Satellites and Sens

After a season and a half of isolation we finally relented and have a TV. What we were missng was brought home to us when we met a Dutch boat with an Australian flag on the front in honour of Cadel Evans winning the Tour de France. We only knew about it the next day when we had internet. Even though all the big events are past (Royal Wedding, Tennis, Tour de France) we decided it was time. When we turned off the Seine at Montereau-fault-Yonne and found there was a giant E.Leclerc superstore in town we decide this was the place. Of course the store was 3km away and with anything like this it took 3 trips (one by bus, one on the bike and one walking and bus) and two days but we are finally connected. Life in the slow lane means ordinary things take a lot longer. We now have hundreds of channels for free and, of course, most of them are garbage but we do get all the UK channels and CNN and CNBC so we have more choices of an evening.

Now we are at the town of Sens on the river Yonne and the weather is sensational.  There are so many puns options with Sens so feel free. The river has been lovely with a few nice towns but most importantly we survived the locks.  This river that was bigger than the the Seine when it joined it has and interesting history.  It used to carry timber barges down to Paris and before they installed the locks they would get all the boats down the river by lowering the weirs in sequence to create an artificial flash flood that carried them helter skelter down the river.  I have not learnt how they got back up.
When they installed the locks the engineers chose the best structural choice of sloping sides, which is easier to build but not so good for the boats as the contact with the walls is below the waterline where fenders will not go.  Also the bollards are hard to get ropes on.  One of the boats we met reported they tried to sit in the middle and motor against the inrush – they managed to do a 360 in the lock.  A Welshman we met said they were lucky as he only managed a 180 and had to reverse out of the lock.  Needless to say, I was worried.  But we were fine.  We asked the lock keepers over the VHF radio if they would take our ropes and as we came in and they did, so we bumped gently up.  An other lock had a floating pontoon and in the last two we were in with a big barge and we tied up to him.
This looks like a great town with a good covered market and ABC (Another beautiful Cathedral) so we will probably stay a couple of days.  It makes Sens(e).