BACK TO CALENDAR 2002

 

This Weeks "We're Here" Map

 

(The Map is a "thumbnail", same as the pictures - click on it for full size when connected to www.)

June 10                                                                                    Monday

in Sens. River Yonne.

 

Hopefully last day of hanging about awaiting charger - due to-morrow. We are once  again alone on the mooring - very lonely, especially after the week-end.

 

Managed to occupy day most profitably by filling diesel - BP station with good (79 cents) price right opposite mooring, and filling beer etc at l’Atac. Both jobs done with bike trailer, but managed to turn the trailer over on way back with beer and shopping - forgot it was on tow, cut a corner too fine, ran a wheel against the curb, and it "flipped" completely up-side down, coming disconnected from the bike. Sloppy riding. Fortunately, no other traffic involved, and load had been carefully lashed in.

 

Usual rain off and on during day.

 

 

June 11                                                                             Tuesday

Sens to Serbonnes River Yonne

 

To-day was the day the mains charger was promised.

 

Rang Evans, as arranged - "no it hasn’t arrived yet".     What have we been waiting around here on the upper Yonne for since last Tuesday. Subsequent promises to deliver further on down when it did arrive. Was slightly perturbed at the attitude that "of Course" it has not arrived yet - what did you expect.

 

Watered up, posted mail, thought a bit, then set off down river.

 

Too bad over the charger - they have got to get the charger to us in a place where we want to be, and where we can draw the necessary cash to pay them!

 

Quite a bit of commercial traffic - gone are the days of drifting along in the middle of the waterway gossiping. Favourite vessel is the double peniche - one peniche with full wheelhouse, pushing another peniche which may or may not have it’s original motor. The relevant bows and sterns are modified so that the 2 boats are permanently winched tightly and rigidly to-gether (head to tail) whilst on the move - operated from the rear peniche’s wheel-house - but can be separated for loading and discharging.

 

Attacked by lock-owning swan, very possessive.

 

Cold, strong wind, occasional short spells of sun (nice and warm on our backs - but still wearing winter clothing).

 

Super to be on the move again. Took it very easy, but strength of current is such that we seem to cover the ground quite fast.

 

Had lunch opposite Port sur Yonne, strong wind virtually held us to shelving river bank by old rotten wood revetments, but felt a bit exposed to passing peniche wash without adequate bollards.

 

Continued to tiny village of Serbonnes, where found a little scruffy, unmaintained but perfectly adequate concrete jetty, complete - and unusually for river moorings - with rings. Appears Serbonnes is a holiday cottage and holiday flats village. Houses - lots of them - and large - all shuttered, but immaculate, with large expensive gardens- also immaculate, but looking unused. Large flat complex has indoor swimming pool, tennis and squash, and - lucky for them - a superb view of Albert on the River Yonne right under their windows. Most flats empty, however.

 

Moored for night, went on exploratory bike ride - but quite weird - place deserted. Except for village "garden boy" (assumed) large van and trailer full of gardening tools.

 

Enough sun to sit out for a while, but driven inside by cold wind about 1830.

 

 

June 12                                                                                 Wednesday

Serbonnes to Montereau. River Yonne.

 

Off down again - still cold wind and overcast.

 

Dreading this part of trip - lower Yonne reportedly place of surly lock keepers with difficult sloping side lock walls.

 

In fact, L.K. all pleasant and professional, only 2 sloping walls on whole river do not have pontoons for the likes of us, and - certainly going downhill in strong wind - found the sloping walls no trouble. Got hooked once, but small engine burst got us straight off.

 

Into Montereau - industrial river side town.

 

To P. de P. but full of "sheds" - abandoned or semi abandoned boats, and river sides sloping and far too shallow.

 

Went back up-stream, and found length of concrete topped reverts, complete with trees and grass, the ideal for a secure mooring when lots of commercials are about with just enough depth to let us in. although we were inclined to go bong on the bottom occasionally.

 

Locked boat up - including chaining to tree - and went for bread. Successful.

 

Obviously no-one had been near boat - this stretch of river bank deserted even by fishermen. For future reference - on right bank (facing downstream) about 300 metres above Pont de Moscou - the one that looks like a new concrete curved motor-way crossing, with curling access steps up to it from the left bank.

 

June 13                                                                                     Thursday

Montereau (R. Yonne) to St Mammès R. Seine.

 

Woken by roar of traffic on 2 dirty great roads we were moored near to. In fact, turned out to be the howl of a sit on lawn mower just the other side of the river.

 

Out onto the Seine at half past nineish, with, it has to said, a touch of trepidation - this  is one big and busy river, regular and heavy (?) commercial traffic of peniche push doubles. and bigger and faster similar doubles (50 metres) and singles, all going as though they have to get to to-morrow to-day.

 

Overcast cold day - wind was strong and biting cold. One looks silly in shorts, bare legs, top half clad in thick jerseys and jackets, and white Tilley hat to top it all.

 

Target was St Mammès - entry from the Seine to the 4 names canal system that runs right across to Chalon sur Saone - the Loing becoming the Briare becoming the Lateral a la Loire, and then the Centre. Distance about 23 kms, 1 lock, down river!

 

Lot of fun with the lock - enormous multi-acre affair.

 

Arrived as peniche came out - access lights turned from red to off. Hung about for 10 minutes upstream, then called L.K.  Reply a terse "j’ecoute".  Continued to hang around.  Then L.K. says "continue in", so we reply "we are entering" - not a trace of call signs or correct procedure.

 

Tie up in lock - we don’t play around in these locks, it’s life jackets on and play by the book, - and eventually a peniche heaves over horizon, coming like a ski boat. Do wish the L.K. would tell us what gives on these occasions - but it is not part of the game!

 

Into St Mammés at lunch time, and wander up the canal a few hundred yards. Meet Frank and Ruth - Armanda - on bikes, tell us new P. de P. on river at mouth of canal nice, so return there and moor up on 15 metre pontoon - very comfortable, except for wash from commercials pounding up and down the river.

 

Late lunch, then off on bikes to search for hole-in-the-wall for cash for Evans, and the new charger. (Tel message to say it will be delivered to-morrow).

Into "next" town up canal - Moret-sur-Loing - very pretty and pleasant - minuscule shop and get cash - back to boat, then mutual visits with Frank and Ruth, and drinks on Armanda.

 

 

June 14                                      Friday                                                                                         

St Mammès to Moret sur Loing. River Loing (start of Canal do loing)

 

Moved round from moorings on the Seine at St Mammes, up the 1st km of the connecting link to the canal to a thoroughly refurbished set of moorings right below the first lock.

 

Water, electricity, free for first 2 days - water nominal, electricity 3.something € per day.

 

Moorings totally taken up with Brits - 5 boats!

 

Lovely hot sunny day - first since start of year.

 

Spent it dossing on bank book reading and enjoying the warmth.

 

Still no sign of our charger from Evans - brought "wrong box" last night, - to ring to-day, but hasn’t!

 

Very hot and humid by going to bed time.

 

 

June 15                                                                                         Saturday

Moret sur Loing to Episy Canal du Loing

 

Woke to rain - thunderstorm type as opposed to gentle persistent.

 

Chap from Evans finally arrived with charger on canal-side!  Right lugs for connecting, except they don’t fit the lengths of heavy cable I have (and told them about).

 

However, substitute cable forthcoming, so went back down to St Mammes sorted out the bits (it had stopped raining, but was overcast and cool) paid, did some food shopping, and set off back up the Canal de Loing to arrive at the first lock right in the middle of L.K.s obligatory lunch break.

 

Pulled out, and had ours, and set off properly after lunch.

 

Motored till about 1600, then chose a nice quiet remote bit of canal for a bush mooring.

 

1 hour later a disco/barbecue/swimming party erupted 50 metres away behind what we thought - and so did the map - was solid forest.

 

First going up locks since the summit of the Nivernais - we’ve been coming downhill ever since.

 

 

June 16                                                                                            Sunday

Episy to Bagneaux-sur-Loing. Canal du Loing

 

Weather quite changed - now hot as hades and breathless....Can’t have everything, all the time.

 

Through Nemours - site of one of last year’s more difficult moorings and dental appointments.

 

Stopped at an incredibly hot quai, all white sand, concrete and shimmering heat, and went to railway station to get local train times into Paris.

 

Station dead, of course - Sunday afternoon - but clean, well cared for, and the environs well landscaped.

This was where bike - after making rhythmic thumping noise - was discovered to have large bulge on tyre. Risked riding the 200 to 400 metres to the station, and got away with it.

 

Following our decision to moor up really early - we looked for moorings from lunch time on. Best was taken up by Ijselmeer, Willy and Ijlser - whom we met at Roanne year before last. Unfortunately, they were occupying most of the mooring, and we didn’t recognise them until we were past, anyway, so no joy there.

 

Finished off, after a hot and undistinguished day, on a comfortable mooring overlooking some one’s house. Sounds improbable, but canal is banked up higher than surrounding countryside.