http://www.boatinternational.com | May 2018This page, from top: the island of Valaam
in Lake Ladoga; the entrance to the White
Sea-Baltic Canal; Kizhi Pogost, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site on the island in Lake
Onega. Opposite page, from top: a rare
sighting of a local vessel; central St Petersburg;
the colourful architecture of Mandrogi; a
working vessel on the canal; the 18th century
Church of the Transfiguration at Kizhi Pogostsome 30 are entirely man-made. The canal was built
in 20 months and, without records, it is impossible
to know how many workers died. Some historians
put the death toll at around 12,000; others estimate
it to be nearer 240,000.
At 1pm the next day, the seventh of our adventure,
we started our journey along the canal itself. As we
left Povenets, there were seven locks close together
known as the Stairs of Povenets. The canal’s original
design stipulated a 5.5 metre controlling depth. Cost
cutting meant the finished canal could guarantee
a minimum depth of only 3.5 metres. At 3.2 meters,
the yacht’s draught meant that for many of the lock
transits there was no more than 30 centimetres of
water under the keel.
By the end of the day, our first on the canal, we
had risen an incredible 100 metres using eight locks,
as well as advancing 35 miles inland. It had been
hard work for the crew and we anchored in darkness
at 11pm.
On day eight, our second on the canal, the locks
became far more staggered, with large lakes between
them. We had left at 6am with the aim of reaching
lock number 15. We eventually achieved our goal,
stopping at Sosnovets at 9pm, having travelled 95
miles. The journey was repetitive but it was
contemplating the canal’s rich history, coupled with
stunning landscapes dotted with occasional
settlements, that kept me captivated.
I went ashore at Sosnovets the next morning and
people were curious, even perplexed, to see
a foreigner walking their streets and observing them
going about their daily lives, driving old Russian
cars and riding plain, simple bicycles.
On our ninth, and final, day we left Sosnovets at
around 1pm. We travelled through a further three
locks and another 11 miles to reach the town of
Belomorsk, where the canal meets the White Sea.
I remained on board for a further two days visiting
the Solovetsky Islands, a renowned Gulag
concentration camp that provided many of the
workers for the canal, and the city of Arkhangelsk,
before flying on to the city of Murmansk. At both
Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, I took the opportunity
of visiting the graves of Allied servicemen that are
still meticulously maintained by the Commonwealth
War Graves Commission.
The cruise had lived up to all expectations and
more and I am already exploring the possibility of
another Russian adventure – this time to the Black
Sea and on to Volgograd. If there was one
disappointment on our adventure, it was the lack of
wildlife. At sea, we saw no whales, seals or dolphins.
On land, we saw no bears, wolves or moose, and
everywhere the bird life was scarce.
The mindset for our trip was to let things happen and to take everything
in our stride and, as a result, it could not have gone more smoothly. For
a total of 11 days and travelling a total of 869 miles (from St Petersburg
to Arkhangelsk), we had cruised through history in near perfect sailing
conditions and had been rewarded with a unique insight into the world’s
largest country and some of its 144 million inhabitants. It was a journey
that I will cherish for the rest of my days.BLord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist,
author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit lordashcroft.com.
Follow him on Twitter @LordAshcroft132