2007

BACK TO CALENDAR 2007

1.8 24 June to 30 June 2007

24 June 2007          Sunday       Péchoir to Esnon    Canal de Bourgogne

 

Most embarrassing day on the waterways ever - if there was something to be hit, glanced off, or done thoroughly clumsily and incompetently, this was the day I (and Albert) did it.

 

Left Péchoir after lunch, dull, cool, overcast, rain close (weather, not the lunch).   Went up river and left into Migennes lock - the start of the Canal de Bourgogne - or Burgundy Canal.

Canal entrance lock set for me with one gate opened - customary for single narrow boat, and perfectly easily negotiable.

Appeared to have forgotten how to go through the gate with wind behind, and against usual current coming out of lock.   Hit stone knuckle a glance on way in, so spoiling approach to L.K.'s mooring rope hook awaiting me in exactly the right place.   Sorted it out, went forward through cabin to hand up rope, and left engine in gear, so boat continued forward and hit sill at front of lock with a bang.

Enormous number of spectators - there was some sort of bean feast going on in the port.

 

Left Migennes basin hurriedly - apart from embarrassment there were obviously no moorings available - rows of flags and stalls and thousands of jolly people.

Went on to Esnon - village 4 kms out - where we have moored to revetts in the past, but where recently shallow water has precluded comfort.   Luck had returned, there was ample water, and comfort ensued.   Being human - decided that all cock-ups were either somebody else's fault, or result of freak winds and currents which no-one could have expected.   

The mooring is right opposite 4 track railway line, but all the way up the Yonne had similar situation, so by now completely hardened.   Have the impression French trains at night are run in batches at night - but since that impression has been extant all over the last 100 kms, must be nonsense.

 

 

5 June 2007          Monday       Esnon to Brienon-sur-Armançon

Awoke to rain - and first drama of day.    I had left my rucksack with my wet weather gear in my hostess's car.

Made a plan with an old set of Herself's - hidden for just such an occasion as this - under the box-step up from cabin to cockpit.   

Temporarily stopped raining, so scuttled into Brienon - 2 kms and one lock.   Got this lock totally right - so got a lecture on "how to do it properly".   Kept very quiet.

Found "my mooring" - one I occupied last year twice for about a week - occupied - by a narrow boat - Lewes Castle.   However, plenty space behind, and felt the sooner we were tied up, the sooner our accident proneness would be curtailed.

Telephone call re wet weather clothing unbelievably welcome, as was subsequent delivery by car of errant items - including rather nice coffee tin I had bought at the vide grenier.

 

 

26 June 2007          Tuesday              Brienon-sur-Armançon

Object in stopping here was to settle down to singularly tedious job of checking batteries for fluid level.   Should, of course, have been done before leaving Decize 6 weeks ago - but it wasn't.  

It just rained - all day - so did nothing, except wander up to pharmacy and re-stock medicines.   Slightly boring - always previously, for years, have obtained prescriptions to cover whole 6 months or so absence from our GPs, and started season with carrier bags of assorted drugs.   Suddenly, although have been paying relevant taxes for them almost since inception of NHS - if one goes abroad one has to "buy one's own there".    Annoying, but it turned out to be no real hardship, so long as a repeat prescription form is carried.  Certainly in France, the scruffiest pharmacy seems to have a stock of everything.   If one was paying the UK prescription charges (I don't - age related privilege, rather like TV license) I have a very strong suspicion that combining a prescription purchasing exercise with a booze cruise would save a lot of money - certainly, I seemed to be paying a great deal less than the English prescription charge.

 

 

27 June 2007          Wednesday          Brienon-sur-Armançon

Blowing a complete hooly, to-day - hairiest wind since coming to France, and moving would have been horrific - if not dangerous.

Fortunately, boat was facing straight into wind, so hid in engine in back of boat - completely sheltered, and did batteries.    Batteries are so awkwardly placed - not builder's fault, just the way it is - that they have to extracted one by one out into the open - usually a full half day's work - and checked.   Torches and mirrors don't seem to work.   Did first 2, and as all cells were taking aprox same amount of water, left last 3 batteries in situ, and measured same amount of water into all their cells, and tipped it in blindly.

 

Highly profitable operation - noticed fan belt was de-laminating and on it's way out, so replaced that, at same time.

 

Felt virtuous, 6.00 p.m. G & T went down particularly well.

28 June 2007          Thursday             Brienon-sur-Armançon

Weather still pretty awful, so tried a bit of site seeing.   Brienon is known for it's particularly well preserved communal wash house, so went and had a look, and tried to take photos.   

The main one is handsome - built into the complex of interconnecting houses and the Church.   The roof is a particularly handsome piece of tiling, but I cannot show an acceptable photo at reasonable definition due to the moiré effect of the tiles.    Best one is some 2 Mg, and don't fancy uploading that, any more than readers would fancy downloading it.

 

Note in passing - for the last 3 years, Albert has sported a bimini, a sort of pram hood, to protect steerer from excessive sun - and I was very glad to have it last year.   Each autumn it is dismantled, rolled up and stored in the cabin.    This year it is still stored, and I took time the other day to unroll it all and strap it neatly to the cabin radiator pipes, so I don't trip over it in my mad rushes through the cabin in locks, and in the hope that it would cause a weather change.   It did - the Yorkshire floods happened next day.

 

 

29 June 2007          Friday                Brienon-sur-Armançon to Flogny

Off after settling mooring fees.   Met extraordinary piece of misplaced logic.   Cost of mooring is free - but electricity is charged at €4 per night, which is much too high.   However, tried to explain to chap that no one would cavil at paying €4 per night for his moorings, with normal throwing in of electricity and water - but being charged €4 for electricity was a source of moaning!   Couldn't make any impression, and it really didn't matter, as anything over 3 nights is charged at weekly rate of €10.00 anyway!   

 

Absolutely delighted to be off again - Sitting inside a narrow boat all day watching rain fall and wind blow is .........!   Beginning to think it is better to keep moving in the rain, if wind not too strong.

Noticeable that water level is well down.   This must be management - on this stretch of canal water is supplied along the canal - there are no bye washes - by leaving one gate paddle permanently partially open.   The L.K.s have little measuring sticks to make sure they get it right, and the rush of water down through the lock must be taken into account when maneuvering.

 

The trip was pleasant and unexciting - the countryside is largely hidden by the trees and bush growing on either side, bit ample is visible for enjoyment.   The canal is very quiet - indeed the only startling event was going under a stone bridge just as a TGV went across it practically breaking the sound barrier.   I know we moored up just near this bridge about 5 years ago - how we slept with the noise I cannot imagine. 

Went on a bit long, and started franticly looking for mooring spots.   Plenty of steel revetts, but some engineering genius has put a long U shaped strip of steel all along the top.   Cannot imagine why, except it looks very neat.   Anyway, there was never enough water to float comfortably against them.

 

Except, nearly enough, at one spot, where I set to with my moor up from the boat drill.   One clamp on, drive boat forward so it (the boat) gets pulled into the side, and set the others.   Didn't work - the clamp was just too far away to screw up tightly, so as I drove forward, it came free.   No drama - it was, or course, tied to the boat.  

 

BUT there was couple of cyclists watching.  Reckoned they were Dutch - big heavy sit-up-and-beg-bikes, but turned out to be French.   Dutch can and will happily speak excellent English, but all these people would was say "hello" and grin idiotically..   Mister leant against his bike, and did nothing.   Misses dashed around with camera taking dozens of photos of me - not the boat - and as I was getting cross, they should make a good sequence - "elderly gent on boat getting angry".   The point of the story is that demonstrates very well national characteristics - if they had been Brits they would have charged around with arms, legs and tongues lashing the air, Dutch would have given good advice, in excellent English - it seems they all know about boats, - and helped quietly, whereas the French are perfectly satisfied - I think justifiably - that one knows what one is doing, or is trying to do, will ask for help if necessary, and meantime wish to be left alone.   The only maddening thing was the woman's wretched camera that seemed to be watching me throughout.

 

Pulled the errant bracket in, obviously no chance of mooring in this pound, through next 3 locks - all close to-gether - and came upon the Flogny mooring.

 

This mooring is well known to us - rough concrete capping too high for Albert.   However, plenty of depth - sign says 80 cm, but there's more than that, water point, and just up the road is the town of Flogny with everything from hole-in-the-wall upwards and downwards.

 

Blissfully quiet night - no one else about, on the water or the land..

 

30 June 2007          Saturday             Flogny to Tonnere

Nipped into Flogny for bread first thing - then off.

Into Tonnere by lunch time.  

Moored up, usual nonsense here - free mooring, free water, lots of free electricity points, concrete capping,  but no rings or bollards and very hard ground. 

Intention - if weather appropriate - to do a major wash, with unlimited water and electricity.

Weather wasn't appropriate so went to leKlerk instead.   Very poor one, but round a corner found one of those free standing 4 sided washing lines. Also was able to replenish gin.   Found what they call curry soup, too, but mulligatawny it is not.

N.B.    Look at photo of trousers on a block of stone carefully.