On the way

Wednesday I stripped Armida down for single handed cruising and set off.

Turns out single handed going up is a breeze.  After I had my public shaming in the fist lock at Saint Jean de Losne where I tried stretching between distant bollards and ended up angled across the lock (no big deal anyway with the right fenders) I just tied up to the closest bollards in the next locks.  A couple of adjustments to take up the slack as she went up and that was it.  Now the thing about France in general and locks in particular: just when you think you have it figured out ……….

We cruised half way to Dijon and stopped by the side of the canal.

What was more of a problem was the weed.  No problems getting out of the weed infested marina, the problem was in the locks going up the canal where the weed that had been cut further up was swirling in the locks and finding its way into my cooling water intake where it was just the length and consistency to clog the inlet pipe before even getting to the filter.  After the fist day of having to use pliers to pry the weed out of the pipe about every lock I realized that the answer was to minimize running the engine in the locks. Here is our first days takings.

 

Out of the locks the weed returned to its rightful place, on the bottom or on the surface; only in the locks was it mixed up.  So the next day I cut the engine immediately in the lock and started it just before leaving and cruised slowly out.  That reduced my cleaning interval to about every 5 or 6 locks.  I am told that the weed abates one day travel north from here in Dijon.  Phew!

Dijon is a beautiful city and just keeps getting better, except the port where no one can agree who is in charge so nothing gets done.  The weed is bad here too, there is not water and electricity except for the hotel boats and the dilapidated pontoons that are full of permanent, down at heel craft.  The one quay over this side is shaded and lovely with people sitting on the benches all day.  The kiosks they put in four years ago for water and electricity don’t work. Oh well.  It is still a lovely spot.

And someone gets their kicks by coming by late at night and casting boats off.  It has happened to two boats since I have been here.  Not a big deal as there is no where to go.  One woke up after a quiet nights sleep to have gone about 10m into a patch of weed.  Another was awakened at a reasonable hour by their new neighbor they had  drifted down next to. Tonight is Saturday just after the French have beaten Argentina in the world cup so we’ll see where I wake up tomorrow.

As there are no services here, rain is forecast for next week and I am more confident in my locking capabilities I will set off tomorrow into the Ouche valley heading for the summit of the canal.

Unthreading the Needle

Saint Jean de Losne


Lilou and I arrived in France safely, made the connection to the train from the Gare de Lyon to Dijon with no problem and arrived nicely rested, until I discovered the rental car office was closed.  It was Sunday and I realized that in the to and fro booking the flight and trying to avoid the French train strikes I had neglected to rent a car online which would have reminded me that the rental car offices were closed on Sundays.  No problem, I got a hotel and had a restful afternoon in Dijon, booked a car for Monday morning and arrived rested and fresh at the boatyard. A couple of days getting the covers off, the water on, some touch ups below and around the water line and we were in the water.
That is after they managed to extract Armida from her very tight berth.  Guy, the expert crane operator and expert in general lifted in a boat before us and left the apprentice to maneuver the dolly under the boat.  After about 40 minutes and a 50+ point turn Guy finally rescued the hapless operator, unhooked the dolly and lined it up manually.  And then we were out –  and in!
 
A day of getting the engine going (10 seconds, she started right up) the toilet tested and other systems organized and we motored down one lock and into the marina.
Which was full of weed and not the now legal (some places) kind. This year has been very bad and they have not figured out how to deal with it.  Some people think it is an invasive species that came in a boat’s water filter, others think it is climate change, it may well be both.  Apparently there is a herbicide that will kill it and is safe but is GMO so the French won’t use it.  Dredging the port below 2m would eliminate it but because of the old industry here the bottom is contaminated so the dredgings need to be carted away.  In the mean time we wait.  At least it doesn’t smell like it did last year.  But many people have problems with toilet inlets getting clogged, engines cooling and bow thrusters blocked and other issues. I snuck into a mooring where a  boat just left, taking the weed with him.  But soon  I will have to leave too.

So far no surprises and I have been proceeding with the normal boat projects and catching up with the boating community.  Lilou has been coping well without Rosie and getting her unfair share of attention.  She had her photo taken three times in Dijon – me? 0! She is catching up on the French news by getting her aromatic messages left by he French dogs which makes walks very slow with all the stops.  There are the usual rounds of drinks of the boats – “Will you bring the dog?” It’s a good thing she is here. 
Sunday was the annual Pardon of the Mariners ceremony on the Quay at Saint Jean de Losne.  It is the center of the French waterways so the ceremony was attended by mucky-mucks from the local government as well as a Senator and the Director of the VNF, the agency in charge of all the inland waterways.  The “ceremony” was in fact a full Catholic Mass and as I didn’t understand it and all the Hymns were sung by a musical group in a French folksy style it was a little like attending a musical show in a foreign language – on the river.  Overall quite entertaining.  At the end the Bishop went up and down the river blessing the boats.  So us mariners were both blessed and pardoned, not a bad deal.  Afterward there were rowing races, a boat parade, music and beer. And, of course, fireworks.
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In order not to offend the canal gods I will obey the 2 week rule and aim to leave Tuesday or Wednesday heading up the Canal de Bourgogne to Dijon.  I had originally thought to go up the Saone and into the Canal de Vosges but further investigation showed that access for my guests would be very hard.  So I have decided to revisit the Burgundy Canal that we loved in 2011.  There are 21 locks uphill to Dijon and this will tell me how well I can manage solo and help me plan where to meet my visitors/crew later in the trip. Wish me luck.  What could go wrong?