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Stayed in Moret. Got comfortable uncrowded mooring now, at reduced price - paid €30 for 4 nights with water, electricity, etc.
Charged out of bed, planning furiously as morning was bright and sunny, got bedding into washing machine, set for "lavage main 30 degrees" with intention of trying if a hot water wash would blow mooring electrics (only done cold, so far). Over breakfast boiled egg it came to me that I had actually set the machine to gentlest possible warm water hand wash. Too late to change. Hung purple sheets out to dry on gipsy type washing line - boat hooks and mooring cord. Fortunately, the sun stayed out and warm till mid-day, and by the time the good citizens of Moret came for their Sunday promenade, it was dry, and I had taken it all down, just in time to avoid rain.
After washing intended to do batteries, but since yesterday gas hot water heater has been burning with long bright yellow flame, and smoking, and as in yesterday's log, I was defeated as to a cure - terrified of the thing, anyway. Read directions, but singularly unhelpful. "Take burner off, blow and suck out dirt, and replace". No suggestion as to method of taking off burner, and nothing obviously visible, and the whole thing is built like a piece knitting of little copper pipes, wires and too tight self tapping screws.
Took it down yet again, brushed and blew around, but to no avail. Took it down even more, rigged up a masterly contraption of shaped plastic pipe stuck in vacuum cleaner nozzle with tic tac, and blew and sucked at offending burner close up, put it back to-gether - was getting soaked now each time turned gas bottle on and off - turned on gas - and it was working beautifully!
Trouble now-a-days is I don't really trust my "repairs" to work for very long - we'll see.
And I still haven't done the batteries! Rain - heavy and continuous all afternoon. But am still much further ahead than I was when we arrived on Friday - or was it Thursday?
Day of reckoning - we're off again! For some reason felt slightly twitchy "adventuring" out on the River Seine (shades of youthful stories of the Great Grey Green Greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees, my dear??).
No reason for twitchiness, really, been on the Yonne - up and down - several times. Perhaps the feeling that Albert was going so well that something was bound to break soon had something to do with it.
Fuelled up at bunker station opposite St Mammes - 100 litres @ €129.00. Supermarket fuel price currently €1.07, so probably spent too much, in that the hire pumps sell - I think - at about €1.24. The point, of course, is that one can get supermarket diesel, where the S.M. is close enough to the boat to make lugging cans back and forward very much cheaper, but now-a-days prefer to spend the €15 to €20 more on a fill to have someone put it straight in from a pump, without any can lugging hassle. Took boat round behind the peniches blocking the frontage to the little dock behind, and backed her past the big mooring pylon, like last year, so no waiting in main river - not that it is that strong - current, for the hours it takes to fill the peniches.
Off up Seine in fine weather, but in strong wind.
Met Zizz, Bruce, for brief chat, but not very clever to hang around out on the river gossiping, so carried on.
Had the whole of the big river lock at Varennes sur Seine all to myself - felt very small.
Turned off into the Yonne about mid-day, and moored up on Montereau Public Moorings for lunch. Perfectly adequate moorings, but right at tee junction of 2 rivers, and whenever I have been passed, full. All facilities, however.
Lit off up river - hot and sticky, although still windy, through first 2 locks - the famous unbelievably awkward Yonne Locks with the sloping sides, where tieing up is obligatoire, but unless help is received from on shore, it is impossible so to do - and pulled in behind the big mooring pylons - ducs d'Albe - against the bank steel pilings. Plenty of commercials up and down here - there are a lot of busy gravel pits in the River Yonne - so strong mooring vital. Good mooring, but right opposite main railway (4 tracks) line. Trains very noisy, but no disturbance felt, and if the ran during the night - as I am sure they do - heard nothing.
Still very windy and squally.
River busy with commercials. Luck would have it that had a long wait at each lock - maddening habit of never turning a lock round for a waiting boat, however long it takes for a boat to come down.
Countryside is river valley, gravel pits, forest, large fields of grain well on to-wards harvest colour - first combining started, but much troubled by squally showers.
Bird life in forest plentiful, judging by sound, saw grebes, cormorants, gulls, and plenty more not recognized, and cuckoo heard frequently. Bird chorus very strong.
Long day, by reason of the waits, mooring was in the forest edge very close to last year's spot - but couldn't recognise it. In fact had very good mooring, bows on a large tree, and boat lying against fallen tree at the right angle out into the stream, out of the current.
Through Pont-sur-Yonne, first thing.
About moorings at Pont-sur-Yonne. never considered moorings available at Pont-sur-Yonne, but it looks as though the floppy floating mooring below the town and the silos has been strengthened and straightened. Still couldn't see any bollards or cleats, but there were 2 quite big private boasts moored to it, and a third making for it. Still looked as though it had horrid sharp projections.
Also there are ducs d'Albe above the lock marked as "5 pieux, stacks" which seem to be the right height and distance apart for us. Cannot remember for sure, but think there was a walkway to the towing path.
The day developed into a bit of a marathon, with very changeable weather - showers and hot stuffy overcast, but always a strong wind. Not really very pleasant.
Stopped of in Sens to buy lunch, and get a hair cut - would have stayed longer, but water end of moorings occupied, and bollards much too far apart for me to manage a moor up. Went up to end under bridge, and had to use very long ropes. Interesting in Sens - every from the moorings points into and encourages one to go into "centre ville" to the east of the river. It is all very impressive with large shops, nice parks, and everything, but is spread out.
In fact, if one crosses the bridge above the moorings, goes to the west, and crosses the other river arm, everything is available within 150 metres or so of the boat.
Warning - I did not see it myself, but was told the water hose at Sens has been vandalised so no water, except from hydrants up on the road, but electricity still fine.
Set off after lunch, intending to get to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, where I could couple electricity, fill water, and wash clothes - muggy weather very heavy on shirts and pants!
However, Etigny 7 had a young highly thrilled overexcited L.K. who told me I only had to wait 10 minutes for an utterly enormous ship to come through his lock, which was set and awaiting it from upstream.
30 minutes later and down came the rain, no ship, so tried out the aluminium mooring jetties based on ducs d'Albe being built near locks. In strong currant, so had to be very careful not to lose boat. Managed creditable and safe tie up, and eventually the utterly enormous boat came through. All 39 metres of standard Freycinet peniche. Was he being stupid, or obstructive, or just showing off?
Had not realised that banks at lock entrance and exits are good promenade and fishing spots, so got little privacy, once the rain eased off. However, the jetties are good safe mooring when needed, and give safe walk ashore facilities.
Still raining, on awakening, so no move before 10.00. Then had to go - watching rain through boat windows similar to watching paint dry and grass grow.
Into - first stop - Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, intending to stay - nice historic town, always liked it - to couple electricity and fill water, and wash clothes. Met Fusilier II, steel wide boat met last year.
However, water point mashed, shut off and removed.
No point in staying, so decided on 4th marathon day in row, and get to Joigny.
Eventually made Joigny about 1800, to find, joyfully, long mooring on end of jetty vacant. Helped to moor up by Australians (Perth) in an ex hire boat, and a Scotsman (Stirling) in a small Locaboat. Australians - "come and have a drink, we have already started", went, got to bed at midnight after supper with Scots.
A long 4 days on the river, but good fun, none-the-less!
Thoughts on River Yonne.
Not very photogenic, and I found little time even to think of taking photos, so am afraid there aren't any.
Not startlingly beautiful countryside - a bit flat, naturally, being a river valley, mixture of gravel pits, marsh, forest, and some arable in the upper reaches.
Formal moorings with all facilities are not plentiful. There are plenty of informal spots, however, for the like of us. The lower reaches are not tourist areas, but once Pont-sur-Yonne is reached there is plenty of interest.
There is a lot of commercial traffic, more so on the bottom end - gravel barges, including the enormous square ones with a pusher tug, and the 80 metre peniches, and depending on the season, grain barges. On the upper part there are onlythe tandem peniches - 78 metres of 2 boats lashed bow to stern, and singles.
One must keep looking over one's shoulder - especially when a green light is showing at a lock.
When sharing with a commercial, if there is a pontoon inside the lock, I find it best to go in first, tie up, and arrange to leave first. Otherwise let him in first and tie up to him - having asked(!) - but again leave first.
The Yonne L.K.s have a name for being surly, unhelpful and obstructive. I have never found any of that true. Sure they have the same proportion as any group of people of those who are bored with, tired of, or overly excited with, their job.
The sloping lock sides are not easy for boats going uphill, but most of them have pontoons that rise up the sloping sides with the water level, that make life very easy. The only problem with them is the passion the shortest boats have of hustling in first and occupying the pontoon (they - the pontoons - are very short), to the discomfort of longer boats who must breast up to them (the shorter boats), and are inclined to swivel about them. The L.K.s do not direct or control boats in the lock, but the rule - there are signs outside - is that boats must tie up.
The L.K. usually stands at the entrance, looking down on boats coming in. If there is no pontoon and one is on one's own, he may take a rope when one is passing, walk up with it, put it over an appropriate bollard and return the end.
There is no getting away from it - the Yonne locks are difficult in a wind!
Spent most of morning hunting for S.M. in Joigny - knew where they are from land side, but completely lost sense of direction from river - lots of good bicycling exercise. Needed gas.
No joy, but then message came - host for next 2 nights was arriving, so set off up river, after slightly hassly departure made interesting by extraordinary behavior of crowd of excitable Locaboat employees, who gathered round, led by an idiot with pony tale and green overalls, to try and moor up a hire boat on top of Albert. Pointed out that too close proximity of Locaboat type boat bows (very blunt and bluff) and my tiller swan neck on the stern could be terminal for any idea of my vacating the particular bit of jetty they had set their hearts on for some weeks, so they retired while I unmoored and departed reasonably tidily - except I forgot the washing up.
Joyful meeting with hostess, her guest (from the New Forest!) and self. Splendid safe quiet mooring, using last year's discovery of the iron rings set in the underwater stone structure.
Visited Joigny market. Have to watch myself at markets, very liable to buy things - food, clothes, or others - because "I will probably need them, sometime". Hence overfull fridge, overfull cupboards, and over empty bank account. But good fun, just the same.
Also obtained refill of gas bottle, which was duly lifted onto boat by L.K from 2 locks down river who was spending week-end off fishing for carp overnight. It was his lock where I had lost it, after he opened his paddles before I had finished tieing up. Nice chap, - Laurent.
Lovely relaxing day - almost like a week-end off from the serious stuff of boating.
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