Back to Calendar 2000

June 20                    Tuesday

Chatell Coligny to Montargis

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Left 0730.

After 30 mins felt something wrong - there was. I had left 1 mooring rope in grass.

Into Montargis after sizzling hot but uneventful trip - except for boat trying to overheat - about 1530.

Point of this operation was Evans Marine, from Sens, were due to come and fit a new engine water pump and batteries.

They didn’t come.

Dreadful mooring right above lock, in centre of dust ridden building site - new development of quais and quai-side.

Regrettably chose this site last week, and let everyone concerned (S. and Evans) before they started work, so had no idea of what we were in for.

Hot, windy, and much traffic through lock, making boat fidget.

Went "shopping" 3 times - unable to get act to-gether due to heat, until found air conditioned S.M.

S. arrived 2100 - expected since 1900.

Happiness.

 

June 21                                         Wednesday

In Montargis - awaiting - still - Evans Marine.

Heat reduced to overcast and mild - windy and dusty.

Boat getting filthy.

Bicycles busy.

 

June 22                                          Thursday

Montargis to Cepoy

Evans finally arrived at 1130.

Fitted new water pump, but was a bit gloomy about prognoses, until whilst poking in old pump with screw driver found plastic disc lost in system last year at the beginning of June when the radiator cap fell to pieces, and deposited bits of itself in water system. This "discovery" made the whole operation worthwhile.

In fact, we had run the engine at or below working temperature since "accident", thank heavens, by going slow and switching off and drifting as necessary.

Fitting of new pump, even if foreign body had not been found in old, would have cured problem, but left us with the fear that the disc - which floats - would have blocked something somewhere else.

Great joy.

Fitted 3 new 12 volt batteries in place of 4 huge 6 volt fitted by Bob Darling.

They (the old ones) were finished after 2.5 years, instead of the 4 to 5 promised. However, in all fairness, we may have damaged them by overcharging.

Expensive day, but come 1500 we had a non-overheating (I hope) engine, and full electrics again. (We haven’t been able to use toaster or kettle for the last 3 weeks, the fridge went out if we did, and max speed through water was about 3 kmh).

Set off down canal, and gave Albert stick, including a half mile of "Grey Hound of the Ocean" type motoring with huge bow wave.

Hard working temperature seems to be 82, running seems to be 79/80 or so, both of which are as high as we were allowing her to go before. However, the water is now circulating, and the temp drops when the work load comes off. (It just used to stay high, and get higher right through the day, before).

Moored up for night at Cepoy, on exact spot we stopped at the beginning of the month, and watched the fish on the barrage. Now the top of the barrage is a good 4" clear of the water.

June 23                                             Friday

Cepoy to Nemour.

Good run - lots of confidence in mechanics raised morale. weather grey & cool.

Moored up in Nemour in trees as last time, but slightly further away from bridge to permit peniches to turn in.

Very pleasant run - no beer dish-outs but all L.K.s and locks seem to be pro us - we can always tell when it is in particular us that is expected - lock is set for us, but only 1 gate is opened!

Put 1 jerrican of diesel in tank - what a disgusting job - never again! But tank is only 45 - 55 galls, and 2 jerricans is a further 9 gallons. There is a fuel bunker barge (like St John de Losne) across the Seine at St Mammes. We’ll visit him.

Canal v. quiet - 1 peniche, 1 G.W.W. (a little one), 1 private cruiser - large, white, English, nose well in air, and a trip boat with lots of little children on. Know him, anyway - almost cheek kissing friends, by now.

S.M. shop - bike trailer definitely too small - 2 cases 30 ctl beer, 6 litres milk, cornflakes and 2 bug aerosols, and it’s full.

Has to be said, hard work on legs, and care has to be taken when turning corners and braking - trailer overtakes and arrives in front of self.

Found dear old chap admiring boat - gossiped, and he shot off saying he was bringing wine.

He did - + wife.

Asked them in to drink it - no ways - she was so embarrassed it wasn’t true, but they came in,

Wouldn’t let us open wine - 1 X Montagne-s-Emillion 1994, and 1 X Burgogne "Hautes Cotes de Beaune" 1992.

What price the latter, Brad?

Lots of wise talk on the state of the world - all in French, but no refreshment accepted.

June 24                                           Saturday

Nemour to Montigny-sur-Loing.

Had rung fuel barge at St Mammes and been told "closed on Sundays", so no point in arriving there before Sun evening for Monday.

Looked for, and found, length of revetment low and short grassed, for work on boat side.

Unfortunately, found ideal spot, so had to get stuck in.

Fitted 4th cleat on cabin corner for springs, so that mooring ropes are never across that part of the gunwale we step over going ashore.

Fitted fenders on left stern - job no less bloody than last time. but we now have 3 sets installed, and not enough rubber extrusion for 4th length until next year.

What a relief.

Peniche powered past us - flat out - when we weren’t looking, and ripped all our mooring pegs out, and left boat dangling in middle of canal. Most undignified.

Lost one peg - presumably pulled into water. Couldn’t find it.

June 25                                             Sunday

Montigny-sur-Loing to St. Mammes.

Bright sunny day, but air cool and chilly. Strange for this time of year.

Left at 11.00, after further search for peg.

Onto jetty just above last lock, which we shared last week with 2 other boats. All to ourselves this time.

Bikes into St Mammes, where it seems to have gone totally to sleep. The place was dead, and unlike last time, there appeared to be plenty of mooring gaps everywhere, and the new moorings on the front in the river - whilst technically not yet opened, were in use!

Had a couple of drinks in auberge behind lock, then saw hot air balloon just about to launch from school play ground.

Nipped round and watched - not my sort of fun!

Back to boat, and dug out life jackets, anchor, chain and cable, and empty gas cylinder for to-morrow. Also re-arranged ropes since I left the "short short rope" (all our ropes are recognizable and have names) up at Chateau Coligny.

Some nerves exist about going out onto the great big river - at least it is not in flood now, having dropped appreciably since we were last here and looked at it.

June 26                                             Monday

St Mammes to Melun.

We’re off again.

After the best part of 4 weeks - potentially the best of the summer, (although this summer it has either sizzled, pissed with rain, or blown a hooly, or done all 3 at once) we have got away into new country!

Bright fresh morning, and brightly and freshly we locked down into the River Seine (nervously) and popped across to the fuel depot on the far side of the river, with the current pushing Albert one way, the wind another, and me, the engine, and the rudder a third, fourth and fifth.

We got there to no sort of a welcome - unlike St John de Losne fuel barge.

Anyway, credit and debit cards "non" + waggled fore finger from slightly grubby intelligence challenged sort of bloke.

Had enough cash - in fact - so insisted firstly on buying the gas, then spending the rest on diesel.

Challenge too much - almost too much for me with didgery’s calculator programme to help.

Told g.i.c. to put in 193 litres - wrote it down in French characters, and in due course, diesel into tank, and g.i.c. chappy reckoned that was it.

Dipped tank - lot of nonsense, no more than max of 30 galls gone in.

Insisted on checking pump - situated well out of sight of boat mooring.

Found he had delivered exactly 100 litres short!

Suggested a re-trial, and re-delivery - agreed to!

Finally got away - having been issued with the most bogus invoice imaginable - with full diesel tank, full gas locker, and empty money pocket. At least no more charges on credit cards! And final arithmetic right.

Down river, in extraordinary weather. Bright and sunny and warm, but with a wind that was straight off a glacier somewhere, resulting in constant change from shirt sleeves to fleeces at least twice an hour.

Commercial traffic - by our standards - intense. At least 1 each way ever 30 minutes, and all going flat out.

They creep up from behind, fully loaded, not much more proud of the water than we are, with enormous water displacement waves.

Albert rises nobly to the challenge - and to their bow and stern waves.

Lunch on the move - mooring up places are very few and far between.

Eventually found this so-called P. de P. marked on the map, and discoverable on the river through a tiny opening in the river bank/wall.

A bit shenzy - long grass and grubby permanently moored boats.

Moored up - in sudden strong gust of arctic wind, and in the teeth of a fully loaded peniche not quite breaking the sound barrier - against the P. de P.’s outside or river wall, while went in on foot and sussed it.

Welcome to come in - 5 Ffr a night with water and electricity - but would involve one way through narrow opening amongst plastic boats reversing against wind and river current.

Decided against it, tidied up mooring ropes and fenders, put chairs out, and had tea.

Then to S.M. about 1 km from boat up steep hill across rly line. Definitely wrong side of tracks - quite disturbing locals - masses of children all trying to strike up bogus conversations, so that they can form a mass group and pick pockets and swipe bikes.

Bough bread, left smartly, and returned to boat, to sit in sun over drinks watching river traffic. Heavy, last thing between 1830 and 1930. (locks shut - even for them - at 1900)

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