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.