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| Mooring at Diou |
Warm and sunny with a good breeze blowing. Clear blue sky first thing clouding over as the day progressed. Mike went to the boulangerie for a loaf (expensive 1,15€) before we set off at 10.15 a.m. The hireboat that had been in front of us on the quay overnight had left before nine heading uphill. It was quiet and peaceful on the 4kms to the first lock, the only people about were Sunday morning dog walkers. As we went through the bridge on the turn to the final straight below lock 5 Putay (2.50m) we could see a Canalous moored below the lock and a Locaboat was fast catching up. Mike decided the Loca wasn’t coming past to shut us out of the lock so he increased speed. (We’ve had it happen before where a boat will force past immediately before a lock and then there isn’t enough space left for us, ignorant or what? Damned car drivers!) The keeper, a man in his fifties, opened the gates and the Canalous went in, timed just right for us to follow in behind him. The Loca looked as if it was going to try to get in the chamber too. I went up the steps with a rope to drop down to Mike. The lock keeper thought I was off the Loca and said he couldn’t get three in the lock.
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| Disused bottom end ground paddle (tambour) at lock 5 Putay, canal lateral a la Loire |
I pointed out that I had a rope to drop down to our boat and the penny dropped. The same keeper did the next lock. As we left he said he would let the Loca through the lock (it was doing pirouettes below) and then come up to let us through lock 4 Theil (2.50m) which he did. The skipper off the Canalous wound a top end gate open on lock 5 and I did the same on lock 4. I told the keeper we would be at lock 3 at 1.00 p.m. as we were heading for Coulanges. We arrived at Pierrefitte and spotted Goede in the layby so we had a quick change of plan and moored behind our old friends. John and Lizanne came out to take ropes and invited us on board for a drink. John volunteered to drive Mike down to Diou to get our car. Meanwhile I had a look at Lizanne’s new bedroom as John had done some renovation and the bed was now in the middle of the cabin with headboard against the wheelhouse bulkhead and lots of storage underneath in drawers. Very, very nice. She said he’d taken a lot of persuasion to demolish his previous handiwork! The men returned and we all sat out on the back cabin roof in the sunshine and had a glass of wine or two. Some friends of theirs from Roanne arrived when the locks reopened after lunch so we all gave a hand to get them moored in front of Goede and we bid them bon appetit as the skipper, Nigel, had been slaving over a hot wok all morning (he said) to make them all a curry. Mike set the TV up and finished putting all the stuff away that we use when cruising. Later the French weather forecast said rain tomorrow and then OK for the next two, but our weather station said rain for three days – it will be interesting to see which proves right!
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