Clamecy to Sens

Week 6 – October 1st to 7th (Tony) 

If our departure from Clamecy was rather hurried it was only because we needed to get at least half a days cruising downstream if we were going to make Vermenton in time for Tuesdays training course and test for our ICC. We reached Chatel Censoir well before nightfall and managed a climb up to the ancient church and to wander through the village. The next day was relatively easy, passing through several exceptionally pretty locks, one in particular had barely changed since 1996 and although no longer the eclusier, I’m sure only the same lady could be responsible for maintaining the old drays full of beautiful begonias.

Vermenton has a large basin full of boats, most belonging to the hire company that operates out of there but there were also many privately owned barges already moored up for the winter. Our trainer, the harbourmaster, was nice English bloke now married to a French lady. He guided us through the course, brushed up our rope-work and after lunch took us out on Sable to undertake some manoeuvres, but dispensed with lock work considering the fact that we had just managed more than a hundred! On completion of the written exam we were adjudged competent to be in charge of our ship and awarded our certificates. The evening was sublime, so again we fired up the gas barbecue and dined on deck. Five minutes after we had packed everything away, right on dark it started to rain. It poured all night but the next day dawned fine and clear and as soon as the fog lifted we were on our way.

Auxerre brought back many fond memories — the narrow winding streets, especially the pedestrian arcades full of enticing shops and throngs of young students from the university. Three stunning cathedrals highlight the panorama from the river as one enters the city and they remain floodlit at night to provide a scenic vista that would be hard to better anywhere. Myra, Sally’s sister from Christchurch, arrived on the train at the end of an extensive tour of Central Asia, relieved to be back in civilisation. She is enjoying the calming lifestyle of barging, and better food.

Next morning we cast off and casually eased downstream, now in the River Yonne flowing at about 6 kmph. By mid-afternoon we reached the start of the Canal de Bourgogne and entered one massive 5.5 m lock to moor for the night in the boat harbour at Laroche-Migennes, a busy, modern town at the hub of a major railway axis. Trains of every kind roared along the tracks across the waterway from our mooring all night. Saturday morning we returned back through the lock to resume our journey down the Yonne, to Joigny, another picturesque town dominated by several churches and famous for its steep narrow streets with centuries old half-timbered houses. We arrived in time for the girls to get to the big weekly market where they bought more food and provisions than we’re likely to eat in a month. But everything is so fresh and delicious it is impossible to resist. The weather was so hot and the sky so cloudless, we erected the sun-shade over the deck to enjoy an al-fresco lunch, moored to the side of the main street in the centre of town. After lunch we crossed the road to a pub where we were given the best seats in the bar in front of a giant TV screen to watch the rugby. We left, depressed, sulking back to Sable where the cooks turned on a repast of mussels in white wine sauce followed by fresh, really fresh, raspberries and strawberries lashed with fresh cream. Now dark, it was time to pack away the awning and gluttons that we are, ventured into another pub (we couldn’t face going back to the same one) to watch more rugby. Thank God, we left at half-time convinced the All-Blacks had the measure of the French. An hour later, in our beds, the jubilant singing, whistling and drumming of departing patrons awakened us to the reality. We slipped out of town the following morning under a blanket of fog, as early as was deemed prudent …

So here we are, Sunday evening, after another day of sunshine and clear blue sky, in Sens a beautiful city steeped in ancient history. It was one of the first centres of Gaul and apparently Thomas a’Becket lost his shoes or underwear here (history is not my thing…).

Baye to Clemency

Week 5 – September 22nd to September 30th (Sally) 

Autumn is coming slowly to France, the canals are all lined with trees and daily we see the fall of walnuts, chestnuts and acorns. The Virginia Creeper blazes brilliant red on walls and buildings, the blackberries and rose hips are thick in the hedgerows and huge orange pumpkins are in all the shore-side gardens. The trees are still a palette of green, only the beginning of yellow and brown showing, but a cluster of leaves falling and the stacks of firewood at every door to warn us of colder times to come.

We are enjoying this wonderful Indian summer, it is 7.30pm and so light outside almost tempting us for a walk, but we might have done enough of that today and a glass of red and dinner sounds a better alternative.

The climb to the summit at Baye was an interesting experience. One can say everyday is an experience. We left Chatilon en Bazois and at our first lock we both commented that the lock was very high, almost overflowing. Well in hindsight it seems quite obvious that if the water is high then the gap between water and bridge is less. Oh dear, we could see it coming but no way could we stop, even though going very slow, so we watched in horror as our mast went BOP (Bob said he had intended to shorten it anyway) then feared for our wheel house… phew, a scrape and that was all. A stunned silence as we surveyed the damage, when we got to the next lock, consternation on the faces of the eclusiers who by now realised someone had stuffed up big time, leaving a lock valve open all night. The lock keepers have a fairly responsible job of keeping all things equal, and obviously in letting one stage of the canal overfill it meant the next stage was too low. We quickly learned some new French words, ”Il n’est pas l’eau suffiance.” Discussions, inspections, quick trips to the next lock, everything but apologies and we stayed put for two hours while the canal refilled and we were able to proceed. Tony productively employed the time trimming the 180 mm shattered mast base. Eventually we got to Baye, the summit of the waterways system where there are two huge ponds built to feed the canals. What a magic spot, you literally felt that you were on top of the world.

We continued the next day with the descent to the Yonne valley. Three tunnels then a staircase of 16 locks in a space of 3,200 m. Not helped by having to share the lock with 5 Belgium boys out for a good time. They had stocked the boat with the beer, but were light on food…. We entered the first lock at 10am, they entered their first beer at 9am. And so we proceeded down the locks. For some unexplained reason these locks are only 30mtrs long and Sable at 19.88 and their boat at 10mtrs made for “Close Encounters”. However we made it and when they elected to stop we decided to carry on to the next stop at Chitry le Mines where we all boarded our first barge eleven years ago. Well, it was a long day, 28 locks in all and when we arrived at Chitry there was Ted Johnston, from Nerang… but even better there was his sister in law, who now runs a café, and she whipped up Steak and Frites in 10 minutes flat. Heaven on a stick…  

Since then it has been a trip down memory lane, and as we expected not a lot has changed. Still the same beautiful countryside. Little villages, farmhouses, tranquil and peaceful scenes. I stand at the front of Sable at least once a day and say,”How beautiful is this”

Friday, we arrived at Clamecy, an old town with the medieval centre still preserved, steep, narrow winding streets, overhanging half timbered houses and a cave where we managed to stock up our wines. We had already decided to have a rest day there but that was extended to two days as the overnight rain raised the river and officials closed the canal to all traffic. We used the time to do some exploring of the countryside on our motor bikes and some cleaning and maintenance.  Saturday and Sunday were as perfect, weatherwise, as could be possible. We were enjoying a leisurely lunch out on the foredeck but then hurriedly prepared for departure as soon as it appeared the canal was going to be re-opened in the afternoon and soon found our way down the river, well on the way towards Vermenton by nightfall.

We're Afloat

Week 4 – September 15th to September 22nd (Tony) 

It’s hard to believe we have been a week in our barge, cruising. And every day, the weather has been absolutely glorious. We slipped out of Roanne sharp on 9 o’clock Saturday. New friends came down to see us through the first lock, after that we were on our own. From Roanne to Digoin the canal is fairly ordinary, by comparison with others, and as we will repeat the run  up and down this section a few times we put in a couple of longish days in order to allow us more time to slow down and enjoy the countryside further on. This is Charolais country, gentle rolling hills and lots of trees, and green, green fields.

Roanne is at the very end of the major canal system in France. To go further south, it is necessary to enter the Saône and then the Rhone Rivers to the Camargue, then one can easily move via canal again into the Canal de Midi, which effectively links the Mediterranean to the Atlantic (at Bordeaux). We’re not bold enough yet to take on the Rhone — it’s a very big river but it is not beyond our boat’s capabilities, just ours for the moment.

Digoin is a junction point. The canal north goes up to meet the Saône at Chalon sur Saône which is another major junction for several canals, to Burgundy, Champagne, and the river itself. We have opted to head west along the Canal Lateral à la Loire to Décize then up the Canal du Nivernais. We did a section of about half this canal in 1996 with the Stentons, Overells and Woodhouses. We will reminisce those happy times as we pass through.

So, we are heading for a little town called Vermenton, about 158 kms up the Canal du Nivernais from Digoin where the British proprietor of a hire-boat company based there is going to put us through the necessary training and evaluation procedure for us to obtain our ICC (International Certificate of Competency), in other words boat licence. You are supposed to have it, although everyone says it is only required for insurance, and Bob said he was only asked twice in ten years (both times in Paris) to show any papers at all. However, we’ll feel ever so much more comfortable having done the course. I’m sure by the time we get to Vermenton we’ll be quite confident. We’ve done bloody well thus far, negotiating dozens of locks and narrow bridges with only a couple of very minor “touches”. And Sally has got the hang of the ropes, pretty well to perfection. A 47 tonne ship, 20 m long, in locks that are barely a metre wider than the barge is heavy work. And there’s more than 100 locks to go!

As soon as we have achieved our competency qualifications, we will continue on to Auxerre, the home of Chardonnay (they call it Chablis) where we expect Sally’s sister Myra will join us, having just completed a mammoth trip through China, Mongolia, Bhutan, the silk road, Pakistan and various other …stans that I can’t spell let alone identify on the globe. She’ll be ready for some restful cruising I’m sure.

After that, we hope to join back up with the Loire near Fontainbleau and return down the Canal Briare back to Décize and so on back to Roanne before the canal locks are closed for winter on 1stNovember.

Sally has enjoyed getting back into the kitchen and cooking up delicious meals. It is pleasing to be no longer spending hundreds of euros a day on hotels and meals. In fact the last three days we have spent a mere handful of coins buying essentials — croissants, cheese, paté etc. I’ll overlook the cost of topping the tanks with 600 litres of diesel, that’s an occasional occupational necessity! Actually, Sable is very economical to run. And everywhere there is water and electricity, sometimes free, but usually no more than €8 a night.