 |
| Stork's nest site |
Milder overnight, lots of grey clouds first thing becoming completely overcast then showers from mid-afternoon onwards. The water level on the 5 kms long pound had gone down by 9” overnight. Up bright and early to get to the lock for nine. Up lock 17 Abron (3.44m) which was already empty, the resident keeper (a man in his forties) had opened both gates for us. He put my rope on a bollard then wound the wrong side gate paddles up. There were no ground paddles (only at the bottom end) and four gate paddles at the top, so Mike put the boat in forward gear which kept it against the wall. The keeper was cheery and chatty. When we said the forecast was for four days of rain he said, no, never! A short pound of 1 km brought us to the next lock 16 Acolin (2.33m) where the resident keeper (forties with moustache) worked the lock. At least he opened the paddles on our side first! Made a cuppa as we set off en route for Decize. We passed one Locaboat on its way downhill just as we passed the only fisherman we saw on the Latéral. I yanked the cord to start the first of two automatic locks working. I got off and went to the VNF office which is alongside the lock 16bis St Maurice (2.52m) and asked the two ladies in the office if they’d got a list of the pounds to be emptied this winter. No, not yet, it will be the end of the month before they get that. OK. I lifted the blue bar to start the automatic sequence and got on the boat as Mike brought it into the lock. A young VNF man in a France football shirt stood alongside the lock, chatting as we dropped down slowly. The LeBoat hireboat base moorings looked ominously empty, just a few permanent moorers and a sign that said up to 18€ for overnight mooring!
 |
| Aster in the dry dock at Decize |
A short distance to lock 16ter Decize and a Canalous hireboat came up, I yanked the string and we went in and down on to the Loire. Quiet, nothing moving just lots of traffic on the roads. Turned the corner on to the Nivernais, noting that they’d painted the old chain tug Ampere a light grey colour all over and had moved it about 50m further down towards the weir, and that there was another Canalous in the first lock about to come down. It was 11.50 a.m. so we gave up and winded to moor (on the bottom) next to a quay by a pizzeria, a boulangerie and a little Casino market. Mike went to get some bread. The boulangerie was closed, on holiday, and the Casino closed for stocktaking. He had some brown sliced bread for lunch by way of a change. The hireboat came past at midday and the American steering it chatted with Mike as he passed. At 1.00 p.m. we shoved off the bottom and went up to the lock 35 Loire (1.51m) which was empty with both gates open. A middle aged guy with glasses took my rope (there was nowhere to get off below the lock) and worked the lock, then took all the boat details. When the lock was full I asked if there was any downhill traffic, no, then we could get through one gate – otherwise I would have opened the other gate for him. He said he had the next lock to work too, so we said see you soon and set off on the 1 km pound to Vauzelles lock 34 (2.40m). The old wooden péniche Aster was still sitting in the empty dry dock waiting for the department to find the money to bring it up to modern health and safety standards for taking passengers aboard again.
 |
| Aster in the dry dock at Decize |
There were still quite a few boats moored at St Ledger des Vines, most were permanent like the cruiser from Wolverhampton and Frank with Belle Etoile, both of whom were at Chatillon the year before; plus half a dozen DBs. Only the four at the uphill end were occupied, the rest were “dead” boats. An ex-hireboat called Ikori was moored outside Carrefour Market (Mike HAD to ask where Dikory and Dock were!!). Our keeper went past on his scooter to get the next lock ready. I stepped off below the lock and went up the steps to close the gate and catch the rope off Mike. I held the rope round a bollard while the lock filled. The keeper said his colleague had the next two locks to work. 3 kms past the Anvis rubber works and under the road and railway bridges into Champvert. Madame Co-co wasn’t at home otherwise she would have been out to say hello. A tjalk called Niets Bestending was moored by the Baudienne spring and two more boats were on the quay, Hermes (a cruiser we locked with a few days earlier) and an ex-Connoisseur hireboat called Erlanic. Guy was by his front door and so Mike shouted hello.
 |
| Aster in the dry dock at Decize |
He seemed very pleased to see us and asked if we were staying. No, off to Cercy for a few days! Two Canalous were coming down in lock 33 Champvert (2.27m) and we went up after they cleared the chamber. I took the mast down as the bridge over the tail end of the lock was a low one, then I climbed the spider-web infested muddy ladder to put our rope on a bollard. The keeper for the next two was a young man, late twenties, who also had a scooter. It started to rain as we set off on the 3.3 kms pound to Roche lock 32 (3.07m). Cyclists on the cycle piste were stopping to don waterproof bike capes. Mike put the brolly up and I closed doors and moved the mats off the front deck. The lock was ready when we got there and two men were working on restoring the old lock house, which stood alongside the little river Andarge and was built into the side of the canal bank so that the top storey of the three storey house was level with the lockside. Told the lock keeper that we would stay at Cercy for a few days and speak to Madame at the lock when we wanted to continue. Crossed the aqueduct over the Andarge and set off on the 7.7 kms pound to Cercy. Still raining. A group of fishermen were sat on the bank fishing by the picnic tables and mooring at KP10. They reeled in their livebaited rods while we passed. Just before Cercy there was a lorry loaded with gravel and a digger making a new cycle path. We arrived at the pontoon at 4.35 p.m. – just one Nicolls moored at the top end and the usual group of residents sitting out at the picnic table under the trees. Tied up, set up the TV and the electric, noting there was a new sign on the electric box that said “three days max stay on the pontoon” – that’s a nuisance we want to stay about a week! Helped Mike get the bike off and all his stuff ready. He left on the moped at 5.25 p.m. (wearing waterproofs and wellies) to collect the car from Avril. He was glad he put the waterproofs on as it rained very heavily before he reached the car.
No comments:
Post a Comment