Friday 2nd July 2010 Bray-sur-Seine to Nogent-sur-Seine. 25.3 kms 4 locks

Very hot and sunny. Mike went for bread first thing. An empty 80m tanker called Elton went upstream as we were getting ready to set off at 9.40 a.m. Untied, winded and followed Charley upriver at five to ten. We had a short wait while the keeper emptied Jaulnes lock 9 (1.27m) as the commercial was steaming off into the distance round the first bend above the lock. The lock cabin and walkways had been trimmed with horizontal slats of wood. 6 kms of meandering river to the next lock. We kept drinking lots of water as we were very hot even with a light breeze and the canopy up. Both banks of the river were lined with wooden chalets, some small - others palatial, as we went past the hidden village of Neuvry, as far as the big left bend where a conveyor bridge took aggregates from a depot on the right bank creating lots of dust. Among the chalets one had a medium sized cruiser moored (which was for sale) named Foreign Affair from Falmouth. 

The cars parked by the wooden house were all Paris registered. A lady who had forgotten to put on the top of her bright red bikini came out of the house and went into the underground garage. First topless female of the year. Upstream of the conveyor bridge we met a tug and pan coming downriver. Little 15m tug Pacifique was pushing a big square pan (named Esturgeon) loaded with gravel. Around a dozen ten year olds were splashing in the river edge and screeching as they kicked water at one another at  the little beach in front of a playground at Gisly-sur-Seine. A lone male adult kept watch. The next lock, Vezoult 8 (1.16m) was another new one and ready for us with gates open so we sailed in. 

Below the lock on the lock waiting area a loaded péniche pusher pair were moored, Stewen and Syldo, ready to set off downriver but no one on board. One sloping wall of the old lock remained on the left with its lock house. We moored either side of the lock at the back. The young man who pressed the buttons leaned out of his window to bid us au ‘voir as we left. A couple of gently winding bends took us to lock 7 Villiers-sur-Seine. It was 12.35 p.m. so we assumed they were having lunch and moored to the shady side in front of Charley. We’d just started eating when the keeper appeared. It was 12.50 p.m. We yo-yo’d back and forth on our single rope as we rose 2.53m. The lock lead on to a new canal section which bypassed the tortuous bands of the river. 

I was getting too much sun sitting on the stern (Mike had the shady side) so I retreated into the cabin and put a 12v fan on. Lock 6 Melz (1.37m) was ready for us (same keeper from 7, drove up in his van). We went either side at the rear end of the chamber. The keeper came to chat and give us a tourist leaflet for Nogent, advertising the new mooring and its facilities. He asked if we had Internet as he had a blog – www.lockkipper.skyrock.com/blog - so I gave him my card and wrote our blog address on it. He asked if we minded if he put pictures of our boat on his blog, which was all about his bit of the river. Through the open flood lock at the end of the canal section and back on to the river which had been straightened. On our left a tankership, 65m Bilitis, was loading at a new fuel depot. On into Nogent past Deo-Date loading grain and Arsene waiting. Two large container-moving  forklift trucks were moving Chinese containers on the quay. A pair of 45m pushers, Lamisere and My Boat were loaded and ready to leave. The quay upstream said it was “submersible” and keep 1.5m away from it – it was empty although it had the regulation blue P for parking signs, as was the original old stone quay by the car park downstream of the mill and weir. We followed Charley into the left hand branch of the river around Ile Olive and into our last lock, 4 Nogent. As no commercials come this far upriver it hadn’t been modernised although it had vertical walls. Two young men worked the manual lock, taking our ropes in the deep chamber (2.92m), winding capstans to close the gates then opening the paddles using railway signal box type levers. The lock was wider than standard Freycinet (which are 38m long x 5,20m wide) as we had plenty of room to stay side by side at the rear end of the chamber. One of the lads gave us the ‘phone number to ring to go back down. Moored in the weir stream behind La Chouette (a little tjalk was moored upstream of the quay under the trees, kids swimming in the river) and Bob came out to take a rope. Charley moored alongside and Mike connected up to the electricity box after Bob opened it for them with his key. Keys were available from the campsite upriver for a returnable deposit. Very hot. Much too hot to cook so I made a salad for dinner with some wild Alaskan salmon (out of a tin). No TV, either satellite or terrestrial French TV.