Overcast - 2 short showers at start-up, but no point in waiting, this year.
Much deeper water hereabouts - what a relief. Albert flaps his/her propeller in shallow water. A nasty clattery noise, something to do with vibrations off the blade, vibrations off the hull, distance between propeller centre and hull, and propeller's diameter and pitch. Was assured by extremely well known British Narrow boat builder (forgotten his name, now) that propellers and narrow boats was a "black art". Whenever I have mentioned it in the past, they offer to "try this one - different pitch and diameter". Super - £150 for the prop, and about £200 to dry-dock and fit it - sorry, no guarantee of success.
Into Montbard - made deliberate choice to arrive not on Sat as moorings very public, near railway station, main road, and noisy.
Nonsense - the hire base, which occupied the good moorings, and chased us out last time we came here, has gone, leaving nice set of fully functional, safe, quiet moorings, to the commune, who charge €8 a night - except only once in living memory has anyone actually come down to collect the money.
Nice uneventful, relaxing, and short day.
Into upland open countryside - smaller paddocks, nice white moos, but lots of very damp unharvested grain, and uncut hay and silage grass.
Why "upland" - we have not really risen, physically since starting more than 150 to 200 meters (60 locks since Migennes, average 3 metres a lock).
Anyway, it is very nice - and the thick bush alongside the canal has thinned out, and the countryside is easily visible and enjoyed.
Veneray is a Hotel Boat Mecca, which may be why we have a better depth here. The base - a hire boat base - was virtually empty, but there were 4 or 5 hotel boat peniches moored up - laid up? - and a large shalk - Beatrix, Sue and Ron - moored to the bank. Moored behind, and invited to supper. Apart from the enjoyment of the occasion, always remember Herself commenting on the joys of neither cooking nor washing up. See just what she meant.
Quick run round Veneray on bike - boulangerie closed and up for sale. There is a S.M. on the outskirts of the town, but neither looked for nor found it.
Now the hard work of continuous locks in a so-called series of "chains". In the pouring rain starts, the "meat" of the Burgundy canal.
The old practice as I remembered it, of 2 L.K.s traveling with each boat seems to have fallen away to just the one - and no longer is he/she a tough skillful and bolshy old bird of very uncertain age - now it's students, and bored youngsters.
After leaving each lock and entering the next - when ascending - one has to wait whilst the lone L.K. empties the lock we have just used, and opens the bottom gates. Time required is about 12 to - if he/she is not in a hurry - 20 minutes or more, whilst one sits in one's boat in next lock doing very little. Naturally this process takes longer than an actual locking, as there is no boat to take up a proportionate volume of the water required to raise or lower the level, so every drop has to go through the paddles.
The whole process is incredibly boring, and no one has yet been able to explain the necessity for this piece of lunacy.
We only managed 10 locks, in a very short but slow day. One could do no more, as the -*next stopping place is, as explained by a damp L.K., in itself a full day beyond Pouillenay.
However, half way up - more for something to do, than real necessity, I spent a penny, and discovered the loo leaking heavily from it's flushing water (fresh water) supply. After the initial panic, I had all the time in the world to work out a solution, and over the course of 5 or so locks, was able to carry out the necessary repairs! This event was, I am afraid, quite the most interesting part of a day of more or less continuous rain.
Nipped into village before starting, to buy bread - have a paranoid fear of running out of bread, so always overbuy, and waste a lot. Nipping means offloading, assembling, and mounting Brompton, but reckon I can catch a walker within 50 metres, if pushed. Certainly rather ride than walk anything over 100 metres!
Much like yesterday - lots of rain - but moved much faster, to-day up the continuous stretch of locks.
Could not remember Marigny mooring, but found a length of concrete revetment, that had not been vandalised by earthing up the water side of newly installed steel piles, and had a comfortable and quiet night, 2 locks down from village. (Look for a right hand bend (facing uphill), quite a long stretch of steel piling, with 2 to 3 boats length of concrete in the middle on the left. The steel is all very shallow).
In fact, did myself a favour. Remember Marigny now. Shortish, on a bend, and shallow. Water only available, and very uncomfortable if full - 4 boats or more. Remember once everybody - about 8 of us - moored up bows only in.
Weather completely changed - warm and sunny, but with strong wind.
Chaotic start - L.K. chef had obtained agreement from Beatrix that we would share (I wasn't consulted). Beatrix is 22 metres, Albert is 15, locks are 39 metres long. Beatrix was not briefed on these facts, but realised - when we tried it - that it was a total non-starter. so I backed out - one needs at least a metre front and back of a lock itself for the gate bridges, and in my case the equivalent to the depth of the lock so my bow bollard rope can swing from vertical to horizontal as lock fills. Message from chef - if you won't go to-gether (totally uninterested in arithmetic - indeed I don't think they understood it, certainly the girls "escorting" us didn't), you will have to wait till the afternoon to go separately to fit in with other boats going up and descending. This was rather naughty - there were no boats, other than us, going either way, and is a very irresponsible way of putting pressure onto a skipper to take risks, so that staff can be stood down.
After a good hour's discussion, Beatrix went on up, I retired to Marigny moorings, and set too to wash boat - actually quite pleased to have the chance - I am quite incapable of boat cleaning after a days driving. Having got everything off the top, and spread my possessions evenly over about a acre of land, an L.K. on a scooter arrived saying "come on, we are off now"!
Took 20 mins, and off we went again!
Escaped from the "chains", 12 locks up from Marigny, and preceded independently at 2 locks per residential L.K to 300 metres short of Pont Royal. Again, memory played false. Remembered Pont Royal moorings as being a concrete quay in a sandy desert - very hot - a long way from anything, and quite expensive for what you got. This is all true, except it is nicely grassed, has electricity and water, and no shade. Pont Royal village is a cafe, a B & B, and a main road bridge.
Own mooring not the best - bit shallow, but did have shade, and steel pilings.
Had booked a 0900 start - and first time ever, as I came into first lock, at 0900 on the dot - having arrived at 0815 b mistake, and reversed back to fill time by looking round Pont Royale - there were 2 L.K. youths, cheerful and willing. Weather sunny and clear - great!
Motor way just over the fields - remember this bit from speeding car, all recognizable, the lock flight below Vandenesse, Chateauneuf up on it's hill, and huge foursquare Chateau at Éguilly right beside motorway, which was only just saved from being flattened for a motorway rest area.
Soon after starting was puzzled at little groups of people on D road by canal. Picnic tables, but not really doing anything, except possibly admiring me.
Then into 1st lock of last stretch up to Pouilly on the summit. All made plain, the Tour de France was just about to pass. Lock Keeper - highly excited - explained it all, and as view from lock good, suggested I stayed as convoy leaders of incredible fleet of sponsor vehicles arrived - all shouting at once into their very powerful P.A. systems. How does one sell toothpaste over a loud hailer, when right behind is van selling bottled water, and right behind him is a van selling hot dogs? They slow down when they see groups of people and dish out samples. I was too far away for samples, but got lots of waves from girls in vans! The vans, of course, are in the shape of the product - the bottled water one modeled a shrink wrapped 6 pack - the others as appropriate - and very strange they looked too.
Finally found that the cyclists would not be arriving for at least an hour, so decided to push on - it only takes them a few seconds to pass and be seen, anyway. Lock Keeper requested me to go through his flight as quick as possible, as he did not wish to miss the fun. Never been locked through so quickly!
Up the last flight to the summit - Pouilly. Automatic locks, but as ever, controlled by an L.K. - what a carry on.
Top lock manual - controlled by tunnel controller (girl, last day at work, going to Glasgow next week) - checked life jacket, life ring, and head light, and then briefing. Tunnel passage has to be quite well organised - no passing, so passages have to be booked day before.
Wanted an extra day with water and electricity to do major wash exercise, so vaguely booked for Monday.
To-night fireworks for to-morrows 14th July Bastille Day. Also, to-morrow one of only 2 or 3 days in the year when the locks are really closed.
Weren't allowed to moor up on proper moorings in basin - too dangerous from fireworks. (They should have seen us a Cambrai, that time, when we were virtually in the middle of the display). Shuffled across to no facility reserve area - but perfectly good. Pouilly used to have 1 S.M. way up in the town 1,5 kms away. Now has brand new Attac (or was it Auchan, or someone else) complete with fuel pumps just over and 100 yards up road past moorings, so shopping - massive one - and 2 fuel trips convenient and easy.
Supper with Mitchells (Australian) on huge and beautiful boat Provi. Very nice - dinner, not supper! Home to no washing up! See comments earlier in the week.
Moored up next to us was the local trip boat. Asked skipper about lock emptying drill, and he explained he was just as frustrated and didn't really understand any more than us about it all.
After all these years no one appears actually to know why they empty the locks after each usage, but he did let slip that the VNF hereabouts is unbelievably bureaucratic and hide bound - every thing is done as a drill, the drill is never, under any circumstances changed (they were happily emptying the locks behind boasts 3 years ago in the droubt, when they had to close the Bourgogne for lack of water) and nothing is ever changed. There is still a cultural resentment from L.K.s that they have to work their locks for silly little plaisanciers, rather than "proper" boats - the commercials. In fact - apart from stretches with hotel boats on them, it is so long since they have had genuine commercials up here, that very few employees have even seen one, let alone worked one through a lock.
Got up at 0600 to move boat to best end of moorings on town quay. Best end is down at trip boat end - best is because there are more rings, less walkers, more convenient power and water points, and above all things, the shade trees are now well grown. (none at other end!)
Got wash going at 0700 - going to be a hot day. Dry within an hour. Sheets etc 2nd wash, and put gipsy type washing line between shade trees, on the assumption that to-day is such a total holiday type holiday, there wouldn't even be anybody at work controlling the likes of us. All finished by lunch time.
Holiday, or none, the S.M. was open in the morning, and went back for things forgotten. Dead boring.
Spent rest of day sitting in shade reading.
