Grey clouds, cold wind, very few glimpses of sunshine. Set off at ten as the keeper on duty opened the gates on lock 6 Villeneuve (1.75m). Both walls were sloping and there were two pontoons at the bottom end left hand side. We straddled the two pontoons and Charley came alongside. As we left the lock we spotted the hatchbacks of two cars sticking up out of the water! Where did they come from? There was no road alongside, so they must have floated downriver and sunk there. As we ran down the 5.5 kms reach it was decidedly cold so I put my windproof waterproof jacket on. There were two VNF vans on the lockside at lock 7 Etigny (1.46m) when we arrived.
We’d heard someone chatting on channel eight, it must have been them. Both lock walls were sloping and this time we only had one pontoon to tie to. Overtook Charley in the chamber and the swirling water took both of us away from the pontoon. Got it sorted and moored side by side. Chatted as we descended slowly. Mike asked the keeper if there was uphill traffic and he said yes. Shortly after we passed Anja, a tjalk we’d seen heading uphill when we were at Laroche. Must be another time share plodding up and down the river with different crews every couple of weeks. 4.5 kms to lock 8 Rossoy (1.79m) both sides sloping and only one pontoon. This time Charley tied on the pontoon and we went alongside. Left the lock at 12.10 p.m. and said we’d see the next keeper after 1.30 p.m. when his lunch break finished.
We set off to do the 4.7 kms reach slowly then spotted a new silo quay so we tied up for lunch. The concrete capping over steel piling was cabin height and extended not quite far enough down to stop the gunnels going under so Mike deployed tyres while I made sandwiches. Set off again at 1.15 p.m. noting there was another new commercial quay named Port de Gron with a 2.5m high quay wall (empty and not much used by the look of it) at KP62. We arrived at lock 9 St Bond (1.61m) around 1.40 p.m. tied on the single pontoon in the sloping sided chamber and Charley came alongside. The keeper was resident and came out from his back garden to work the lock. He had a white dog with clipped ears that looked a lot like Peter’s dog Mini and I was going to ask if she was an American bulldog but he opened the gates and disappeared into the lock office to phone ahead to say we were staying a few days in Sens, so I had no chance to ask him. A large pram fronted steel boat called Canaola went uphill as we arrived in the suburbs of Sens.
A hotel boat called Savoir Faire was moored at the downstream end of the quay, then Lara then a yacht and after a gap there was a French Tarpon cruiser from Chalon-sur-Saone. Charley went in the gap and we tried to get in but the gap wasn’t quite long enough. Nick asked the guy behind to move back a bit but he wouldn’t and his ropes were across Charley’s stern. We gave up and went to look at the moorings opposite, on the island. Charley was having trouble with the lack of mooring bollards and said they would move out and we could go on the inside, which we did – with an audience. Connected up to the electric and then had a cuppa. Gave Mike a hand to get the fizzer off just as a lockful of downhill boats arrived and most of them (LeBoats) moored downstream of the hotel boat but one moored at the uphill end and started running several cables out to the electricity post.
There were only a few of the eight sockets working so Mike said to watch out we might get unplugged. He went off to get the car and I did the log then checked the Internet which we were expecting to be 2G until we get beyond Pont-sur-Yonne - but it was blue! 3G+!! Just as it was getting dark there was a clattering on the roof (which was just slightly higher then the top of the quay). Mike went out. A bunch of youths were sitting on the park bench opposite the boat, drinking beer and one was right alongside the boat, looking very intently at our solar panels. He asked Mike about hiring boats, in very rough French. Mike was not happy, Nick was not happy either. The music was getting louder from the café bars by the bridge and that was going to go on all night as Midsummer’s Day is the French day of music. We decided to move. Untied quietly and followed Charley downriver and moored to an old silo quay, just opposite but slightly upstream of Evans Marine. It was a beautiful evening with clear skies and bright stars. We knocked pegs in next to a long line of silent railway wagons and stood outside chatting until midnight.
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