BACK TO CALENDAR 2000

Sept 11                                                     Monday

Langres to Piepape. (Canal de la Marne a la Saône).

Booked to leave Langres at 10.00 day before yesterday.

First lock, latish.

Second lock, the organising lock for the tunnel, the l.k. - after I extracted her from her house - told us that 2 boats had just been admitted to far end of tunnel, and we would not go through until after 1400.

What a waste of half a day - could do nothing with it, and too hot to clean boat, by now.

2 boats emerged as promised - first a loaded peniche, which may have been doing half a km per hour - and may not.

Second a yacht caught behind. Bad luck!

Set off through at 14.40 - 4.80 kms. Arrived out at 15.30. This tunnel was reported as being a bogey. In fact, dead straight, in good repair, good width, plenty of depth, very well lit!

Straight out of the tunnel into usual bleats from L.K. as to where are we going, when and where we are stopping, when are we starting to-morrow, etc etc etc. Have learnt now to say we are going much further than real intention, then they have to stay with us, until we decide to stop. They like to make us commit ourselves to a short day, in a nearby pound, probably without suitable moorings, then dump us and disappear.

However, to-day we did all except last promised lock in quick order, then found nice mooring, and told them we were staying. Moored up in the ideal spot - wood jetty, bollards, no electric or water so no one else, plenty of depth, village (+ bread) just round corner - we hope - within easy reach of Brompton mounted bread seekers.

Anyway, it is rather easier here, we were into a series of 12 deep automatic locks on the downhill side of the tunnel - we have left the Marne watershed, and are now into the Saône catchment area.

Country continued very pleasing - green (wet summer?). Very rural, not a sniff of industry on this side, so far.

Only fly in ointment - still have not been able fill with diesel - we have 23 and a bit gallons, and usually use 1 - 1.5 galls per day. Gather the strike nonsense is over, but yesterday jerricans were still forbidden even at the one filling station we passed that was, anyway, really too far for fetching fuel with bikes. Hope we can get some soon!

 

Sept 12                                             Tuesday

Piepape to Villeneuf-sur-Vingeanne. (Canal de la Marne a la Saône).

Into village on bikes to buy bread - actually within easy walking distance, but we didn’t know that. As a matter of interest - these village bakeries make their own bread - 3 or 4 times a day, as do the "artisan boulangeries" in the towns - and very nice it is too. The bakery is either behind, below alongside or whatever, so there is no cheating - fascinating, sometimes, to see them at it. Not often though - the Frenchman is far too enigmatic to want you to see what he is doing - or even that he is doing anything - and never must he admit that he works.

Very hot day, brolley up, but all locks etc - manual or automatic - working fine and waiting for us.

Bimbling along peacefully, seven eighths asleep, when met a loaded peniche - only about 4th since last week.

Much excited to see it was Floan - see log for Aug 12th - peniche owned and run by English couple. Vigorous and very friendly conversation with "Mrs Smith" as tried to keep boat more or less in peniche’s wash.

Finally lost earshot as boat turned sideways across canal!

Would love to know more.

Very late lunch to fit in with lock "chains".

Sitting peacefully on bank when individual in red shirt, red car, and long flowing locks arrived to demand of us our intentions.

Not impressed - he didn’t make any attempt to identify himself - but it appeared he was the L.K. of the next "manuelle" lock, and "demanded" that we should gird up our loins and pass through his lock as he did 2 locks, and his wife helped him but she was fetching the children from school and where and when were we proposing to stop for the night anyway.

Got going, and dully passed through, having elicited information on suitable stopping place.

Through 2 more locks kept by female dragons - the female of the species is most regrettable and is not recommended for trivial pursuits of any kind.

Arrived in pound recommended by long haired gent. Totally unsuitable for mooring in - in fact almost dangerous.

Ground on right through to lock at end - very late, tired and disenchanted after superb day’s run through lovely country - and insisted on being put through.

Extremely unpopular - when one says one is going to stop, one stops and all L.K.s are automatically off duty, even if working hours not over.

Bit of forceful suggestion (me), thoughtful discussion and sympathy (S), got us through - put by resident L.K. and family, not duty L.K., who was one of the dragonesses.

Eventually found adequate mooring below, but necessitated 2 ladder 4 pins because of shallow edges, but completed quickly and happily - only too pleased to be able to stop.

Settled down to supper and domestics, then small phut-phut car (the "sans permis" type) arrived on far side of canal, and v. large dragoness emerged who shouted at us, but was inaudible due to water noises.

Eventually transpired that her knickers were knotted (how do I know she was wearing any, I hear you ask?) because she should have put us through the last lock (after keeping us waiting the obligatory 45 minutes) not the resident L.K. who had put us through straight away, and we had messed up her schedule, as what would happen at 10 o’clock to-morrow at her lock when we were due to arrive and didn’t because someone had put us through the night before?

Heavy thunderstorm during night, and as we had moored under tree, much drip noise.

 

Sept 13                                        Wednesday

Villeneuf-sur-Vingeanne to Cheurge. (Canal de la Marne a la Saône)

Cool morning, but relatively little mess from thunderstorm - in the spring, sitting under trees in rain resulted in dreadful sticky mess all over boat.

Another pleasant - and to-day - much more relaxed day.

Caught bakers van in second lock, so got fresh bread without going for it.

This must be the 5th or 6th time this trip we have caught a van like this - we have been very lucky.

Superb run again - country has changed from "high country and remote" type scenery of the tunnel and immediately post tunnel sections to large professional farms, still, however, butting up against the forest, and with masses of trees and copses.

Why there should be the highland/lowland difference - distance in kms is only 100 to 150 or so, and height is only 200 metres - we cannot work out, but it is very marked - both here and on the Canal des Ardennes.

A feature of the farms appears to be that the steadings are in the village, along with farm workers houses - could be that the village, in the past, has formed round the steading, but a very logical way of ensuring agricultural land is kept for agriculture, and farm communities are, in fact, really that.

Cycled round one village at lunch time, looking for a filling station, and seemed as though there were at least 5 main steadings in the village, and every second house had a tractor or farm machine in the garden, and the intervening ones had store of fertiliser or chemicals in theirs.

Moored up in Cheurge having selected it off the map - more or less with a pin.

Beautiful village, and beautiful scenic mooring. Really lovely.

Early dull weather, which threatened closed in weeping trees did not materialise - weather improved and trees pulled back.

Had hard task on arrival on deciding whether to go for bike ride around village and explore, or do oil change.

Did both, but only just caught day light for obligatory sitting out and having drinks last thing.

A most satisfactory day.

Having said that, it is probable that Murphy and Sod their laws will ensure that to-morrow is a string of monumental cock-ups.

(Wonder if it is relevant that after we passed under the radar controlled lift bridge at the entrance to the village it got some sort of dry heaves and continued - slowly - to work through it’s cycle of ringing bells, flashing lights, closing barriers, rising to fully open position, lowering, locking, ringing more bells, flashing more lights, opening barriers, waiting 5 minutes, then doing it all again. Since it only served a village footpath, anyway, no interest was shown, except our curiosity).

 

Sept 14                                         Thursday

Cheurge (Canal de la Marne a la Saône) to Lamarche (R Saône)

Out of canal by lunch time.

Sadly bottom end of this lovely canal is rather large, with unkempt, bushy sides, and large flat soggy river valley countryside. But still preferable to rivers full of other boats.

Debouched into river all on our own, had to wait for 2 hire boats at first river lock, and had met another 5 by lunch time moor up.

This is probably more than we have seen in 3 months.

Did cycle recce of first town on river for diesel and bread - Pontailler - and found 2 possibilities for diesel, but as it was 1300, none for bread.

Got some diesel at a service station without difficulty - we actually measured 20 galls this morning in the tank, but am deeply suspicious about cleanliness of lower layers of tank, and regard 15 galls as absolute minimum reserve.

Cycling through town on a Brompton towing a trailer with 2 jerricans on it, with 2nd Brompton - the yellow one - acting as shotgun/outrider is no longer more than routine! It is still, however, a hell of a laugh for us. As we left service station with sundry necessary heartfelt groans and grunts to get equipage moving in bottom gear heard some damn silly remarks from outrider on yellow machine about "très agé"

Diesel has been not a complete worry, but a matter for thought and concern since last Friday - if we hadn’t shut ourselves up in our own world and had listened to the news, we would have known of the crisis 3 days before we did, and could easily have filled right to the top.

We use 1.5 galls per day driving "firmly", and just a fraction over 1 gall driving gently, as we have done for the past week.

As school holidays are now over, the river Saône is no longer lined with campers in all the little coves, so found an extremely nice overnight mooring some 60 minutes after leaving lunch place.

Moored up before 1600 and had a good doss, watching the hire boats and the sun set.

 

Sept 15                                             Friday

Lamarche to p.k. 227 (R Saône)

Thick - really thick - misty when we got up.

Decided to clean hull before departure - one of these silly decisions that just happen. Entered water and scrubbed white dirt deposit from lower (tarred) part of hull. Messy job, and hard work!

Into Auxonne, moored up at town quai - site of lost towel at the launderette last year.

Quick gossip with a part of South African hirers just in front.

Far too late to buy bread for lunch, so up to a café for a shandy and salad.

Good fun - town full of 14 and 15 year old students. Girls all immaculate and very sophisticated without being silly, but sadly nearly all smoking. Boys usual awfulness of boys.

Got bread after lunch - lucky, the custom is for the bakers to stay shut till 1600 or later.

Re-met l’Herisson (Hedgehog to you and I) A Sagar boat (boat builders in Yorkshire - very good) which we met last year at Roanne complete with husband and wife crew our age.

Sadly husband has since died, and boat is permanently moored at St. Jean de Losne. Wife taking guests up river for day out. We were de trop!

Boat probably for sale - very beautiful, the Rolls Royce of English boat builds, but priced at over £100, 000! It cost £130,000.

On up river sharing (ugh) locks with half pissed hirers buying wine off L.K.s

Moored up on river bank, and scrubbed other half of hull.

Not so successful - gang plank, which was acting as a prop for scrubber, slid under boat into deep water, with self struggling not to follow by holding onto nettles.

Much cursing during retrieving operation with boat hook - fortunately successful - retrieval of ladder, not the cursing!

Forgot to re-charge fridge with beer - not one of our better days, on the whole - missing that calm professional competence we are so well known for.

 

Sept 16                                         Saturday

p.k. 227 to St Jean de Losne (R Saône)

Woke to total mist - couldn’t see far side of river.

Cleared gradually, and away by 11.00/

Into St Jean by lunch time, past recognised mooring places on river bank from last year, and entrance to canal du Rhone a Rhine at St. Symphorien.

Lots of "do you remembers" and a bit of inappropriate nostalgia.

As rounded last bend to St Jean itself saw River Dance with Judy and Ferdie waving madly. (anyone that waves to us must be mad.)

Moored up on main river front jetty right behind them - not like mid summer, when there is no question of getting a jetty mooring at any time, let alone the week-end.

Just after we arrived jetty filled up with Dutch Barges - all English.

Carried out usual - but unique - practice of putting chairs out, and having picnic lunch outside. Probably relatively unusual here.

After lunch, walkabout on Bromptons.

Chandlery for bilge pump - successful, but forgot inline fuse.

Long term moorings up behind town to see who was there.

Found Tulip for sale, with Germaine on boards - long gossip, Freddie doing house up.

Then Levant, the N.B. that battled from the Channel through all the big stuff to the Meuse. They had come right after we met them at Pont-au-Bac, came on down the same route as us, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves - good!

This sort of thing - gossip - can take hours at our age, so managed to use up virtually all the rest of the day.

Started on bilge pump installation, but found float switch wire breaking - broke it - and couldn’t get into unit to replace. Totally sealed, so tried cutting top off. Even failed in that!

French Freddy arrived with Germaine half way through, aperitifs in cabin, then supper on own, and "Uno" - first game of winter, and what a damn silly game it is!" - with Ferdie, Judy, Freddy and Germaine on River Dance. 2 Brits, 1 American, 1 German America, 2 Alsace French! All languages spoken - mostly all at once.

 

Sept 17                                            Sunday

In St Jean de Losne (R Saône).

To-day was repair and or replace bilge pump set-up, and fill up with diesel.

We did neither, but wandered about enjoying scenery, ambience and the people.

Afternoon, re-visited Tulip in mariner and Freddy did his best to sell her to us. £89,000, although apparently he was only asking £75,000 in Roanne last winter.

Suspicion he doesn’t really want to sell her.

Then up to admire their house - lovely position right opposite entrance/exit to Burgogne canal. House itself potentially very nice, but he has gutted it and is starting from scratch - even the plaster and floors!

Out to dinner with Ferdie and Judy to restaurant - it was closed! Tried another, fine.

Ride in back of "camping-car" a bit sick making, but we survived and enjoyed our evening.

 

This week's we're here Map (and click here to go back!)