Albert

P.K. 243 to Mantoche. (P.K. 276)

Cool and overcast again.

33 kms to-day - 20 miles - steady as you go sort of day, along river with only 3 locks - all L.K.s impeccably behaved and professional.

Countryside either forested, lines of trees along canal, or sights through of water meadows.

Nice and bucolic, but sparsely settled, and then only with well built fishermen's week-end cottage shacks in rows, or camping sites.

The river is obviously a major holiday attraction, with towns making the most of it with water sports centres - good luck to them - campers in camping sites or sordid little huddles on the towing path, fishing, with bored children ranging about.

Happily powering along in afternoon - Albert in food form to-day after bleeding air from cooling system this morning - when rain, followed by almighty thunderstorm hit us. Undoubtedly heaviest rain we have ever experienced. Not a breath of wind - just solid rain.

Watched the straight and clearly delineated leading edge of the storm approach us from behind across the water, then as it overtook us - only going slightly faster than the boat - S watched it from the bows (in the cabin) whilst it went ahead. Didn't notice the rear edge - too busy - but it stopped just as abruptly. Incredible experience.

Finished longish day at the village. Rather charming, with long concrete river front mooring.

All facilities - albeit very villagey.

When we arrived, there was only 1 boat. Now there are about 10 - holidays have well and truly started.

Mantoche to Gray.

Decided that for better or worse we would stay over another night in Mantoche on the very good moorings, and after all the hire boats had gone we would buy our bits and pieces in the village, and carry out personal admin, with the intention of spending a second night before charging off up through Gray - 5 kms up river, and a big important town.

Unfortunately, no-one - but no-one - of the 8 hire boats and us on the moorings got up before 09.30 - 1000.

Largely due to local kids forming a group just above the boats on the shore and drinking beer, smoking, and shrieking and giggling till midnight. Haven't met this before in France - but commonplace in England. Regrettably - for us - the school holidays have started, and holiday jobs have been dished out in Mantoche - manned (womanned) welcoming tent, and survey forms.

The girl with the job is chief giggler.

Gossiped with various boaters - all hirers, all slightly disappointed with river. Must say, it is a bit like the more ordinary bits of the Severn, and whilst it is fun for us as part of a greater whole, 6 days for a thousand quid pounding up and down could be a disaster.

Changed oil, filled batteries - what a bloody job - and generally made like an engineer from 11.00 on.

Had lunch, weather looked a bit ordinary, moorings largely taken over by youths ostensibly fishing. Decided, after mild "discussion" with youth concerning whether it was more reasonable to ask "an elderly lady" to go back and approach her boat from another path, or to lift his paraphernalia, that we would probably do better to move on.

There is an odd atmosphere in this village - not only down on the moorings, but in the village itself - are we being embroiled in a war between the departmental desire to push tourism, and the local desire to be left alone?

Anyway, up we went the 3 - 5 kms to Gray, to be overtaken by another incredibly heavy thunderstorm like yesterdays.

Soldiered on - there wasn't actually much else to do - full mackintosh suits, brolly, the lot, and great waterfalls coming off the boat roof.

Could just see enough to creep onto some sort of mooring at the bottom of Grey, with other boats up ahead of us. Managed to tie up, come down to the cabin, remove suits, and rain stopped.

Sussed site properly, we were just down wind of stationary lorry spewing diesel smoke and noise, so moved up, and Snugged down for night. We were on "official" town moorings - "on" being word - there was a concrete ledge exactly at "Albert's" bottom plate level, so we were virtually aground, and bumped, very gently, all night. Better than teen-age hooligans at Mantoche.

Grey to Autet.

Found we had moored up right under a host of caravans and lorries in Grey, belonging to a traveling fair ground, setting up for Bastille day next week. In fact they were quiet and very clean - no litter at all.

Just beyond them - a big supermarket, so major shop carried out, trolley back to the boat - even bought - along with the beer, loo paper and meat, and all the other bits we couldn't get at St. J. de L, the oil for the next 2 oil changes!

Visited "distributer de billets", then pulled out at 1300.

Tried to squeeze into lock alongside pinechette - but too wide by about 6", so pulled out amidst much fooling between selves and L.K. There were 3 Pinechettes in lock - all hire craft - all like ants nests with small children running all over them, not a life jacket or controlling adult to be seen.

When we did come to go in, made supreme balls of it with soggy ropes falling into water, miss throws, and general incompetence. Every now and again one goes that way.

Very pleasant afternoon and evening run about 16 kms to a riverside bank mooring of the type we like, all on our own, with front end tied to a tree, back end to a pin.. Put the chairs out, poured the drinks, and sat in cool comfort in the shade reading or watching the river go by. Short sharp shower of rain - 30 seconds of very heavy downpour just before supper chased us in.

Slightly shaken to see heavily laden full sized peniche charging past down river later. There are so few left that we assume we won't meet them, so wander from side to side of the river - yet they are about! They cannot stop, and because of their draft need the centre line.

To-day's run was much more fun than last 3 or 4 on the river. The banks are much lower, water level higher in bed, so we can see over the fields and countryside, and the incessant thick tree lining on the banks is giving way to lengths of grassland and crops.

Autet to just beyond Soing at P.K. 334.5

Cool, windy, rain in afternoon evening.

Soing to P.K. 275, just short of d'Atelier

Started off in very strong wind that got progressively worse. Rain in evening.

d'Atelier to P.K. 389, just short of Cendrecourt.

All 3 of the last few days have been similar, so one day's write up will suffice!

The run has been pleasant, if a bit dull. We passed from the heavily forested - and rather boring - river bank part of the river on Friday, and since have had a wide river, low banks, occasional stretch of hardwood forest (the guide book says this region is 40% forest - this could be true - some of the vistas are Kenya-like, with the lower slopes of the hills farmed, and a clear line above of thick forest.).

The farmland is more like home, although no effort appears to have been made to grub out hedges to enlarge fields for bigger and better machines.

The use of land is slightly more haphazard - headrigs and entries far bigger, and the aspect more pleasing and less sanitised.

The main impression is one of size. The farming and land usage appears similar to that on the River Kennett, but whereas there one will see a view of 200 yards - with at least 3 houses visible, here views are frequently at least a mile - maybe even 5 - from the boat straight across country, and quite possibly no human dwelling at all.

The river is locked - just as the Thames and Severn. The locks are large - and "tirrett" automatic.

To explain - most of the locks on the river have a dingly-dangly bit of heavy plastic piping hanging from a framework over the centre of the river about 200-300 metres before the entrance to the lock.

One drives gently under it, grabs it, and gives it a twist anticlockwise, then lets it go.

An orange light on a post by the lock blinks at you to say it has got your signal.

The lock automatically sets itself (if necessary), and the gates duly open, the traffic lights go green, and in we go.

In the lock one drives carefully to a structure with 2 rods mounted vertically in it. Push the blue one hard up, the gates shut you in, and water comes in from the other end in a "controlled" manner (it is controlled too - quite gentle). Again, in due course, the lock having filled up, the gates open, and we drive out.

This is HARD work.

It is the fore-runner to the zapping system we had last week up the Rhone au Rhine, and is bloody good, and is quite common throughout France.

All, however is not complete joy and light.

Last week's log mentioned a strike by the lock keepers against the rolling programme of installation of automatic machinery in locks.

We gather they largely won, so it seems that where there are spare staff they have been put onto running the automatic locks.

This means that they have pulled in the hewers of wood and drawers of water to stand over, fiddle with, and on occasion over-ride a system that is programmed to do the job better than resentful and untrained cow-boys. They also switch them off at lunch time!

We have been caught once, as previously mentioned, but since have been extremely careful - if necessary over-riding the orders of the L.K.

However, the last 8 or 10 have been unmanned (probably "too remote") and all has been joy.

To night, or rather this lunch time, we found a very nice mooring to stop for lunch, about 15 kms (half a days trip at current speed) from Corre, where we have to be to-morrow or Tuesday to pick up mail.

We had lunch on the bank, under trees, in our chairs, without the swarms of hire boats further down river (they seem to have petered out), with a nice breeze to cool our overheated overworked brows. We felt we needed a rest from our labours - so didn't start again, but sat and snoozed all afternoon, and generally recovered. After all to-day was Sunday, and we had boiled eggs for breakfast.

We have just been joined on the mooring by only the 3rd hire boat we have seen all day. He is an enormous A.C.C. with both bow and stern thrusters. He just stopped the thing dead in the river, and drove it over sideways.

Talking of other traffic, we asked the only L.K. we saw yesterday if there were any peniches due on the river yesterday. He assured us there weren't. However, one went up going the same way as us about 5.00 yesterday evening after we had moored up. We are very nervous of them, they go faster than us, their bow wave is an enormous wall of water, and one could surf on their stern waves. They are quite quiet, and we are not good about checking behind us!

Cendrecourt, up to Corre, and back down river again for about 10 kms.

Got up very late - slept in till after 0830. Dull overcast morning, cool, without a breath of wind. The sort of weather that - when the sun has burnt the haze away - gets very hot.

Set off up river, and reached Corre - the top end of the Petite Saone, and the bottom end of the Canal de l'Est, Branch du Sud.

Up to the only manual lock around here sort of control point for exits and entrances. Weather turned sunny and very hot.

Saw a tributary, with a pontoon in the shade, so nipped in to have lunch in peace. Strange place - looked as though a developer had decided to dig and establish a marina, and built some fancy houses around it for rich boat owners, and then got bored after building just 2 houses. The "marina" looked dead - there wasn't a soul about, although there were about 6 boats in it.

After lunch went through the lock and watered up in it. Splendid French custom if you are the one doing it, but maddening if you are waiting. You see the hose - usually a large diameter one, ask the L.K., and then you just sit in the lock with the gates closed until you are finished, whereupon you exit, and those waiting are allowed in!

Lovely little Port de Plaisance with fat couple sitting in the shade helping us to moor, then selling us bread, telling us information, etc. Whole town - including a Spar - is within spitting distance of moorings, scattering of boats to be seen. S. to Post Office for post, the, because we do not want to be trapped on the Canal, with all locks shut against us on Wed - 14th July, Bastille Day, headed off down river (automatic river locks will be left working - automatic canal ones not) for shady mooring and some concentrated time wasting.

Found reasonably pleasant site, and tied up, then studied the weed dangling from our sides just below the water line. It was getting very long and dense - really a forest! Must have considerable effect on speed through water.

Decided that it had to be removed.

Removed most of clothes, grabbed new scrubbing brush, plunged into water, and attacked left side. Hope to do other side to-morrow morning.

Water pleasantly cool, but mosquitoes unhelpful.

Regrettably water so filthy that anything below 1.5 inches is invisible, so had to do it by touch.

Had good soapy shower when finished - we know what we put into the water - why should others be different, and although admittedly bio-degradable, and a minute amount in terms of total flow, it is still pretty 'orrid - and I bet the town sewage systems do little cleansing.

A little concerned as to speed and quantity of growth. The plastic A.C.C.s put anti fowling on ever year, but steel boats just slap thick coats of tar on every 2 or 3 years.

Will have to do some research.

To-night, although it rained lightly in the early evening, we were able to have our supper

out on the bank for the first time for ages. Lovely still clear cool evening.

Went for a walk but stumbled on a hatching and mating of horse flies - clegs.

Gave up and came back.