North by the Nivernais

(Threading the Needle)

Leaving the brand new and friendly port of Decize we crossed the Loire by actually motoring along it for about 1.2km and entered the canal du Nivernais, Our first stop was a convenient mooring right by  Carrefour and E.Leclerc supermarkets where we stocked up for our trip into the “wilderness”, and then we were off.

The Nivernais is the Cinderella of the canal system being created as a navigation canal from what was a timber floating network for Paris. It was never converted to the Freycinet “standard” so the locks are a little narrower and shorter, and it lost its commercial traffic in the seventies, earlier than most. It has survived because it is one of the prettiest canals in the system and a favourite of the rental boats and hotel boats.  This means that the authorities have let its dimensions shrink to accommodate “most” of it’s users and we are an outlier.  When we were shopping for boats this canal was on our minds and bought the most comfortable boat that would fit – just.  The French specs are somewhat flexible it turns out so we are threading the needle to fit in as we go along.  The official minimum depth is 1.4m but we are just over 1.1m and about a quarter of the time the depth sounder is reading 0 or more scarily *.* and its accuracy is confirmed by the occasional bump on the keel or sideways slither.

 

The bridges are arched and many are well below the 3.5m that are the supposed norm for the rest of the canals (there is another blog post hiding there) with some posted as low as 2.7m.  Armida is 3.49m with the bimini up (easy to get up and down), 3.45m with the canopy (I’m now told the real term is cabriolet which sounds much fancier, but it can come down easily but we have to stand up to drive when it is ) and 2.92m to the top of the windshield, which can come down with some exertion.  So our current mode of travel is with the Cabriolet (said in a snotty voice) removed and the bimini up for the shade, but it get’s dropped if the bridges look threatening. So far so good but the screwdrivers may still have to come out for the windshield and we hope we don’t have to call in the tugs if we get stuck on the bottom.

But I digress.  Despite, or because of, these differences the canal, so far, is enchanting.  There are no roads nearby, lovely views over the fields to the hills frequent Chateau in the distance, and the weather has been great for the two days so far . There are more in the forecast which will make the covering arrangements interesting. 

We are still on the south side of the hills, climbing out of the Loire valley before going into the summit tunnels and into the headwaters of the Yonne; see last years posts for more on that river.

The locks here are all manual with lockkeepers for each lock with their own cottages.  Most take pride in their cottages and coordinate their color schemes and also their gardens.  Rosie and Lilou really appreciate this aesthetic.

But,this being July, most of the lock keepers get to take their long holidays and are replaced by students who are friendly and often want to practice their English.  This pair even decided that matching outfits were in order.