Special Times

Saint Florentin

Last week was a very special week.  Not only was the weather mostly perfect (maybe a little hot at the end) the scenery and the towns and Chateaux as wonderful as I remember them, but Caroline and Phil were here to appreciate them too.  If you read the blog for August 2012 you will see how we also  had a special time with  Audrey and Richard Hope in Paris. They had semi-adopted us into their family when we lived in London from 1978-80.  It was their fond remembrances and hilarious stories about the canals of France that stayed with us and started us on this adventure.  Sadly Audrey has passed on and Richard is lost to Alzheimer's but their spirits were with us as their daughter Carline and husband Phil joined Lilou and me on Armida in Pouilly-en-Auxois. They both brought the enthusiasm and great humor I remembered from the Hope family.  I had told them that we could start down lower and cruise slowly past the Chateau towns or higher up with more locks.  They responded “more locks please”.  So that’s what we did.

Consequently we breezed through the 26 locks down to Marigny-le-Cahouet  early enough to visit the mystical walled house that feels like it is still in the 15th Century.

The next day, with my expert crew and ace locking team, we completed 20 locks before lunch.  And we didn’t start until 9:30! Given that 4 locks an hour is normal, 8 locks an hour was amazing!  Another 10 locks after lunch to complete the locks staircase to Veneray-les-Laumes by 3pm and we aced it.

 

The next few days were more leisurely and took in the highlights of this rich in history canal including the serene and gorgeous Abbaye-de-Fontenay and the quirky and slightly weird Chateau de Tanlay as well as the bucolic scenery and charming villages.They were great guests and did so much I felt like the honoured guest.  They even braved the “clown bikes”.

The week was over all too quickly and they were off.  We all agreed it had a poignancy to it as well as a lot of fun.  I have a feeling they may come again..

We left them at Tonnere and then pottered down in the heat to Saint Florentin where we will turn around to head back up and over.  I finally got Lilou a haircut – it is supposed to be in the mid 30s this week and next and she doesn’t like the heat.  We’ll spend a day or two more here in the updated port and then take a couple of slow days back to Tonnere where there is shade in the late afternoon.  I may do some more painting before Dennis arrives from Sweden on the 10th.  At least the paint won’t take long to dry.

Saint Florentin is a very interesting little town on a hill over the Armancon river and the canal.  It is not on the tourist roadmap and has not been overly “prettied” up like many other places in France.  Nonetheless it has some charming aspects and a very local feel. Here are some photos and some others.

The carnival is setting up right next door. Time to leave.

Watching Paint Dry

Pouilly-en-Auxois

Compared to the last week and weekend this week has been like watching paint dry.  In fact I have actually been doing that.  I am taking the opportunity of a slow week here to paint around Armida’s cockpit which needed attention. Being a boat means that: 1) Everything is more expensive and 2) It takes longer.  There are a few little places where rust has appeared; this means scraping and removing as much of the rust as possible.

Treat the rust with a rust converter and wait 12 hours.  Prime the treated area with two part epoxy primer and wait 24 hours.  You get the idea.  I hope to have two top coats on before Caroline and Phil arrive on Friday.  In between coats we have been wandering around this little town at the top of the canal.  The port is on the outskirts, about 1km from the centre back down the canal to where the 3.3km tunnel emerges from under the hill.
I had hoped to watch the World Cup final in a French bar as there is one right by the port but it was closed up tight.  Rain was threatening so I watched on TV on the boat and enjoyed all the cars out with their flags and horns afterward.  Everyone is still smiling.   Symbolically it was also Bastille Day weekend complete with a Parade and a Band (right past the boat) and Fireworks in the Port on Friday Night.  Lilou was not happy and was looking over her shoulder for a couple of days. Saturday had a fishing competition for the kids, Vide Grenier  in the town (where I managed not to buy anything) more music and free aperitifs.

The week before, I left the little Port of Pont d’Ouche after a pleasant day of rain, and another watching the Friday night concert in the port  restaurant.  The “Hillbillies”  did not really play hillbilly music but quite good ‘Ol 50’s rock and roll.  They attracted the bikies on their Harleys and a ‘57 Chevy (so I had one of those “Where am I” moments),  but also families, and everyone had a good time and left in time for me to get a good nights sleep.

A half day brought Armida to a rural mooring at the foot of the hill with Chateauneuf on top, one of the iconic views on the canal.  Anyone who has driven south from Paris on the Autoroute de Soleil to the south of France will remember this Chateau magically appearing on the left as you pass over the hills of the Cote d’Or.  The mooring is far  away from the autoroute noise and a delightful place to spend two nights and a walk up the hill for an afternoon glass of Rose (for me).

Two more locks up the hill squeezed in with a 14m cruiser and only 3 bollards expanded my solo experience. This is where the Hotel boats turn around and go back down to Dijon as most can’t get through the tunnel.  Most had left so i had the port almost to myself.  The other boat was a full sized Peniche beautifully fitted out as a home with all (and I mean ALL) amenities and occupied by Tom and Lisa from Thousand Oaks next to where Tess and Tony live.   They had come up from Saint Jean de Losne and were thinking they might just sit there for the whole summer.  I don’t blame them and hope to see them there again when I come back. We had lunch in what I call the “cheap and cheerful” restaurant by the lock.  It looks like a tiny place but has a huge dining room and at 12 noon people magically appear in this otherwise deserted village and stream into the restaurant for the “menu du jour”.  After that I think they all go home for a nap – I did.

It was a small village though and I wanted to be somewhere bigger for Bastille day and decided to leave Friday and told the VNF.  They said there was a Hotel boat booked for the opening time of 9am so I should get there at 10 to.  OK.

Sure enough we were off at 9am on a beautiful day. With my crack team of lock keepers and my improved locking skills we  knocked off the 8 locks to the tunnel in an hour and 15 minute when the norm is 4 locks an hour.  Less than an hour though the tunnel – just long enough for the complete album of Dark Side of the Moon (the BEST music for tunnels) and in Pouilly-en-Axois in  plenty of time for lunch.

Last night on our after dinner walk Lilou and I passed a big barge with three couples from Melbourne and were invited on board.  While I drank a glass of wine she circulated from lap to lap (Pass the Pup) and was a big hit.  She is now officially promoted to Ambassador.
After the paint has finished drying by Friday I will do washing and cleaning in preparation for guests arrival in the afternoon.  Then Saturday we are off downhill!

In the Valley of the Ouche

Pont d’Ouche

Up to Dijon the canal crosses the flat flood plain of the Saone.  OK there were 22 locks so it’s not that flat but it is dead straight.  Dijon sits at the foot of the hills of the  Cote d’Or and the canal wends its way into those hills  by following the valley of the pretty little river Ouche.

Leaving Dijon the weed was still there but  by following the path cut by Hotel Boats I kept clear of it.  The weed

issue was on the front page of the regional paper so at least it is noticed.

This valley is very  green and pretty so is very popular with the large and exclusive hotel barges.  There are more of them than cruisers like myself and there are hardly any rental boats. Being stuck behind a Hotel Boat is a painful process and meeting one coming the other way can be interesting.  As they seem to start their Journey on Mondays I decided to set off first thing Sunday morning to get a head start.  It was another hot day and the VNF lock keepers met me at the first lock at the appointed time - 9:00am for me, 9:15 for them.  The weed cleared after about 6 locks and we made very good time.  I did a total of 21 locks and even in 34C heat did not feel stressed.  All the locks from here  on are manually operated and when there was only one lock keeper i was able to get some upper body exercise by getting off and helping to open and close the lock gates.  Most of the time there were two and they were not at all concerned with my solo status. There were two Hotel Boats warming up at the little town of Fleury so I kept going. The stop that night was a lovely little lock keepers cottage that has been converted into a B&B restaurant and small mooring. So far I have kept all my paint but the strategically placed fenders have been doing good work and acquiring some extra dirt.  My chilled Pastisse was very much appreciated.

My first guests Caroline and Phil will be meeting me at the top of the canal on the other side of the tunnel on the 20th which gives me plenty of time to potter along this stretch at my leisure.  Accordingly the next day I only did one lock to the little town of Gissey, a favorite from out trip down this canal in 2011. The buildings of the old railway line are still there.  Interesting that the line has gone but the canal it was meant to replace is still here.  They take the knitting of trees to a whole new level here.

The next afternoon we moved a little further to the town of La Bussiere where it was Armida and two hotel boats.  When you look out your window and all you can see is Wine and Water you must be in France.

This boat is owned by Max, a Frenchman and his wife Bea unlike many of the others that are owned by corporations.  Max was born into the working barge life and went to the boarding (boring) schools set up specifically for the children on bargees. Their little dog Johnny and Lilou found some time to play together.

Many places along here are the backwater of the internet and at time only had minimal cell phone service – I think you needed to know Morse code.  The next day was the 4th of July so how do you celebrate in France?  Well a nice lunch at a Chateau of course. Well actually the restored Abbey La Bussiere that does a relatively reasonable and lovely lunch in the garden side restaurant.  Lilou was a big hit and was interviewed by a coupe making a popular Video Log of the region.  When we left I let her off to run around the beautiful grounds and she promptly turned around and ran back to the restaurant for more attention

Rain had been forecast starting on Monday but although the clouds circled and occasionally came close with some welcome breeze is had stayed in the 30s. Wednesday we moved along to the cozy little port of Pont d’Ouche (where they have internet) and the clouds started closing in.  A big black mass of cloud went by to our west and the thunder rumbled continuously for 2 1/2 hours but fortunately for Lilou we only got some rain and a couple of flashes of lightning. The next day was cool and rainy, nice excuse to hang about in our lovely cozy boat.

Here is another addition to my collection of weird watercraft of Europe.

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?

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.