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?

Solo Summer Cruising–with Friends

We had a wonderful southern Summer in Sydney this year and a grand time with the Grandchildren but Terry decided that she needed a break from three continents every year.  So she is going to nest at home in San Luis Obispo this summer while Lilou and I adventure on the canals on Armida.

To help me out I have invited/cajoled/convinced several friends to join us for a week at a time.  I have not really cruised solo before so extra hands in the locks (particularly going up) will be helpful.

My first thought was to head up the Petite Saone and the Canal des Vosges which we have not completed before but further investigation showed that access by train for my helpers would be very hard.  Now I am thinking of revisiting the Burgundy Canal which we enjoyed so much in 2011 and its 198 Locks will give my helpers plenty to do.

Of course  all plans are subject or destined to change and a survey of local conditions and opinions when I arrive in Mid June will help decide.  I will let you know then.

Ending up High and Dry

San Luis Obispo.

We reviewed our options in Dole and decided we did not have enough time left to go anywhere interesting in the boat so we headed back to Saint Jean de Losne, stopped at the quay to do all our laundry and ended up in the marina in Blanquarts to begin the end of season chores.

Engine Hours:                55
Kilometres Travelled:   272
Number of Locks:           85
Of course, the minute we stopped cruising the crisp, sunny Autumn weather we had hoped for returned at full force.  Not much to do in Saint Jean except visiting other boats and watching French fishing techniques.
We got the boat chores done, Armida lifted out and placed next to Il Largo who we first moored next to in 2011. With a few extra days we rented a car and took a few days to get to Paris.

Here are a few pictures, starting with the Valley of Baume les Messieurs.

The surprising town of Troyes were the center has more half-timbered houses than anywhere in France.

The spread of farmland near the Marne valley.

No more travelling for Armida this year.  More next year.

Beyond Besancon and Back

Dole.

Whoever flipped the switch last time to end summer only left it there for a few days before pushing hard over towards winter. I finished my bottle of Ricard which was the perfect 5 o’clock aperitif for the summer just after it got cooler.  No need to replace it.

We had a few nice days into Besancon and up the river beyond where the cliffs got steeper, the hills got greener and villages started looking more Swiss/German.  Besancon is still impressive with the massive Citadel dominating the town.  It has continued to improve over our visits and is now very clean and well organized – even the graffiti.

We cruised up as far as Baume les Dames, named because of the Abbey. There is a Baume les Messieurs for the men's abbey but it is 100km away, just to be safe.  This is where the weather turned and we decided there was not enough of interest with poor weather and the limited time we had so we turned around and headed back.  We came out of one lock to find a yacht stuck in the middle of the river. We did the good deed and helped pull them off.  Two days later we helped a cruiser stuck above the weir in Besancon.  Paying it forward we hope.

Back in Besancon we met up with friends, Martin and Wilma from Sydney who had come from Granada where they are spending a year.  We had lovely afternoon cruising down to the weir when the weather cooperated and a day more to Dole when it didn’t.  We think they had a good time as the weather was a lot cooler than Granada.

In case you forgot, we are in France.

Now we are in Dole, Martin and Wilma have gone and the weather is supposed to improve.  Only a couple of weeks left.

A French Shrug.

Armida uses propane for cooking and heating and we keep a spare tank on the swim platform. The main one ran out about 10 days into the season and because it is a short season I decided not to replace it.  A couple of days ago the pressure looked a little low and the bottle felt light so it seemed prudent to get a new one as running out of gas away from a marina in the cold weather would not have been fun.

Yesterday we walked the 1km to the Geant Casino supermarket for groceries and I checked the gas bottle stand by the fuel pumps and noted that the lady who collected payment from the non-automatic pumps sold the gas bottles.  So today I loaded the empty bottle on the trolley and trekked over there before the forecasted rain arrives. The little booth was closed up tight even though the sign said opening hours were from 9:00 and it was 9:40.  Into the supermarket services office where I was politely informed the Gas was “closed  Tuesdays”!.  But of course, who would buy Gas on a Tuesday?  Now i have today’s exercise done and tomorrow’s organized.

The Switch is Flipped

By the weir at Torpes.
Last year, in Lyon, the switch that turned on summer was flipped at 11:30 on June 21st.  Before then was a very wet spring and afterwards was a very hot summer.  This year it appears the switch for Autumn was flipped at 3:45 on Sept 1st and this years very hot summer was turned off..  In Dole, the heavens opened and wind blew for enough time to get me completely soaked on the way back to the boat. Now the very hot days are gone (to California it seems) and lovely mild days and cool nights seem  to have settled in, hopefully for a while.
Which makes it perfect weather for taking our time and cruising slowly up the Canal du Rhon au Rhin, even though we have cruised this route more than any other. It doesn’t have the history and charming villages of some other canals but its gentle meandering along the valley of the Doubs (pron. doo) in and out of the river is lovely.  We are now at the weir near Torpes which is one of our favorite spots, spending the day watching the birds feeding (looks like the French lunch time now – no-one there) and the fish surfing the current.  A walk is planned later. Tomorrow we will potter up to Besancon and decide what is next.
Here are a few photos and stories from the last week.

You have probably seen those “trompe  l’oeil” murals on blank building sides in Europe that, at first glance look like. inhabited buildings. There were  many fine examples in Lyon last year.  This one is being done in Dole.  it is no small exercise.

Meanwhile, across the canal from the mooring they were setting up for a weekend car rally with classics from the 60’s and 70’s including my youthfull folly, a 1970’s Alfa 1750 GTV. They set off one by one at about 9am  the the lot was reserved for the weekend so there must have been many activities planned

That Saturday we motored to a lovely mooring below the cliffs at Rochefort sur Nenon where, during a sunny spell, a wedding party showed up with horns blaring and lights flashing as they do in France. It was the photo shoot and everyone had their photo taken while champagne was sipped.  Towards the end the photographer and bride and groom approached and asked us if they could pose in front on the boat. “No problem, would you like to come on board”.  A Titanic moment followed

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The next night we stopped in Ranchot where, on the Monday morning, both the bakeries in the town were closed.  This must be a crime of negligence in this country and may have explained why people seemed so unfriendly that day.  We left quickly and stopped at Dampier, the next village, for an emergency bakery run.  On the way I chanced upon Elizabeth who we had chatted with in Dole three days earlier and was visiting her brother.  After we chatted, I completed my mission and got back the boat to find her and her brother Lucien asking if they could ride a little way on the boat.  “Pas de problem”.  A little local color – they were both born and raised in the village and he was the local priest, now retired.  He once walked, with a donkey, all the way to Bethlehem.  I asked how he got back?.  “By plane”.  No word of the donkey.  Lovely people and they enjoyed their ride.

Bugnados!  Those columns are bugs swirling above certain bushes.

We still love it at the weir.

Beginning! Beginning Again! –Slowly.

Choisey

I have concluded that we have attempted to break the First Celestial Law of Boating – the two week law. Now this is a law I just made up but it is based on reviewing our cruising log and noticing that we have never left  in less than two weeks of arriving at the beginning of the season.
Much as we tried, this year was no exception.
Friday, we were ready but when I opened the door to the engine and clipped it with the retaining rope (the strut is still  lost in the French post) the cooling system was empty and the bilge was full, so Friday was spent tracking down places I had not tightened properly after replacing the impeller.
Saturday we set off and had a nice but hot cruise into the Rhon au Rhin  canal to the lovely mooring at Choisey where we sat out in the balmy evening watching the hot air balloons float by and enjoying being underway at last.
  
Not so fast the cruising gods said. The next morning the battery voltage was down to 20V indicating aging batteries unable to hold charge. That morning the cruise was back to the marina in beautiful (for us) overcast, cooler weather with light rain to sit out Sunday until the office opened the next morning.
Blanquarts marina had our great big (and expensive) 230AH batteries in stock so by 11:30 we were underway on Monday, exactly two weeks after we arrived! 
The cruising gods had one little joke left as we were soon found ourselves in the canal  behind the Hotel boat “Jeannine”.  Hotel boats have priority in the locks and in the narrow part of the canals they go V E R Y slowly, around 3 km/hour.  The slowest we can go in idle is 5 km/hr so we spent the (hot again) day in and out of gear getting back to Choisey.  We would have stopped and waited but the only available mooring on that stretch of the canal was full.  The trip of 19.4km and 7 locks took 6 hours whereas gpomg back to SJL the day before was 3.7 hours.  Good thing we don’t have any place we have to be.

Now we are back at Choisey and the batteries had a good night.  It is hot again (34C, 96F) so we will stay here one more night and move into Dole tomorrow (Wednesday) before it is forecast to rain heavily for a day or two and the temperature to drop into the 20sC (70sF) where we hope it will stay for the rest of the month.  It has been hot most of the time so far. Terry does not like the heat but she copes the best she can.

We have a visitor who arrived this morning and doesn’t want to leave; he has bands on his legs so he must have a home he can go to. Personally I am offended that, after all our cleaning and polishing ,the boat is mistaken for a pigeon  coop.

This post may sound like a list of complaints but they are more like “adventures” and we are enjoying ourselves.  The “two week rule” may be a way of ensuring that we slow down and get properly into the rhythm of the rivers. I think we’re there.

Setting up for setting off.

Saint Jean de Losne
We have been back in France a little over a week now and it is good.
The long flight from LA and the 4 hour drive from the airport to the boat left us all exhausted – even the dogs who slept all the way anyway. Armida was in the water on the canal side and it was not much effort to get the toilet working and the bed made.  A stumble through the supermarket obtained the essential supplies and we crashed for the night. The next morning the routine returned with the croissant and the pain au chocolat
A couple of days and we had the water tanks full and hot water on board, basic cleaning done, the fenders returned to their ideal (learnt by experience) positions, the sides cleaned and polished, the wine cellar stocked and things generally ship shape, almost.  Last year I replaced the impeller in the pump that supplies river water to the cooling system as it had been there six years and it seemed like a good time.  Well the new one worked for the season but that was enough, so I had to do it again, not my favorite job.  Also the gas strut that stops the 60kg access door to the engine from closing and crushing me decided 30 years was long enough, so we are waiting for a new one to arrive from the UK.

 
A point of discussion has been what flag to fly this year in uncharted political times, we are happy with our choice.

Time to move around to the marina and immerse ourselves in the social scene.
It is an odd year (like everywhere now) with a very hot May, June and early July leading to lower water levels in the canals but rain has helped that.  Since we have been here it has been in the high 20sC, up to 30C (86F) with a little rain – quite nice.
This will be a very short season for us and it appears we are not the only ones. Some people are coming (returning from their cruising) and others are going (like us) but for now we are all here in the marina at Saint Jean de Losne and it is already time to replenish the wine cellar.
Our plan, of sorts, is to head up the Canal du Rhone au Rhin, past Dole and Besancon that we know well into new territory.  We will go until it is time to come back. Sound like a good plan?
There are so many New Zealanders here that if we don’t leave soon we will start talking with a Kiwi accent so we hope to leave by Friday – if the part arrives?