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- Monday 31
May 2004 St Thibault to
Pouilly Canal Lateral a la Loire
- Cool, grey and
misty.
- Unmoored, down to
end of moorings, turned and backed into diesel/gas oil mooring by pump for
promised fill.
- Greatest difficulty
in raising boss man. Music going hot and strong in his boat,
but no sign, beat all hell
out of empty gas cylinder, but still no
sign. Eventually seen wandering down from village with his
bread.
- Asked about
gas-oil. Oh no, it is finished. Dipped storage
tank to make sure - but just a dirty dribble, so left it! Yes, he
agreed he had arranged on Saturday to give us fuel on Monday, but
"you know how it is"!
- National
holiday, S.M. closed, so went and tried debit and credit cards in
the fuel dispensing machines on the S.M. fuel fore court..
- Before leaving UK
had changed current cards for new "chip in a pin" - or is it
"pin in a chip" cards. Promised faithfully by Lloyds
Bank that these were identical to the Continental ones (remember the
adverts - "the French have been using these cards for years"?)
and that they would work exactly as the French ones do in France.
(Emphasise "in France" - asked and checked at least three times
before leaving UK)
- They don't
work - except very rarely - twice so far this trip - and they certainly
don't in the fuel stations, which is what we got them for. Be
warned, do not run low on fuel and depend on these
things!
- However, they do
still continue to work in the Distributeur de Billets.
Lucky old Us! One can still buy fuel, as of yore, in normal shop
opening hours, unlike the French, who can fill up 24/24 and 7/7.
- Lots of canal
traffic - apart from hirers and privates, 2 commercials and 2 hotels -
both empty.
- This canal - apart
from being wide, is splendidly deep and full of water, and like in the
Centre, Albert is going like a bomb, without any of the shallow
water propeller chatter (cavitation) we had last year. Cruising is a
real pleasure.
- Got to Pouilly about
lunch time - to the mooring we stopped over at on the way up - pleasant,
quiet, no facilities, comfortable "envasé" (a section of
the canal double or triple width - probably originally meant for commercial
overnighters, usually silted up, but occasionally tidied up by villages
for plaisance moorings to encourage boaters to shop locally).
- Trouble
- Histoire d'Eau moored up with guests.
"Hello hello come and tie up here", "Come and see what a
Narrow Boat looks like inside" - "Come and share our New Zealand
Lamb at dinner" "we're waiting for a guest who has cycled off -
in the rain - to fetch his car! Tied up properly, and did just
that. Thoroughly
pleasant day, splendidly rounded off with
great hospitality.
- First days trip back
- 10 kms over the course of a short morning! Are we
leading too social a life? Should have seen Herself trying to
climb into/onto Histoire d'Eau - a full sized ship with side height
- ground to side deck - to match.
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- Tuesday 1 June
2004 Pouilly to Cours les
Barres Canal Lateral a la Loire.
- Heavy rain last
night, and still grey and damp this morning.
- Donned serious
boating expressions with serious boating clothes to back up serious
boating intentions, and pulled out - in the intermittent rain - late early
morning - about 10.00 a.m.
- Made a rather nasty
but totally adequate mooring for lunch just above recently defunct yard -
long grass, nettles, and pouring rain, opposite la Charitée.
Even found someone had used chains on the revetts and left them
there. Leclaircie, and Iron Maiden going
up. We, the boating community, are going to miss that yard -
hope they sort it out.
- Stopped at
Marsielles les Aubigny - Raymondo's - cement works end yard - at diesel
pump, but big notice "ring this number for gas oil".
It was raining, and didn't fancy waiting obligatory
90 minutes for answer
and action, so carried on to Cours les Barres. We have
actually got some 3 weeks worth of fuel at this moment, but with all the
bleating on the radio about oil prices, shortages, etc, feel we ought to
stay topped up. .Our capacity is actually about 6- 7 weeks
worth in our tank and 4 jerricans, but siege mentality seems to be a
function of age, so get unjustifiably panicky.
- Cour les Barres - we
thought it was a nice little quiet mooring - very popular these days, and
only just made it in time to get an electric outlet. Don't
know why we get overexcited about electricity at moorings - if we do 3
hours or more, we are fully charged, but it seems to be part of our
culture, these days, to dash about plugging in electricity as soon as we
arrive. Probably because at paying moorings it is thrown in as
part of the deal, so we might as well use it.
- Country side on way
down much as last week, except phenomenal growth, the cereal small grain
fields are just beginning to turn, and we saw some lodging after the heavy
rain.
- This is a superb,
albeit flat, country. Green and luscious.
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- Wednesday 2 June
2004 Cours les Barres to PK105 Plagny Canal
Lateral a la Loire
- Grey and cool, wet
Spent morning on
"administration". That really means we spent the
morning gossiping whilst watering up, gossiping whilst cutting each
others' hair, gossiping whilst rolling up long electric leads, and
generally gossiping - principally with Brian and Maggie - Seabird.
- Tore ourselves free
at 1300. Came upon a bunch of
hirers tied up by a footbridge shouting and yelling and dancing incomprehensible
at us - couldn't understand because of engine noise. (ours!)
- Shouting seemed to
indicate that an intelligent answer was required, so stopped, backed up,
and lay alongside.
- They were broken
down - engine alarm kept sounding. Rang their base at Gannay
and told them the problem - temporary difficulty in establishing exactly
where we were. Stayed with them - 4 Americans in large white
aircraft carrier type cruiser - until rescue in form of very hairy
mechanic suddenly showed on bridge. Worked out arithmetic - he
must have come pretty promptly - well done.
- As soon as he had
arrived felt we were no longer required - if we ever had been - and left.
- Still slightly
puzzled as to why they stopped us, and got us to do the panic calling,
phoning, etc - they had a fully charged mobile on their dashboard with
full signal to SFR.
- Anyway, good deed
done - hurrah for us!
- Issued round corner
well back from double staircase lock at Guétin. Hire boat
visible in lock, but LK held
it for us - 15 mins! Very grateful -
the turn around time is probably at least an hour. Poor hirers!
- On to the quiet spot
2 - 3 kms before (Guétin side) Plagny, where we trimmed the grass and
generally tidied up the canal side on our way up. Moored up,
thought a bit, had super, then went for a bicycle ride to Plagny along the
new "velo track" being built - largely with European money -
from Nevers to Guétin. Super cycling, but not yet finished
under bridges, or where it crosses roads, where there are patches of loose
gravel waiting to snare the front wheels of unwary riders. The
edges all along both sides have the same habit, and riders with small
wheels, like us, have to be very careful. Also, still a lot of
loose chippings on the tarmac bit, so roller blading could be a
difficult..
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- Thursday 3
June 2004 PK 105 Plagny to 3 kms short of Decize, Canal Lateral a la Loire
- Cold, grey, dreary
start.
- Towing path thick
with Acacia flowers - the season has started, although 2 weeks
late. Just like snow on the path, but a menace on the boat.
- The acacias are
particularly fine this year - last year's doughty - this year's rain?
The Black thorn/May
were very good too.
- Met and passed a
fully loaded commercial - very rare, these days, except on the big rivers.
- Long but
"quiet" day - this end of the run - last 2 days - is scenically
more satisfying than middle bit. (Considering amount and type of
socialising on this trip, one has to ask "how do we know"?)
- Some really splendid
views of farming France - both small private and agribusiness.
- Usual altercation -
we have it at least twice a season - with an LK who perceives us as a
"small" boat, and tries to stuff us in with 2 12 metre hire
boats. 2 X 12 = 24 + 15(us) = 39. Freycinet lock
completely full of boat - not even a cm of spare space.
Assured him that we considered what he was trying to do was "not
prudent". The hire boat that came in behind us had
hysterics, anyway, so back out they went again, and up we went in
uncrowded safety.
- Searched assiduously
for actual position we used on the way up as it was a good spot, and we
did a good job of trimming the grass with a failing hedge
trimmer. Dully found and moored up to it. Slightly
unadventurous, but it is nice to be comfortable.
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- Friday 4
June 2004 3 kms short of Decize, Canal Lat a la Loire to Champvert
Canal du Nivernais.
- Turned left at the
major turn off or tee junc between the 2 canals. - start of Nivernais from Lateral a la Loire, Always
feel these occasions - major decision points for us - should be marked by bands,
bugles, flags, and celebrations - not just pulling a tirette and nipping
up to the boulangerie for a baguette.
- Checked price of
diesel at Crown Blue Line. €1..00 per litre.
Threw hands heavenwards in horror, and
left, after collecting the sharp
end of their pontoon and tearing a length of black paint off our gunnels.
- Down the Loire, and
onto the Nivernais proper. Stop on the way for dual transport -
herself on boat, self on bicycle. Picked up again in lock,
with fatherly but incomprehensible (we remember him of yore - talks,
smokes, and chews all at the same time) trying to teach her what to do.
- Up past St Léger
des Vignes, to find the very ordinary moorings improved out of all
recognition. The surface drain from the local brasserie's cess pit has gone, proper wooden edges and revetments have been installed,
and grass sown on bare ground. There are still no public electricity
and water points visible yet, though. There are 3 or 4 sets,
but they are fenced off and locked up very firmly, except where used by 2
or 3 long term live-aboards.
- Up to S.M. Champion's
jetty beyond bridge. 2 boats already there, but room for 4. Did big
shop, and bought diesel. Diesel cost €0.84 a
litre. Probably, the SM had already put it's price up - it was
74 when we left St J de L 7 weeks ago, and Crown B.L. still have
stock. Bought 6 jerricans, put 4 into tank - now absolutely
full - and stored 2.. Leaves 2 empty cans stored - too hot and
sweaty to get the last 2 filled. Already done 2 trips with
little cart at 3 cans a time. Working out consumption, appears
to be 2.25 to 2.5 cans a week, or 50l a week, fractionally higher than of
yore, but we are going faster through the deeper canals as we have
"lost" both our drive plate rattle (replaced at St J de L) and
our propeller cavitation noise with deeper and wider
waterways. We appear to have saved just under €20.00, but
was it worth it? Doubtful.
- Pulled up at
Champvert village moorings. This is the village that has a
steeple a bit like Chesterfield's, but not nearly so
"bad". we have found that the village people in
Champvert don't seem to want to talk about it. They are not
proud of it like Chesterfield - perhaps because it is not so very far out
of true. This mooring has always been a favourite of ours -
grass to water's edge, dead quiet, no boats (no electricity) but
regrettably, this year, it has fallen a bit into disrepair.
The water point is unsanitarily filthy, the grass is very long at the
water's edge, and hides the sharp sheet pile topedge, and a gap between
firm ground and the piles, and the mown grass has deteriorated into unmown
weeds! Sad - it's a nice village, too. The chappie
in the cottage right on the moorings started up a chain saw just after we
had finished mooring, and cut his firewood for the next 2
hours. We were actually on the point of leaving - the noise
was insufferable, both volume and quality - when he finally stopped.
- Pleasant peaceful
evening from then on, after we re-unloaded the chairs
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- Saturday 5
June 2004
Champvert to PK 27, 2.5 kms short of Panneçot
Canal du Nivernais.
- Rain in night, day
started cool, grey, light rain.
- Continued so till
Cercy-la-Tour.
- Watered up, bread,
lunch, then on.
- Weather set in to
improve.
- Delighted to
discover a yellow wag-tail sitting on it's nest on the downhill side of
one of the lock gates.
Don't understand must have been no
traffic during selection and building process, as boat skippers head goes
right past and near nest.
- Pause for photos by
both ourselves and L.K.
- Many photo pauses to
"capture" scenery, but other than in bright sunlight, waste of
time.
- Still enjoying
scenery, especially after sun came out.
- Waterway quiet in morning, but odd
hire boat appeared in the afternoon.
- Had intended to moor at Panneçot,
but arithmetic of other craft about indicated at least 3 other boats
there, so stopped on clear clean canalside with beautiful view to the
distant hills.
- Tied springs to PK 27, so for once
we knew exactly where we were.
- Met Chris Matthews of Canalous
looking for the party of good natured Germans we had already met at
Champion. They were in the throes of breaking down again for
the 3rd time in their trip.
- Again - a\pleasant quiet and
peaceful mooring and night
This Weeks
"We-think-we-are-here-map"
(Our
estimated position at the END of the week.)
out of empty gas cylinder, but still no
sign. Eventually seen wandering down from village with his
bread.
pleasant day, splendidly rounded off with
great hospitality.
90 minutes for answer
and action, so carried on to Cours les Barres. We have
actually got some 3 weeks worth of fuel at this moment, but with all the
bleating on the radio about oil prices, shortages, etc, feel we ought to
stay topped up. .Our capacity is actually about 6- 7 weeks
worth in our tank and 4 jerricans, but siege mentality seems to be a
function of age, so get unjustifiably panicky.
it for us - 15 mins! Very grateful -
the turn around time is probably at least an hour. Poor hirers!
were very good too.
left, after collecting the sharp
end of their pontoon and tearing a length of black paint off our gunnels.
paddock
Don't understand must have been no
traffic during selection and building process, as boat skippers head goes
right past and near nest.
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bring own booze and meat - with very pleasant
German hirers we had crossed and recrossed ever since Nevers.
Drank too much red wine.