2006

BACK TO CALENDAR 2006

 

1.9 4 June 2006 to 18 June 2006

 

 

 

5 June, Monday,  Avrilly Canal Digoin a Roanne to Coulanges Canal Lateral a Loire.

Feel as if I am really off boating again, rather than just fiddling with it (the boat, I mean).

Really most enjoyable run - settling in to being solo, now.   If I want coffee, the loo, or anything else away from tiller, just stop boat dead in middle of canal on straight stretch, keep an eye on the banks to see if the boat is moving, and get on and do it.

 

Seems to me that a lot of one's actions on and with a boat are more to do with nervousness at what other people that are watching may think, rather than what oneself really wants to see or do.

 

In the past felt that this section of network slightly boring, flat and overshadowed with roads and road traffic.   However, now withdraw that criticism - especially in spring, in the flat but picturesque riverine valley (mostly mixed farms with small fields and paddocks), and with the cessation of all the heavy transport from the old N69, which has now become just a quiet country road, with it's villages such as Pierrefit and Coulange regenerating.

Went through procedures as before looking for a mooring spot near Coulanges (horrid mooring - they cut the grass by shaving the topsoil off with a bulldozer) where we had moored before as far from the road (which runs almost alongside the canal) as possible.  Map reading completely to cock, spot marked in navicarte in my writing as "good flat mooring, revetts, nettles" was in fact quite different - steep high bank, grassed, and no revetts to tie to.  Used trees, and went in fear of  sliding down wet grass on steep bank into boat.  Not comfortable, although got a firm mooring eventually, and from then on comfortable.

 

Thunderstorm and heavy rain during the night

5 June, Tuesday, Coulanges to Beaulon, Canal Lateral a la Loire

Last nights mooring under an acacia tree.   Quite picturesque, but disastrous.  All the flower petals - and there were masses - knocked off the tree onto Albert, who once again is a right mess.

Cleared off what I could, but due to steepness of banks, couldn't do a proper clean up.

Another pleasant day bimbling along, vague thought of trying Beaulon, which is such a good mooring - free water, electricity, grass and or concrete and wood jetty, that it is normally full of those who come down with their freezers stuffed with home produce, sit on the mooring freebeeing for 6 weeks, then go home again. 

This time - totally empty - except for 1 caravan!

Moored up quickly, and "got stuck in".

Joined for a couple of days by English boat who also had difficulty in dragging himself away!

Lovely village 10 minutes cycle ride away with "toutes commerces" - i.e. Proximarche, baker, butcher, hole-in-the-wall, tabac, 2 or 3 restaurants or bars, and a whiteware/hardware type shop that delivered my gas to the boat!

Over the next 2 weeks lots of work done on the boat - largely, it has to said, cosmetic, but it is deeply depressing meeting fellow boaters who take one look at your boat and go into sympathy mode.

Details dull - only thing more boring than watching paint dry is reading about it.

Weather quite suddenly turned extremely very unbelievably hot - searing sun and little or no air movement.   Boat just happened to be moored north and south, with west side being shore side.   Hence work possible in first half of morning, but after that it was just hide under - very handy - shade trees, and read.   The fan was running in the boat 18 hours a day.   Remembered importance of drinking, and reverted to drill of drinking a full glass of water every time passed sink.

 

6 to 18 June, Beaulon, Canal Lateral a Loire.

At end of first week, some holidays must have started somewhere, and each night saw several boats - French, Dutch and German, arriving, either overnighters, or for 2 or 3 days.  Even Swiss hire boaters, who swam in the canal/moorings.

The photos show poor Albert completely hemmed in by enormous boats.   Regret this was a mucky take against me - suspect I was a little pompous with someone, so they completely trapped me.   When I protested - in strong terms - that I had to turn the boat and empty the loo next day and couldn't move, I was just brushed off with "pas problem", so went to bed muttering much better.

Next day as I am sure they had pre-arranged, they either pushed off or re-moored at a reasonable distance!  Then they asked my id everything was OK! 

When I finally left Beaulon, after a happy but exhausting fortnight, Albert looked far more like she/he used to look.   The great gouges in the coachwork topsides - no free lunches, not even long term moorings in a hire base come free - were filled and painted over, bows re-painted (badly), front cockpit painted out, and polish, polish, polish, and polish again.   Regrettably painting was in the wrong colour green, but the green (International Donegal Green) that Albert was originally painted in 9 years ago was, I gather,  changed about 5 - 6 years ago, to much lamentations.  Also, of course, 9 year old paint inevitably changes colour in the sun - Albert has got much darker.   Tried mixing paints to appropriate colour - but just a messy mud colour, whatever I did.  Now there are small and large patches everywhere of a lighter green everywhere, and if we go on much longer they will join up and a re-paint will be unnecessary.