2006

BACK TO CALENDAR 2006

 

2.4  17 July to 23 July 2006

 

There is a sort of title to each picture.   Either it will appear in a box when you hover your cursor over the thumbnail, or it will appear at the right end of the file name on the bar near the bottom of your screen.   The absence of spaces and Capital Letters appears to be a requirement of the programme I use to upload, and is very awkward, but we have to live with it.

 

17 July, Monday, Moret sur Loing to just above Montereau C. du Loing to R.Seine to R.Yonne

First thing - got away as early as poss to try and work in coolth.   Didn't really work as the fuel depot only opened at 0830.

Looked across Seine - the depot is on the river bank opposite st Mammés - and was horrified to see whole complex completely obscured behind an enormous - very enormous - square bin barge with a pusher tug behind it.   Reckoned if he was getting fuel that was me for the morning.

Went across and asked a crew member, and he pointed round under the front and up behind the barge!   Went and had a look, and sure enough there was just room for me to go up to the pumps between the barge and the river bank - with a loosely tied rowing boat half way along.   Backwards - no turning room.   Fun.

Got - for them - quite quick service, filled up 113 litres (consumption since since Decize €120.00) - and blasted off up the great Seine.

Only had 17 kms to do on the Seine, and there was little or no current, so should have been comfortably into Montereau before lunch.

BUT arrived at the only Seine lock - Varrennes - we had to pass to see red lights, and what looked like boats actually in the lock.

Reckoned good news - shouldn't be long.   But it was - longer and longer - with quite a naughty wind, currents and piercingly hot.

Private boat arrived, and sent his wife on foot up and around the lock to enquire.   Gate trouble.   Reckoned to be fixed by 1.00 p.m.

13.30 finally got through after interesting bumper cars between German cruiser moored on peniche waiting bollards, and peniche that wanted it!

Had been nervous of doing this lock on my own - but in fact dead easy.   Another loaded peniche with bollards nice and low down came in and I was able to put rope bow round one and keep straight driving against it.

Amazed on emerging to see amount of traffic waiting to go down - all sorts, 7 or 8 commercials and a litter of hire and private cruisers.

Took myself into Montereau, had a look at public moorings, and decided - as before - that they were pretty horrid.   They were also completely unshaded, and it was really too early to stop.  

On through the town, looking for shaded walls - especially where we spent a night once before, but couldn't recognise it.   Into the dreaded Yonne sloping sided locks    All the sloping locks have pontoons in them that slide up and down the walls on ramps except the first 3.   Stories have it that tying up is obligatory, and the L.K.s won't help.   

The latter is nonsense, and as to the former, on the whole it is true, although I found if I was completely on my own, and stayed right at the back of the lock on entry, and heard the gates closing right away on me, there was tacit agreement that I needn't!  Whenever there was other traffic - especially commercial - not tying up would have been utterly crazy, and if necessary, the L.K. was quite happy to help.   One was a bit clottish - insisted on a stern line, so that the bows could swing uncontrolled where they willed, and the rope was horribly close to the prop - but he had a commercial coming the other way harassing him.

In fact, in this first lock, a hire boat who knew what he was doing had tied himself up nicely (the have rounded bilges, so can fit in much better than us) and I was able to latch onto him.

Worried about somewhere decent to moor, but was hardly out of Montereau when saw line of trees on bank along dried up wizened public park.  Thought it might be uncomfortable, and had got into that state one does where it is easier just to go on than to make the necessary decisions, and take the necessary actions to try a mooring out for depth, shade and length.

Thought again and did a quick U turn.   Found first possibility - best spot for shade etc - was too small, but fitted nicely into and under another 50 metres behind.  Bit shallow - gang plank distance from bank itself - but otherwise fine, and full shade all day.   Lots of public seats around, but virtually no-one came near (it was Monday) except some office workers who brought their lunch to one of the tables, and about 3 dog walkers.   One major disadvantage showed up quickly - very close to noisy 4 track main line, but it was amazing how quickly one gets used to it, and it appears to be the custom on French railways - we noticed this before - that night activity goes in short vigorous spells, with long quiet times between.

Opened everything - regardless of security - and went to bed!

 

18 July, Tuesday, Montereau on R.Yonne

Stayed put to-day.   Started off very hot, and got hitter, so reckoned best to stay put.

Couple of lads - full of curiosity as to who and what I was, but showing no desire to stay around - pointed me to the local boulangerie quite 200 metres away though a little tunnel under the railway line, so I had all that I needed.

Sat and dozed, or read, in the shade!

 

19 July, Wednesday, Montereau to just below Pont sur Yonne, R.Yonne

Quite happy to stay - but felt that as the week-end approached I would find more people visiting the park, and anyway, I had come to boat - not doss on the bank,  so pushed off.

Also, I think I was getting my second wind vis-a-vis the heat.   Everyone says, quite rightly, drink a lot - more than one thinks reasonable - but I think it important to eat normal amount as well.   "It's too hot to eat" is nonsense - must eat.

Fun boating - scenery pleasant mixed, and lots of commercial traffic.   Apart from the first lock, which I had on my own untied, shared virtually every lock all the way up with commercials.   Either double peniches tied to-gether on a pushmepullyou basis, or huge 2000 ton single ships. Very controlled, helpful, and highly professional.   They seemed to be collecting sand and gravel from the pits a little way up the Yonne Valley.

Looking for appropriate bush mooring in early afternoon when came round bend to see a lock - fortunately closed - with towns and dwellings all up both banks beyond it.

Did quickest U turn ever, went back to a possible, and with secateurs and pruning saw made a very nice secure shady bolt hole.   In fact, it may have been one of the locals' mini swimming beaches, as there were people swimming all up and down both banks, but no one came close to us.

Half hearted thunderstorm in the evening - wind, noise, but no rain.

 

20 July, Thursday P. sur Yonne to Sens

Off at 0830 and round to last night's lock - gates open.

Horrors - great big rain drops, so frantic efforts to clear cockpit and put cover half over  - boat went careering all over river, not quite doing figure of 8, but very nearly.

Gates started closing, so went flat out tooting horn, and gates re-opened.

Rather peeved L.K. had commercial coming down on him, and as he said, he couldn't make out what I was doing!   He was the one that just dropped a stern rope over a bollard at the back of the lock.

My sympathy - to some extent - was with him.

Through to lock and into the "civilisation" of Pont sur Yonne.   

Suddenly, the river banks, and countryside are thoroughly settled, and there is the enormous modern road bridge through the town.   I hadn't realised that the old bridge abutments are still standing on either bank, and although managed a good look, was too late for photos.

There are moorings with full facilities marked in Pt sur Yonne.   There is a large flat low pontoon, far too light for the likes of us, and last time we came through I think there were facilities on the shore.   Now both ends of the pontoon are sinking fast, and I didn't even bother to look for the water and electric points.

On up to Sens.   Country far more open now - forest and bush interspersed with large scale small grain farming.

Surprised on arrival in Sens - seemed to be making much better time than reckoned.   River current almost non-existent, although plenty of water seems to be coming over barrages.

Could almost feel the heat closing in on us as we approached the town centre.   When we were still about 200 metres from the moorings another of those sort of feeding frenzies for mooring places erupted from boats arriving from upstream.   Just bored - politely - into the middle of it and quickly tied France to Albert, so that at least we had a space, and went off to suss the place properly.   We actually knew Sens - especially the hidden water point - quite well.

Was far too far from the water - not vital, but Albert lies and goes much more comfortably with bows held down by full water tank.  Managed to persuade couple in tiny boat moored in middle of long length by water point to move "fractionally" and moved Albert there squeezing into about 16 metres between them and a houseboat peniche I had met in Moret.   Better spot, and more open, with a bit of breeze - the other place was between cavernous walls up by the bridge, and was the spot the double peniche that frightened us out of our lives moored his stern and of which we have the famous photograph (that was the year - 2002 or 3  I think) when my hard disc collapsed and I lost the complete season's photos, except for anything uploaded to the web site.

Cleaned top of boat a bit.   We looked like the SAS trying to disguise itself as a piece of countryside.   The flip side of bush moorings - light things have to be cleared off the roof before even trying, and the amount of rubbish that drops onto the boat is phenomenal.

 

 

 

21 July, Friday Sens to above Paron R.Yonne

Went to the market in the morning.   Got slightly over enthusiastic - except for odd lettuces, tomatoes, potatoes and pork chops, markets are not really appropriate to single boaters, quantities are far too great, fridge and cupboard space are just not there.

Still good fun, though - I originally went just for a baguette!

After lunch couldn't stand it any more, and pushed off up river.

Real joy to get out of town - instantly cooler, and of course - infinitely preferable outlook.   Was getting claustrophobia on the moorings

Stopped for night on a bush mooring near a village called Paron - I think.   At some stage in the many dramas of wind, sun, and occasional rain, I lost one page of my Navicarte, and we were on the corner of 4 large scale IGN maps, so although I was perfectly satisfied that Albert and I were to-gether, and we were on the R. Yonne, I couldn't make my perceived or reckoned position match with my map read position.   There seemed to be a road too many on the ground.

The spot chosen was probably the deepest into the bush so far.   Couldn't get ashore (waded ashore night before last) so got front rope hooked around low bush by poking and hooking with boat hook, and 2 rear ropes over big tree branches.

Very well shaded - and after cutting back the bush that was trying come through the boat windows and hatch - very comfortable.  Very quiet, except for the ubiquitous railway, that follows the river all the way up.

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22 July, Saturday Paron to Le Vieux Péchoir R.Yonne

Target was to get to the Péchoir at the old lock and barrage about 4 kms above Joigny.

Still very hot, but perfectly bearable on the water.    Without the biminy, though, would have been uncomfortable, although a lot of the day was overcast and muggy.

Working out the arithmetic according to the p.k.s on the Navicarte, looked unlikely, and we were badly held up at Ville Vallier lock, where there was no L.K. so it seemed unlikely that we would arrive at the Péchoir to-day.

The more so,  as I saw a boat called Para Handy pulling into Joigny P. de P. and tried to stop to go and talk.   Neil Munro's Vital Spark and her daft crew are great favourites of mine.

However, there was too much traffic out on the river, and we were getting in the way, so went on upstream.

Come 4 o'clockish Albert seemed to have been going much faster over the land than expected, and we actually slid into and moored up at the Péchoir at about 4.30 p.m.

Snugged boat down nicely, and just started on trimming the overabundance of hair all over my face, when Juliet arrived from Paris.

Much joy!

 

23 July, Sunday Le Vieux Péchoir R.Yonne

At the Péchoir.  Much administration, more talking and exchanging gossip, much fun.  

Installed the most marvelous electric line across to the boat - Heath Robinson would have been really jealous.