booked. This turned out to be the beginning of August 2009. Unfortunately this clashed with Eddy's holiday and reluctantly (although probably a relief to Alison) he had to pull out. Fortunately Andy's son Jim stepped in to take his place. Research showed that the best way to travel was with two-man Canadian canoes, where we could stow our gear in the boat. The intention being to canoe a distance and then camp at night. With the 'where' and 'why' sorted, it was time to get down to the 'how'.