Revin to Charleville-Mézières

Wednesday 29 June 2016

40.2 kilometres, 7 locks, 7 hours 50 minutes (including delays).

True to plan we set off at 08h30 with the first ‘automatic’ lock just ahead of us – automated it might be but it still is only switched on at 09h00 so we sat and waited for 20 minutes until the lights came on. The Australians who had been moored but one behind us at Revin arrived at just before 09h00 on their lovely three year old Linssen Genevieve and we locked through the next two locks together.

At the Deville lock we noticed a small yacht, seemingly stuck, with its occupants waving for assistance. Trevor suggested that they would help the yacht as they had an extra pair of hands on board and that we should carry on through the lock, which we did but we waited after exiting until the ‘rescue’ had been completed. Apparently the Danish couple had been waiting for the lock to open and had done a ‘loop’ to avoid the cross-current and had hit a mud bank, sticking fast. They looked quite precarious heeling over with the rushing weir not a hundred meters away.

Oops!

Rescue about accomplished

We stayed one lock apart from Genevieve all the way to Charleville-Mézières – much quicker for both of us.

Port de Plaisance Montherme

Trevor and Jenny (both retired medical doctors [they retire them young in Oz!]) invited us aboard for drinks that evening where we shared much hilarity with them and Jenny’s brother Marshall and his wife Den. And the Danish yachties Per and Anna arrived and were very pleased to relieve us of copies of the ‘rescue’ photographs. Sadly, Genevieve left early the next morning so we could not continue the party on Elle.

A lovely day, lovely waterway and lovely people!

We stayed in C-M for three nights and after Genevieve had departed who should arrive to take their place in the mooring behind us but our ‘stalker’ Oso so for the next two evenings we shared cocktail hours with Neville and Aynsley, alternating between Elle and Oso.

Charleville-Meziers is an interesting town: Originally two communities, they were merged into one in 1966 with Meziers currently appearing to be the poorer sister. On the Charleville side there is an imposing Place Ducale, broad shopping streets, many restaurants 

Place Ducale

Charles I Gonzague (1580-1637), Duke of Nevers and of Rethel, founder of Charleville.

and the famous puppetry museum.

Meziers has a beautiful Mairie, a sparse battlement, an imposing church and not much else.

Meziers Marie

The Port de Plaisance is big and modern but some dodo decided that a pedestrian bridge with an airdraft of 3.2m should be built over the entrance to the marina with the result that only a handful of boats were moored there and the quay outside the marina was packed.

Despite the one kilometer walk into the main square, Charleville-Meziers is a city well worth visiting.

Note: Neville and Aynsley from Oso later told us that they had left their two folding bikes overnight chained to a pole next to the boat - the next morning they were gone. Not the first incidence of its kind apparently and another reason to lock bikes on board and as far from reach as possible, overnight.