New Page 2

2008

BACK TO CALENDAR 2008

2.0 26 May to 31 May 2008

Last fiddled with 03 January 2009 and should be on axmw44.

To the Map on the Contents Page Just click on the words.

25 May 2008 Sunday Monceaux le Comte to Lock 6 on Staircase Canal du Nivernais

Rained all night, but even so woke to find water level had dropped so much that Albert's landward side was thoroughly aground, and I was virtually tipped out of bed.. Presumably this was human agency trying to reduce amount of water flowing along the canal and over the gates during unused hours of darkness..
Had arranged with hire boat to start - regardless - at 9 o'clock, to see me through the last 2 bridges.
Intended to go down to village for bread, but itinerant van with bread and limited groceries stopped just by the boat. Got bread and spuds for quite appalling price (I did NOT want to offload bike and cycle to village in currant conditions) and of mediocre quality. Serve me right.
Got Albert off bank - just as soon not had to struggle, considering Albert's sick prop shaft, but really no alternative - and got going.
Vague target for day was Baie at the top of the flight - but sharing is inevitably slower, but probably not a bad thing, the extra concentration required stopped me sitting in the rain and worrying over state of Albert's insides.
Hire boat faded at lunch time, and we made good time therefrom. Felt sorry for L.K.s - it came down in sheets - but once started there is not really anywhere suitable for stopping after Sarde, and not many places before, except Chitry.
New batch of L.K.s took me over at the bottom of the flight, and gave me a choice of going right through, or stopping on a new mooring built on the offside just above, or just below lock 6 - the Hippy lock. Accepted the latter - couldn't expect them to go on - and anyway, was approaching stage of not wanting to boat any more! It was foul!
Worth taking note of the mooring - proper formal dug out mooring, with bollards and good depth of water. Probably about 30 metres long, but weather conditions were inappropriate for pacing it, still less checking which lock it was actually at. Anyway, I was very comfortable, quiet and secure, and pleased to have access to it.

It was quite weird backtracking through countryside we had passed through such a short time before in such different weather conditions, and with such different targets.

Rained most of the night.


26 May 2008 Monday Lock 6 on Staircase to Marré Canal du Nivernais: Off smartly at 9 o'clock, and made short work of remaining locks to little basin just before tunnels.
Right plethora of excited boats and L.K.s swilling about. I had met 1 boat 1 lock down, there was 1 boat moored in the basin waiting to go down (too big to share), there were excited instructions from the staff not to go in the tunnel, as there was hotel boat coming through, and at least 2 other boats in our direction. Don't know what the fuss was - there are traffic lights at entrance to tunnel cutting, and no one dreams of disobeying those!
Moored up to a set of large full sized bollards that had forcibly been pulled out of the ground at some time and were lying at very strange angles. Threatened to come out again when I pulled - so didn't pull.
In due course hotel boat appeared, but now no L.K. to see him down, so he just drifted across basin. 2 further boats appeared - spitting tacks - the hotel boat had taken 2 hours to come through one tunnel of 700 metres, and 2 of 200. Not sure that am in total sympathy with them - no ways would I like to take one of those things through a tunnel of any sort. Hotel Boats simply cannot carry scars of dings around with them like poor old Albert does. The complaint on these occasions is always why do they insist, as of right, to go first and unnecessarily block traffic that could be released to go through in front of them.
Got away within 20 minutes, and stopped on the wall at Baie to have a quick bite, and a gossip with Sue in Krells (single handed N.B.) then on to Bazole where Pete and Christine issued out of their lovely house to gossip and replenish my chutney stock. I love chutney.
Through to Marré and thankfully tied op to bollards and short grass just above lower double staircase lock. It is quite difficult to moor up in the bush when the canal is so busy - one is passed from L.K. to L.K. by telephone, or has an L.K. in a white van going with one from lock to lock. To organise to-morrow they have to know where and at what time we are starting in the morning. On those stretches of canal - and everywhere in high season - there is an L.K. on each lock, and one goes through as one arrives, so can easily stop off anywhere.

27 May 2008 Tuesday Marré to Chatillon Canal du Nivernais

Rained virtually all night.
Gentle trip down to Chatillon - in the rain - to moor up, go to S.M. and generally sort myself out.
Arrived in basin to find it full, and totally shut down - "circulated" gently in the middle wondering what to do.
Eventually reckoned to have a go at breasting up to a barge thing belonging to a New Zealander whom I met last time I was here - he was the chap whose electricity I endeavoured to mash. He had gone down to his other boat in the south and as far as I could remember wasn't due back yet. Albert behaved beautifully, and we made a neat job of mooring to him, but then found that having climbed onto his boat, I couldn't get off onto the shore without jumping into the long wet grass - and on consideration it appeared there was no way I could ever climbed back on to get across to Albert.
Daft!
Had lunch, and hoped something would happen.
Fortunately, on my way through the lock into the moorings had gossiped with an American ("did you bring that boat across the Channel?") and got friendly. He confessed they were pulling out after a liquid lunch, and it transpired they were on "my" mooring in the corner, and were the biggest sort of hire boat, so there would be room for me.
Hung around in basin, and sure enough, in due course off they went, and in I went.
Relief.
Snugged down. Rain held off during lunch and mooring up shenanigans but returned vigorously afternoon, evening and night.


28 May 2008 Wednesday In Chatillon Canal du Nivernais
Rained all night - wretched "Sahara Rain" - rain drops all full of Sahara sand dust, making everything not only wet, but muddy as well. First met this phenomena at Roanne years ago, but not since. Product of strong wind sand storms over Sahara blowing our way, and heavy rain here.
Did nothing - weather, town, people, self, all grey, cool, dull..........................................


29 May 2008 Thursday In Chatillon Canal du Nivernais
As for yesterday - rain and still more rain.
Joined by Sue in Krell - now I know what a very wet steerer in filthy weather on the back of a narrow boat looks like.
breasted up - the moorings were still full of people in boats sheltering from the weather.


30 May 2008 Friday Chatillon to Panneçot Canal du Nivernais
Had "booked" a 9 o'clock start - apparently along with lots of other boats.
In fact only 3 turned up, and was more than happy to be the 3rd - 1 boat, 1 lock, 1 gate, happy boating.
Rather sad - countryside still looking splendid, although, of course 3 weeks on from my passing through at the beginning of the month with grass and nettles tall and in seed, and lots of cow parsley. The paddocks really thick now - given a chance weather wise, presume they will be mown for hay or silage shortly.
Still lovely and green, when seen through the sheets of rain, and also coming back in opposite direction am seeing principally the other bank to that I saw coming up, so in many ways like a new canal.
2 boats sharing in front a bit slow, so come mid afternoon had only achieved Panneçot. Don't like it there, they have delusions of grandeur with notices everywhere saying harbour tax €8.00. There is only room on their jetty for 3 well moored boats, and only 2 bollards in the middle, so every excuse for sloppy mooring. The banks on either side are supposed to be used - and charged - as well, but they are inaccessibly to ordinary boats, due to shallow water and slippery steep banks.
Moored across the corner behind the ultimate in sloppy mooring - individual was inside the boat, but took care not to meet eyes through windows or come out and move his boat.
In fact, mooring was all we needed, although looked sloppy and untidy, and certainly not worth €8.00.
Rained most of the night!


31 May 2008 Saturday Panneçot to Cercy la Tour Canal du Nivernais
After night's rain "proceeded" with vigour, and - yes - enjoyment at about 9.30.
Still cool, overcast, and drizzling.
This is normally a very pleasant run - and even under rain not that bad. Wide flat valley, fields slightly bigger than the little peasant fields up the top, - call it d.i.y. farming as opposed to agribusiness. Fields demarcated by thick tall hedges, lots of Charollais (white moos to you Brits) in deep grass paddocks, nice!
Set in to rain properly mid morning, and normally we would have been stuck above Cercy lock for the mid-day break. However she let us through, onto full moorings!
This stretch - from this lock to the guard lock below the moorings is strong flowing river, so they have a short 2 boat pontoon below the lock for boats waiting for it, as well as the main pontoons with facilities further on down.
The hire boat in front of me moored up facing downstream on the shorty, leaving me enough room behind him, after a frantic leap by his crew onto a very slippery pontoon.
Reckoned to turn round and face current, but had forgotten - or not seen - the pontoon is actually in the whirlpool caused by the river coming round the corner below the lock. Noticed one corner of the pontoon was well gronched - suspect we did that when hit it a hell of a bang about 2000.
Back to 2008 - poor Albert firstly refused or couldn't turn round - water too shallow for the propeller to bite, then wouldn't come into the pontoon at all - just sat 10 feet out and looked at - wouldn't even go off downstream in the current! There we were, sparest 15 metres of boat on the waterway.
Got in eventually, but had to go and turn round again, and moor up facing downstream.
After lunch, space on the proper pontoon became available as lunching boats went off upstream, so moved down, snugged down, and digested the news from the L.K. that Decize is closed, because the Loire River is in flood, and we cannot get across to the basin on the far side of which is Albert's home.
Heavy rain all day.

Top 2 are the locks on either side of lock 6 basin,
Bottom 2 are Panneçot moorings.