Sunny, warm with a slight breeze. Summer returns at last! Puebla went past heading downhill, empty, so we set off half an hour later at 10.45 a.m. following Charley down to lock 10 St Martin (1.93m). Dornecy (the time-share we last saw heading off on two weeks holiday from Auxerre) came up the lock then we went down. There was a vertical wall on the weir side which was lucky because a LeBoat with a Swiss crew had just come roaring downriver to join us. The hireboat overtook as we left the lock and set off like a rocket downriver. Below the lock there was a group of fishermen, waving and lifting trouser legs - thumbing a ride!! Oooh-la-la, too hairy!! We caught up with the LeBoat above lock 11 Villeperrot (1.86m) waiting for a commercial to come up. I made a cuppa. A 750 tonner (we think, there were no dimensions on the boat that we could spot) Maritime from Conflans, left the lock and we all went in.
No pontoon and both walls were sloping so the hireboat and Charley went on the right and had the breeze keeping them off the wall and we had the left hand wall, put our centre rope round a bollard and stood with boat shafts at each end to keep the boat off the slope. The lock keeper, a very large rotund bloke, started the lock emptying and went indoors. Mike said we ought to complain to VNF about lock keepers doing that, he’s the only one with access to a stop button in case of emergency. It was 12.31 p.m. as we left the lock and wished the keeper bon apetit, one minute into his lunchtime! 4.5 kms to Pont-sur-Yonne. The hireboat was off like a shot. We followed Charley downriver. When we arrived at Pont-sur-Yonne the hireboat and a British cruiser from Chicester had got most of the pontoon. Charley took the downstream end and we moored alongside. Lunch. Mike wanted to watch the French game (they’re going to lose to South Africa and get sent home) and I put the laptop on to do the log, photos, etc. Left moving the car until the next day. No Internet again!!
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