A hot sticky night. Hot and sunny, clear skies until late evening when the clouds built up. Set off 9.45 a.m. Mike undid all the ropes and started the engine – I thought we were going at ten. Followed Charley down to the last lock on the Yonne, 17 Cannes-Ecluses (2.32m) which was full with gates open. Both sides were sloping and there was no pontoon, so we put a rope on a bollard and fended off the slope with boat shafts. Ten minutes later we were on our way downriver following Charley. Just below the lock a fisherman using a spinner was fishing right by the Pêche Interdite - No Fishing - sign. Bayard (85m x 9.5m 1705 tonnes) was loading at the grain silo. Just beyond that was a slipway and a small scrapyard where they were breaking up old boats. Nick decided to have a look in the old gravel pit on the right hand bank as he’d seen the anchored yachts and said he hadn’t seen them last time he was there. We’d got it noted in our book from ’94 as being a small yacht club.
The water was deep, 5m, with some very long weeds reaching to the surface. In the corner were a couple of small Dutch Barges moored at anchor and a man was working on a small Dutch tug, then a row of anchored yachts and a small pontoon with moored yachts and dinghies. We exited and carried on down to Montereau. Tied next to Charley on the long pontoon between a wrecked yacht (see photo, local kids were playing on it) and two permanent moored boats. Filled our water tanks and Diana did some washing. I did ironing and then made lunch. Nick had been exploring and spotted a fancy new Capitanerie, a notice on the door said they were closed Mondays and gave an address to go to to pay mooring fees of 16€ per night for boats over 12m! So it’s not a free Port Autonome de Paris mooring now. After lunch at 1.30 p.m. we wandered on our way (we weren’t stopping anyway, but certainly not at that price - and with a load of small lads playing on the wrecked yacht) We carried on downriver a bit on the Seine to check what other moorings there were available. Lots of moored boats, houseboats and péniches plus a few plaisance. Not much room but a space on the end next to a vertical wall might be OK when we come back. Winded to go upriver as Loyau, a loaded péniche came down the Seine. Ten minutes later a group of three went past, all loaded and the big boats were sweeping down the gunnels as if they’d only just loaded. Péniche Ariane, followed by 60m boats Vrizy and Beluga. A little further on Mackenzie from Poses (last lock on the Seine) was being unloaded with a JCB and just upstream of that pusher Vitava and Praha were being loaded with gravel from a conveyor. Next boat down was a loaded péniche called Pen-Duic from St Mammés. We had a short wait (nowhere to tie up, so we hovered mid river) below lock 13 Marolles (2.78m) while 60m loaded barge Sitalise
(painted an eye-wateringly bright orange, yellow and green) came down the lock. A sign on the end of the lock said pleasure boats must not go forward of the halfway point of the lock. The lock cabin, atop a flight of steps, was halfway down the lock. We took the second set of bollards recessed into the wall and Charley came in behind us. Used both ends of the rope to go up the wall, looping the end on to the higher bollard before the lower one was level with the roof. A keeper came down to take SSR numbers and asked where we were going – just above the lock. Empty Dutch boat Unicum, 50m x 5.07m 450 tonnes, was waiting on the wall above to come down, he went in as we left. There was a long, long line of houseboats and péniches moored above the lock on the right. We carried on beyond the last couple of old cruisers and tied to some piled bank at 3.15 p.m. as several loaded boats went past heading for the lock. We bounced about a while from the wash of one that didn’t slow off. Tied to stumps of old trees. Couldn’t get the satellite to work – too many trees - no Corrie!! Hot and very sticky. Loads of commercial traffic passing until beyond closing time. Four arrived and moored on the opposite bank on the lock approach.
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