Grey and overcast, rain showers from mid morning until mid afternoon. We prepared to set off around nine. The blue widebeam called Renaissance was in the lock, 8 Beaulon (2.40m), at nine, we were too wide to lock together. Mike chatted with the American skipper off Rival while he refilled our water tank, he said he’d booked to go at nine but he’d got visitors on board and wasn’t in a rush, so he’d leave at ten. We set off at nine thirty just as hotel boat Hirondelle (French for swallow. Our second boat was called L'Hirondelle, a wooden Dawncraft cruiser that we restored and owned from 1971 to 1973) went steaming into the empty lock. (Hotel boats with passengers have priority at locks) I walked up to the lock with my locking rope to drop down to Mike. The Dutch skipper on Vertigo said my missus is up at the lock could you ask her to come back? She was helping with the lock so I took over and gave the keeper, a tall dark haired young man, a hand with the gates. When she got back to DB Vertigo they moved off the grass bank on to the quay where we’d been moored. Three American ladies got off the hotel boat Hirondelle and set off along the towpath on bikes, one had a bike with a chain that kept slipping so the young deckhand was on and off the DB to fix it for her before they left the chamber. Just after the hotel boat left the lock a Canalous Recla hireboat set off, it had been moored just above the lock. That’s it, we’re in for a slow trip! The keeper said he had to go on with the hotel boat and there was a Canalous hire boat coming down, so he ran up the non-towpath side to where another VNF man was mowing the grass to get him to come and help work the lock. The lad drove off in a VNF van and I helped the mower man to work the lock for the hire boat. The lad returned as our lock was half full. It was 10.00 a.m. as we left the top on the 4.9 kms pound. Made a cuppa. It started to rain so out came the big green brolly. As we turned the bend on to the long straight that lead up to lock 7, Bessais (2.50m), we could see Hirondelle had just entered the lock and the hire boat was hovering below having caught up with the DB. When the keeper emptied the lock we followed the Recla into the chamber. I stepped off under the tail bridge and went up the steps to drop a rope down for Mike and closed the gate behind us while the keeper closed the other. We followed the Canalous 3.6 kms to Besbre lock 6 (3.20m). Another Canalous, a Tarpon, was also waiting for the lock by the entrance to the Dompierre branch, so Mike put our boat under the bridge and I went up to give the keeper a hand work the two hireboats through and then turn the lock round. He went off to his lunch as Rival arrived and moored below the lock. I said we could probably lock together. Lunch. The keeper was back and Rival was in the lock already before one. The keeper came to find us just as I was getting off with my rope. He said the little DB was 15m long so we were OK to lock together, they’d gone right up the front of the lock chamber. The keeper filled the lock slowly. The Americans said they were going as far as Diou, spend an hour or so there before heading back down the canal as the wanted to be at Gannay for the weekend (where they were leaving the boat for the winter) then having a few days in Paris before going back to the boat to do some jobs before winter. We said we’d see them later. We stooged along the 3 kms to the mooring in Diou, looking for walnuts and not finding any. The Canalous Recla was on the mooring taking on water (and washing the boat down with drinking water) and Rival was moored at the top end of the quay. We moored at the downhill end and chatted with the crew off Rival. The hireboat left and we moved up on to the quay. I gave Mike a hand to get the bike off the roof down a plank. A couple of cruisers went past heading uphill. Rival set off back down the canal, gave us their card www.rivalsfrance.com and we wished them bon route. They hadn’t long gone when narrowboat Kells arrived, having come up from Gannay in one go. I had a brief few words with the lady skipper as I helped her tie up. She said she was tired after single handed boating all day so she went for a nap. I got on with the chores. Mike was soon back with the car. A large Belgian replica DB called LM went past heading uphill. Heaved the bike back on board. I checked to see if we’d reached 3G land yet. Nope, but we’d got a reasonable signal on 2G.
No comments:
Post a Comment