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Highland Waterways Under Siege! (The Great Glen Raid)
The waterways between Corpach, near Fort William and Inverness will soon be under siege as competitors from across Europe gather with their vessels, to take part in the Great Glen Raid which takes place from Saturday 1st - Friday 7th June.

This event, sponsored by The Highland Council, Inverness & Nairn Enterprise and Visit Scotland, starts on Saturday at Corpach in Lochaber and it will be the third year running that this event has taken place in the Highlands. Taking part will be forty traditional sailing and rowing craft ranging from 4.9 metres to 9 metres in length, some crewed single-handed, others with up to six members of crew onboard. Organiser of the Great Glen Raid is Frenchman Charles-Henri le Moing, a renowned sailor. He said: "The spirit of the Great Glen Raid is to encourage long distance or inland waterway navigation on craft easily handled, moved and maintained, ones that can be manoeuvred mainly on sail and oars. It makes for a very colourful spectacular as the boats of various shapes and sizes travel along the route."

Over the week there will be various competitions during the 150km course as the vessels traverse the Caledonian Canal and the Great Glen Lochs before ending the "Raid" at North Kessock. As well ascompeting on the water, the competitors will be relaxing, eating and sleeping on it as well in a "floating village" of motor cruisers and converted barges which will accompany them along the route.
Convener of the Lochaber Area Committee of The Highland Council, Councillor Olwyn Macdonald said: "The Great Glen Raid will certainly provide a colourful fleet of boats on our waterways. I am delighted that the organisers of this competition have returned to the Highlands for the third year running.

Competitors will be coming from France, Belgium, Italy, Sweden and Germany as well as from across the UK. I am sure lots of people will cheer and encourage the boats as they travel across the Highlands from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea. On behalf of The Highland Council, I'd like to wish all the
competitors the very best." 

There will be plenty of opportunities for spectators to watch the boats compete. On Saturday 1st June the "Raid participants" will be arriving at port in the Corpach basin. The following day there will a race out into Loch Linnhe and back to Lochaber Yacht club. This "salt water sprint" is used to test the boats are safe and "sea-worthy".   On Monday the real race begins with the ascension of the vessels through the 8 locks which make up Neptune's Staircase before reaching the starting point of the first stage at Banavie Basin. Over the next few days participants will race the length of Loch Lochy, row from Laggan to the Great Glen Water Park, sail up to Fort Augustus, enter Loch Ness and reach Muirtown Locks in Inverness on Friday 7th June between 2.30 and 4.00pm.

The final chance to watch the Raiders in full flight will be later on Friday when they take part in the concluding race part of the way up and back down the Beauly Firth before the boats are lifted from the water at North Kessock.