Back to Calendar

September 19th                                        

Sunday

la Place (pk 31) to Clamecy.

Late start, after Sunday morning obloigatories.

Cool, overcast

Fiddled around again with weed hatch cover to try and improve water flow from stern and hence reduce prop noise.

Had exactly the same effect as previous efforts - none.

Caught up with boat load of South Africans at first lock, but let them go ahead, as it was already lock lunch hour, and we saw a nice spot to stop.

Cleaned boat, and brasses, but first continued recent custom of improving moorings by trimming grass and bush along water side with hedge shears. Perhaps a motor hedge trimmer, chain saw, or strimmer might be an apropriate birthday present. Perhaps not - think of the flying rubbish all over the boat.

"Continued" after own lunch into threatening rain, then light rain, then medium to heavy rain, then hooly bourne rain with hail and cold. More and more thankful for elderly brolley that has lain on top of boat since she was new.

There is an interesting pair of locks on this stretch, that we experienced last time as well. A Flood lock (a lock between a canal and river that is losed when river is in flood, but otherwise left open to assist navigation on the river) a river crossing through the canal, and a proper lock. One leaves the garde porte (French - flood lock) cutting aiming well against the flow of the river, so you cross nice and straight and enter proper lock neatly. To-day, howling gale, pissing rain and cold. Hire boat coming other way as well, with driver in cabin behind windscreen wipers. Sat in middleof river, drifting downstream into and in our path, while being blown to-wards us by wind.

Put foot, made like a destroyer and got in under her stern,. and into lock without hitting anything, or frightening anybody. Both lock keepers - professionals, not students - cowering against weather in hut, but incredibly cheerful and friendly.

Still in lessening rain, into Clamercy, moored up on town mooring (hid behind 2 empty hire boats breasted up, for privacy) connected electricity, and turned on bathroom and fan heaters.

Boat warm very quickly - it is not ambient that is low - just wind and rain.

Flurry of phone calls re Voda bill, and Sunsail buy-out.

 

September 20th

Monday

Camecy to Auxerre to Clamecy (by train)

It's all very complicated. Ruth is not arriving until Wed evening.

Because we have to decide SOMETHING, and generally these occasions are impossible - she says she'll arrive on Wed evening, where will we be? How must we know, if we say one place we have to dawdle and wait around, but if we say a little further on sods law, weather, hire boats, locks, etc ensure that we haven' a hope in hell unless we try and go like the clappers, or the guest is stranded on a strange station platform, in a strange country, with no phone of their own, and ours bleating "no network"

Anyway, we have to be sure, so always we say somewhere easy, and in this case said Clamecy.

Sods law once again ensured that we arrived at Clamecy on Sunday - 3 days early, and so "wasted" them,when we want to get to Roane! We couldn't say anywhere further up the canal, as she has to change to a dot & carry one train to do the last 40 kms to here, and further on it is a coach service 3 times a day only, and she can't arrive in time to catch the last one!

Anyway, 3 days to while away!

To-day we trudged up to the rly stn, and took a £7.00 return sicky ride back to Auxerre, to sort out the mobile phone.

It took some 4 hours on this the 3rd visit to France Telecom Mobile (pronounced "mobeel"), but we eventually came out with a Sim card for our own telephone, a French number, and a right hodge-podge sort of account, which we pay in a Post Office, and fax the recreipt to F.T. - how, from a boat, I ask myself?

In all fairness, the girl who looked after us spoke excellent English (she had worked in London for 2 years), knew her stuff - the French make anything with paperwork like this incredibly complicated.

Having finished - we can call at once, but the text facility will take a couple of days - we had lunch on the pavement at a sandwich bar/cafe next to 4 rather borred Scots, whiled away the afternoon, Priced 10 yr old Linnsen cruisers - about £60,000.00 and returned home - even more travel sick - at about 1800. S. was really quite unhappy. Probably constipated, as well, but these country rattling-railroad trains are quite rough.

Very nearly went to Avalon and all stations to Timbuctoo - train is a composite, and splits, and we got in wrong half. Conducter - fortuneately, chased us out.

An English couple - Roger and Genette Ashby from Rugby - visited. They have bought a tiny cottage just along the canal from the moorings and used to own a Dutch Barg, have a narrow boat in UK, and a workshop with the toolsof his trade HGV and Boat fitter, and general clever fellow! Has worked for most of the big boat firms in France as mechanic/fitter.

Sat on boat for ages, talking! They seem to know everyone on the French Waterways.

Must be good chaps - they admired "Albert"l

Rain off and on for most of day.

 

September 21st

Tuesday

In Clamecy

Rain off and on all day.

To LeClerk for anti-freeze in morning - got lost coming back, and went a hell of a long way round with 2 X 5 litres antifreeze in rucksack.

Coffee with Roger and Genette in own cottage.

Struggled with cooling system all afternoon. Able to drain and catch water from engine block, but skin tank pissed all over the floor - outlet is too low for buckets etc, and I don't have proper pump, and it ended up ankle deep on the floor.

Brief lecture on narrow boat cooling system:- Boat engine is cooled by passing water from the engine that would normally go through the radiator in a car, through a slim but long and wide tank that is built into the steelwork of the boat so that one complete face, through it's steel skin, is in contact with, and so cooled by the canal or river water the boat is passing through.

Pumped up, or sponged out, all loose bilious green water on engine floor - seemed to go on for-ever, boring, fiddly, and greasy.

Put in 2 cans, 10 litres, antifreeze (bought, very expensively ready to use). Nothing like enough so up to LeClerk for more anti-freeze in evening. Bought another 3 X 5 litres. Book said engine capacity is 5litres, + cooling tank.

Cleaned up, and left job.

 

September 22nd

Wednesday

Still in Clamecy.

Raining.

Put 3 can anti-freeze into engine - still not enough - 25 litres so far.

Back to le Clerk - getting very bored with trudge up hill to industrial estate beyond rly stn - did some research, and bought 4 X 2 litres concentrated anti freeze.

Back to boat, and used 3 cans made up to 50% mix, filled system, + spillage.

Hence, for future reference, 5 X 5 l cans ready mixed, 3 X 2 l cans bulked up to 4 l each = 25 + 12 = 37 litres gross capacity.

Ran engine, to get bubles out - yet more mess on floor.

After half hour charge wasn't rising, and tachometer (the tach rpm shown is a function of speed of alternator, which is driven by "fan belt".

Smoke emanated from engine - no smell of burning - so hoped it was steam resulting from oily wet fan belt slipping.

Had lunch - the strain was beginning to tell, no wonder the "winterisation" process is spoken of so often with bated breath - should do exactly the same to the central heating.

Changed fan belt for new, ran engine briefly, then Super Marketed - S.'s second visit to-day - she brought the trolley back through the streets of Clamecy this morning. Beer!

Returned to boat, leaving S. buying distilgesic (Paracetomol) from the chemist. This was a mistake, missed entertainment - chemist took her fondly by the hand and tried to usher her over the street to a doctor. Situation eventually tidied up, and fizzy head ach pills sold with many stern instructions. ALL in French.

Ensured we could get incoming phone calls - via Jules - but still unable to send SMS messages over new phone link - bit worried. Just says "message failed" in French.

 

September 23rd

Thursday

Clamecy to last bridge before Tannay/Cuzy.

Tea, by courtesy of Ruth, at 0730!!!!!

Complicated breakfast, and boat clearing up.

Rain during night, but appeared fair in morning.

Women into Clamecy for P.C.s, bread and last minute messages.

Tried SMS messages, again w/o success.

Got away about 10.30 - good to be on the move again.

Waved "fond" fairwell to "Roger and Ginette" in their litytle cottage.

Nipped past Chevereoches village I particularly wanted to see - when I was in the loo.

Lunch at village mooring - Villiers _ where e bought bread on way up from mad women in dark pondokkie with 2 man drinkoing and eating dry bread.

Took chairs down to river, and had peaceful lunch, although 4 a.c.c. on mooring - incl 1 flying old R.S.A. flag.

Uneventful day's motoring, including 2 rise lock just before mooring up, just before Tannay/Cuzy.

Countryside back to small fields, remote farms, pretty little villages, and Charolais cattle. Very nice. It is, of course, now autumn, and, although it was spring when we first fell for it, and it now looks quite English, it is still very nice.

Boat appears fine after yesterday's dramatic winterisation of the cooling system, although - possibly due to shallow water - a bit rattly/propellor thrashy.

Got nice mooring in the sun, with shade - necessary, sun too hot, even at 6.00 p.m. to sit in directly - on offside, good after attacking and defeating stand of young willow sapplings.

 

September 24th

Friday

Tannay/Cuzy.to Les Granges above Chartris les Mines.

Took us for-ever to get started what with getting up, breakfast, the dark mornings, etc.

In fact we were woken by the only train that runs on the local rly line at 0750 hoot-toot-tooting for the local level crossing that probably serves 1 vehicle (almost certainly a tractor) per day. Suspect there was an element of "let's wake the folks - they should be up by now, anyway".

Off and up - nice country, small fields, etc,etc.

Straight after start ran into Tannay moorings, Crown Blue Line, and found we had a soignal on the mobile.

Decided to try and tidy up SMS, - had already discovered we could change the French Language in the window into English. - only thing left not working as it should. Spent for-ever with France Telecoms in a call box on their help line, only to discover that there is currently no agreemenbt between Itineris and anybody else on SMS.

Struggled to get it going with French nos, but still doesn't work. Will have to sort it out in Roane.

Will soldier on as it is - blight, but there you go, they reckon maybe it will be going in 2 or 3 months - I wonder.

By the time we hsad finished, after mid-day lock knocking off time.Wandered dow to next lock, and by the time we got there it was starting time again.

Set off at 1255, having lunch on the move.

Phone call from Kath

This is still, in our opinion, a delightful canal, running through lovely country,, although now we are travelling with a ptrpose, rather than as spectators.

Caught up an enormous a.c.c. and shared a lot of locks. French - unusual, they don't really go for this sort of holiday.

Picked up one chap from doing lift bridge for both. He watched, with us, as their boat performedf complete 360 degree turn on way into lock. Dropperd him, back onto his own boat amidst promises of perpetual friendship. Littler English, but much hilarious communication all round. Cemented when I took our map - French I.G.N. - to ask what "pig" meant. Much discussion - mostly frivolous - such as "couchons", and formal presentation of reading glasses, until a committee of the lock-keepers - husband and wife - 75 yrs old each and looked it, most of the hirers and ourselves decided it had to be "pigeans" - same in both languages - and indicated presence of one of those lovely dove-cote buildings, same size or bigger than the Round Houses at Chalford and Woodchester. The joy here was finding that some French people have got sence of humour like ours, and we can communicate given a slow and clear speaking Frenchman.

Stopped off at Chitry les Mines to buy diesel from Ted Johnson, found him as unatractive as before, bought, and carried straight on, and moored up in Locaboat basin at les Granges after 2 rise lock..

Started to rain as we moored up, but unenthusiastically.

Collected e-mail birthday wishes, then lost network. Reception was bad up here in the spring, as well.

Came on to rain realy hard in the night - thunderstorms, heavy downpour, the lot.

 

September 25th

Saturday

Les Granges above Chartris les Mines to Baye.

Set off after very untidy getting up and breakfast.

Planned to lunch and re-stock bread at Sardy.

Steady progress - past disgusting cement factory - until second last lock, where time - lock-keepers lunch hour - caught up.

Stuck for lunch below last lock, but quite nice spot in cool sun, sludgy mooring. 3rd degree from ongoing lock-keeper as to tome of starting up flight. Promised 15.00.

Bread buying expedition into Sardy village totally successful.

Readers of this work will remember that the Canal du Nivernais climbs

At exactly 1500, with bread on board, set off up flight, sending hire a.c.c. in front to avoid full fotrce of paddles. Ypung coup-le, speaking German, of the hand over ropes variety, "carry on -please I am content".

Went up 3 or 4 quite satisfactoprilyu, then car arrivred with another young couple and 2 chil*dren - toddlers - say 1.5 and 3.5.

Loaded all + kit onto a.c.c. at lock, left car.

Toddlers allowed total free range of boat at all times - including on top, where parents and hirers were congregated driving and to some extent controlling.

Crunch came some 3 locks later, lock-keeper girl educated hippy from "bender" (it appears they have difficulty in recruiting staff up here, each L.K. is more wierd than the last, and all give their houses over to "exppositions", a few tatty bits of "art" and pots of kam and honey bought from the supermarket).

1 toddler running free on top deck of a.c.c., whilst other one held under one of mother's arms, as she threw boat mooring ropes for lock mooring from top deck of unstable moving boat with the other.

Meantime entire area surrounded by L.K.'s dogs, yapping andf barking.

Decided enough was enough, a really nasty accident was inevitable, and we didn't want any part of it, so stopped boat outside next lock, refused to enter, started shutting gates, suggested they went on alone, and we would follow. This was awkward for L.K. as she would have to have to put us all through, and it meant an exttra set of lockings - anathrema!.

She, in true hippy fashion, reckoned it was nothing to do with us if parents let their children fall under our boat and get killed. Children's father agreed with her - mother was too young to have an opinion!