Well folks, we made it!
After ten days hard work we are here. I suppose we could have done it in a little less time but then we would be exhausted as opposed to just plain tired. I will give a day by day account followed by a few personal observations and a few photo's at the end. I'll be honest and say that I've already done this once to-day but turning round I pressed some key and the whole thing went blank. Three hours work down the drain. Never mind, I don't really want to be out in the sunshine at 28 degrees do I?We left St.Mammes on the 26th May after waiting to try and find out the possible length of delay caused by a breach at Digoin. John Faulkner of Bateaux de Conflans just above where the pontoons will be in July was very helpful. He has been there for eight years and knows all the ropes.
The first lock is just a couple of kilometres down and we were soon there. The lock keeper wanted our Peage Plaisance and took down our name and SSR number. This has been the only time any paperwork has been requested. We were asked how far we were going and that was it. What in fact happens is that each lock notifies the next of your passage and if possible, especially when quiet they have it ready for you. It was at this first lock that we met Andre and Vivienne, a Belgium couple who were to find out knew the route very well. We were first in the lock but once through it they overtook us and we stayed with them until we reached here. Two boats working together made the locks a lot easier and I would recommend it to anyone on the proviso that both crews share the work. They would enter the lock first and by the time we were in they would be ready to close the gate behind us. We would then get off the boat and open the gate for departure. Very simple and the lock keepers loved it.
This first day we did 36 Km's and spent the night moored to the river bank near Neronville, where there was water and rubbish facilities.
Next morning we were on the move by 7.30 and had an enjoyable day getting as far as Chattily-Coligny where there were full facilities including shower for no charge. Already I was enjoying the trip more than the river section and to-day we hadn't seen any barges after the five of yesterday and it turned out that we were only to see one more before Chalon sur Saone. They only do 6kph which is about 3 knots and really hold you up and of course they have priority at locks.
On Sunday we left early again and settled on Briare as our destination for the day. This meant that in the first three days we had covered some 104 Kilometres and cleared 51 locks. We spent the night just prior to the aqueduct at a pleasure boat hire company who charged us 16FF for the night. There is a Port du Plaisance but this is down a branch and has a further three locks which you then have to do on the way out.
Monday was another early start and I have to say that it works; the locks open at 7.30am and if you are ready, then it usually means they are in your favour and the lock keepers really tried hard to maintain this for us. Some locks had their own keepers whilst others were split into groups and you would have someone on a moped or in a car dashing along the bank to get the next one ready. I'm not sure how well it works when they are busy. We spent this night moored to the bank near Menetrol. It's nice when you can moor up and not worry about the wash from the large barges or not being seen in the dark.
Tuesday was another good day, very quiet and we made good progress to Chevenon where we moored against the bank again. We had covered 61 kilometres today and been through eleven locks. There were no facilities here but we were tired and just wanted to get to sleep.
On Wednesday we left early with the hope of getting to Gannay sur Loire where we had full facilities that night. It had been another quiet day but at least it had been dry after the day long rain of yesterday. There is a hire boat company here and the English couple running it told us that the damage at Digoin would be repaired by that evening and by the following p.m. we should be OK to get through. They had had a couple of boats stuck the other side for over a week which had cost a lost hire and required two people to go and fetch the boat the hirers had had to leave there. All gets complicated if it goes wrong.
Thursday saw us reaching Digoin, where we spent the night moored against the bank in the town. On route we had met Bill and friend, two retired gents off to the sun until September. They stayed with us for the rest of that day but didn't stay with us on Friday as Bill was meeting his wife later that day. She was going out by train to see him.
Friday and we are into the last canal. As Carol puts it; I'm getting lock happy! Anyway, just 61 more to do in the next 110 kilometres. After an exhausting day when we filled up with red diesel at the Port du Plaisance in Monial and met up with "Mr. and Mrs Pratt" who were a real liability; they just sat in their boat in the locks and expected the lock keepers to do all the work. That was why they had been waiting well over an hour inside this particular lock! If you don't help them, then they won't help you, but this couple wouldn't accept that and just kept moaning at them. By the end of the day, Andre who couldn't speak English had made it very clear that he didn't want their company the next day! We spent this night in Menceau les Mines and again full facilities for free. The market is held on a Saturday and starts setting up about 4.30 so as we were moored underneath them we had another early call. We managed to do our shopping in the market and still be ready to move by 7.0a.m.
Saturday was a funny day, with all sorts of things going wrong for Andre and Vivienne so by the middle of the afternoon we decided to call a halt to the day and moor up, especially as a storm was looming. It passed us by in the end with only some strong winds for a few minutes but the cloud formations were like something I've only ever seen on TV. We spent the night at a place called St. Berain.
Sunday, our last day in the canals. To be honest I was pleased about that, because I was tired, worried about the amount of rubbish in the water and just keen to get on. All the locks were automatic by now and were all going down so the last 38 kilometres and 17 locks were completed in just over 5 hours. The facilities here in Chalon are excellent, but a point to remember; they shut at 8pm. and don.t open till 9a.m. A boat up to 10 mtrs is £6 a night and a couple in a 42ft. ketch are paying £10 a night, everything included.
Well, now that we've done the canals, what help/advice can
we offer?
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Carry as many fenders as possible. You'll need them at water line level as well as at the gunwale and very large one at the bows. All motor cruisers have them going round the corner at the stern, top and bottom, and some even have a tyre just below water level incase their stern is thrown across the lock. Old tyres in plastic bags are the best bet.
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Ropes; one in each"corner" and at least 12 mtrs long. to allow for locks over 5mtrs deep. We also had an 8 mtr one each side amid ships.
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Full gas cylinders as they are very rare. First we've seen since St. Vaast are here. This is camping gaz. No car at all. It's all elf gaz or total gaz in large cylinders.
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A proper loo. You can't do it without one. We also have a holding tank but most boats don't.
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Shop when you can, as small towns close for lunch, 3 hours, and shut every Sunday and Monday. Fuel also has to be fetched from towns; so fill up full whenever you can.
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Expect the boat to get dirty and perhaps scratched. If it doesn't you've been lucky.
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Have your masts lowered in L'Havre...two people we met had theirs done in Rouen and got them broken and were then shown a disclaimer. Another gent we met today hired a mobile crane in Hornfleur to drop his two masts at a cost of £80.
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Be prepared for hard work!
The attached photo's are a selection from along the route, starting in the canal du Loing and finishing with the last lock before the Saone. That one is over 10 mtrs deep! We'll send a further up date from the bottom of the Rhone.
Phil and Carol
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