Grey clouds, humid, sunny later. Mike went for bread from the van outside the boulangerie which was closed for holidays. I did the last of the ironing. Set off around ten to ten, us in the lead. Mike laid out coax cables to see if the echo sounder would work properly if he changed location of the coax (which is in the roof and being affected by the solar panels) It worked OK. Another job, shift the coax and run it along the wall back of all the furniture! Out of the seven hireboats and one private boat that stayed in Mailly overnight (besides us) all but two hireboats and the private cruiser called Lara (French) had gone. It was 2 kms to the first lock, 65 Sery (1.45m) which was empty with both bottom end gates open. Diana hopped off to find the keeper. A young man with a little black dog worked the lock for us, with a little help. A short pound, 1 km, to lock 66, St Maur (1.82m) and a very shy young lady worked the lock, again we assisted. A short river section with a long unguarded weir 1.4 kms to 67, Dames (1.85m) where two hire boats had just come up the lock and were coming through the bridge. We went slowly through the low bridge and spotted we’d caught up with a hire boat also going downhill. A young lad was working the lock with no assistance from the hireboat crew. I got off to give a hand. I got there as he was closing the bottom end gates so I lifted a paddle at the top end, he lifted the other one then went in the old house (unoccupied) to radio the next lock that it had traffic coming down. The ladder was at the back end of the lock so Mike wound a paddle and got back on and Diana opened the bottom end gate when the lock was empty. The liftbridge below was one that used to tilt to allow access for tow ropes. 2.3 kms to the next via a river setion, through a flood lock, no 68, at Prégilbert then back on to the canal to lock 69 Ste Pallaye (1.58m). The hire boat in front was waiting above the lock as Patricia, a small Luxe hotel boat was coming up in the lock. I went to give the young lad a hand with the lock. Another hire boat came up, crewed by elderly German men from Munich. I helped work the lock and advised the guys on the hireboat that if they were on their own in a lock they needn’t go up to the top end gates, they could stay at the back where it’s calmer. As they left they gave me 40c tip for working the lock! I’m not the keeper – the lad is and I handed him the tip! Chatted with the lad about British canals as he’d heard me tell the Germans that there were no lock keepers in the UK. It was just midday as we left the lock. The layby below the lock looked weedy so we passed on that and went to moor above the next, lock 70 St Aignan (1.71m). A small hireboat was attached to the only bollard so we moored behind him tied to a mooring pin with our centre rope and Charley came alongside. Lunch. I got off and went to help the keeper refill the lock. Charley went in first, Mike shut the top end gate and Diana did the honours with the bottom end as they had the ladder. Past the canal d’Accolay which leads to Vermenton and after a very short river section with a weir to the right of the lock we were at lock 71 Maunoir (1.34m). The keeper, a man in his thirties, had kept the hire boat waiting and insisted that Charley went down with it.
Mike had heard the previous keeper was on VHF and found him on channel 10 so he told him we were travelling together but he still insisted. We waited above while he refilled the lock. Sat at the bottom end and while we waited for the hireboat I made a cuppa. The hireboat crew tied both ropes to the bollards wrapping the rope round and round. Fortunately they saw that wasn’t a very good thing to do and unwrapped them before the lock emptied. Mike said he wouldn’t help the keeper but he relented and did. I shoved over to the left hand wall where the ladder was to pick him up. Charley had carried on down to the basin at Cravant where we planned to stay for the next two wet days (according to the Météo and Nick’s weather station). The mooring was not very good. A hireboat was tied next to rocks, three old pontoon hireboats full of kids were tied in the corner (they left shortly afterwards) and Charley had a very short bit of high wall. We sat alongside while we pondered what to do. The hireboat we’d locked with tried mooring at the bottom end of the basin and we could hear it clobbering the rocks. We decided to moor by the towpath opposite the basin and wriggled in between rocks on the bottom along the edge. It was hot as we knocked pins in along the piling. Gave Mike a hand to unload the bike. He went to get the car and run back to Coulanges to get some capacitors from Delta Ohm – they didn’t sell components! I set the TV up. Charley came over to moor behind us, stern to stern again. Put the laptop on and tried the Internet. To my great surprise it was blue! 3.6Mbps! Wow! The phone was back on too! Hello, we must be back in civilisation!! I even had an hour on Ancestry – the first since 15th May.
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