26 July to 2 August 2019. 109,5 kilometers, 29 locks, 2 tunnels.
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| One of the city tour boats. |
The past week has
been a bit of a blur as is always the case when one has guests on board. To
recap…
After having
traveled all the way from Durban, Chard and Birgit had to take a train to
Besançon via Strasbourg so arrived quite late in the evening, beating a howling
gale and a massive downpour, by minutes.
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| Storm gathering. |
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| The tired travelers. |
Saturday 27 July. Besançon to
PK57 (near Boussieres). 17 kilometers, 7 locks, 2 tunnels. 4 hours, 35 minutes.
Our cruising guidelines from our guests were “Wild mooring and not too
many cities or too much history” so the next morning we set off for PK57, about
as wild a mooring as one can get. Bee (Birgit) went snap-happy as we entered
the tunnel which cuts through Besançon and must have taken a million
photographs by the time we dropped them off in Auxonne.
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| An Aussie paying homage to a better rugby team - note that it is his forefinger. |
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| Doggy in a window - I'm sure it has a waggly tail. |
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| Besancon Battlements |
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| Early morning fisherman. |
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| Chard operating the lock mechanism. |
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| All along the watchtower. |
The lights were on in the Thoraise tunnel as were the curtains of water
at each end which was a treat.
After cruising through quite cool conditions (a relief for the Cullens) we arrived at the barrage mooring at lunchtime, the space we wanted was open
and the afternoon and evening was spent engaging with other boaters and
generally relaxing.
Sunday 28 July. PK57 (near
Boussieres) to Dole. 40 kilometers, 12 locks. 7 hours, 0 minutes.
Our whistle-stop tour continued the next morning – a cool start to the
day but one which warmed up nicely – and, with Chard taking the wheel, I could
view the passing countryside in detail. It’s amazing what you miss while
focusing on keeping the pointy bit facing forward.
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| Our happy snapper. |
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| Spray rising as the lock fills. |
Just before two that afternoon, we arrived in Dole to find a triathlon
in its very early stages; fortunate for us as, once the swimming leg picked up
momentum, the marshals stopped boats from crossing across the port area. No
photographs, unfortunately.
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| Burgundian tiles on the church roof. |
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| Locking into Dole. |
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| This boat was told to wait so he rafted up to the barge. |
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| Illegally moored. |
A cheesy lunch (Bee is a bread and cheese addict we-thinks),
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| Say, Cheese! |
a walk
through the lovely town,
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| Looking down the Tanners Canal towards Louis Pasteur's parents' house where he was born. |
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| A delightful mural depicting famous people. |
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| South African's will relate to this! |
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| A quartet playing outside a restaurant. |
a beer at the 2nd Northwich Avenue Pub
(?!), a trundle through the park until accosted by the shawarma van which
relieved us of a few coins in return for some tasty eaties, downhill and across
the bridge from where we watched a charter barge push a private barge off the
apparently-reserved-for-hotel-barges-mooring, a ‘couple’ of toots and that was
another day done.
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| Jeanine claiming her spot. |
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| Dole Port and hire-boat base. |
Monday 29 July. Dole to
Saint-Jean-de-Losne. 23,5 kilometers, 9 locks. 4 hours, 40 minutes.
Once again, after a period of no-issues bliss, we have been visited
upon by another diesel leak. Under Chard’s supervision (apart from other
skills, he is a self-taught diesel mechanic), Bee climbed behind the port
engine (she is the only one small and flexible enough to be able to get into
the dark side of that engine), and tried to tighten a possible offending loose
nut but no luck so we will now have to get professional help.
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| "Now this is what you need to look for" |
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| She made it out again! |
The cruise down to SJDL was faultless in near perfect conditions
and, apart from having to share a lock with a crew of women who had obviously
just hired their boat that day and who, after a couple of locks, were quite
stressed so they waved us through, we were lucky to be allowed through the last
lock during lockie lunchtime, arriving at SJDL to find that our luck with finding
mooring on ‘The Steps’ was still holding out.
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| Warnings near the chemical factory. |
C&B went shopping, the huge hotel boat arrived (surprisingly), we
all enjoyed a curry curtesy of Madame la Chef, a few bevvies and bed.
A good day, except for the diesel leak.
Tuesday 30 July. Saint-Jean-de-Losne
to Auxonne. 18 kilometers, 1 lock. 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Everyone was up early for the leisurely cruise up to Auxonne, and we
locked through a bit earlier than usual for our arrival in this curiosity of a
town but still found a place on the municipal pontoon, ideal because it is
close to the station from whence C&B will depart.
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| Anyone lost a slip-slop? |
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| Auxonne municipal mooring. |
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| Doggy-doo packet dispenser. |
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| The town square with town hall fronted by General Bonaparte. |
A pre-lunch stroll around the garrison town brought us back to ‘Le
Longchamp – The Lounge’ quirky pub/café where we devoured a very pleasant and
inexpensive meal,
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| Our lunch. |
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| Munster cheese fondue for Birgit, carpaccio for Lynn and fish and chips for the guys. |
after which the girls walked to the station to book train
tickets. Needless to say, the evening was a bit of a farewell riot of nibbles
and grog.
With train tickets to Dijon booked for a ten-thirty departure, C&B
were up early to find a watch which had disappeared some days earlier, finish
packing, load the cases onto the pontoon and then onto the bike trolley and, as
they walked to the station, we biked the suitcases ahead of them. After six
crazy days we said our goodbyes and, while they settled in to await the arrival
of their transport to Paris, we buzzed back to the Intermarche to re-provision.
Another item on the agenda is to confirm a winter port. With the Canal
de Centre supposedly closing early in August and with the possibility that the
Fragnes port might have to be drained during the winter so that the big
downstream lock can be repaired, we need certainty – and for some or other
reason, Auxonne appeals to us. Port Captain John re-affirmed that he has space
but we need to do the reservation at the H2O head office in SJDL.
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| Our winter port. |
Thursday 1 & Friday 2 August.
Auxonne to Saint-Jean-de-Losne. 22 kilometers, 1 lock. 3 hours, 30 minutes
(delayed by dropping a fender).
Some days just do not portend well.
With Lynn just awake, I cast off, turned Elle to face
downstream, headed through the check lock, down the two-kilometer long cutting
where we activated the lock sequence and where First Mate noticed that one of
our balloon fenders was missing. Mea culpa! Just after entering the cutting I
had adjusted the fender to stop it dragging in the water but had obviously not
tied it back on properly; at one stage I had looked back and noticed quite a
large object behind us and had simply assumed that it was a swan paddling
around so just ignored it.
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| The VNF canal clearing pusher. |
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| Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a Fender! |
So back we go, down the cutting, retrieve the fender, turn around, do
the two kilometer return trip, activate the lock, lock through, and head off to
SJDL, all on one engine in order to save liters of diesel leakage. But
beautiful conditions for cruising.
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| Pretty barge but I'm not sure I would name my boat Anima |
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| SJDL |
Durban pal Rory Pottage whose home port is in SJDL was aware of our plight and had Plans A – Z for getting the leak sorted out, all worked out so we
headed for his port, got both props totally fouled in the weed, to the extent
that he and Jenny had to force the bow backwards to avoid us hitting the dock
as we had no propulsion in reverse.
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| Our propellers are immersed in this stuff! |
Eventually, we were tied up and the planning was put
into action; the biggest problem is that we need a small person to get behind
the engine.
Plan A: Get one of the port’s mechanics to have a look but the small
guy is on leave – his colleague will call him and ask if he would like to earn
some pocket money.
Plan B: Ask ‘David’ who is a handyman and boat painter (not a mechanic)
and who is ‘small’ to have a look. Message left on his cell.
Plan C: Ask at the Le Boat base if they have a mechanic who can have a
look. "Yes, but he is on leave".
Plan D: Ask the same of the H2O base – their mechanic is also on leave
so we pay the deposit for our winter mooring and, dejectedly, walk back to Elle.
Plan E: Call a marine workshop in the town of Deluz which had
apparently done a really good job on one of Rory’s friends' boat.
At midday there is a shout from Rory confirming the David (Plan B) has
arrived; he climbs behind the engine, nips a nut which we suspected might be
causing the problem, we start the engine and the diesel flows. David says he
can’t help any further. A little later we hear another call from Rory –
Valentin (Plan A) has arrived! He inserts himself behind the engine, tests
various nuts for tightness, we start the engine and the diesel flows. “I can’t
help you any further. The leak is coming from behind the pump and it will have
to be removed”. Just what we didn’t want to have happen. So we approach the
proprietor of the port who shrugs and says that his mechanics are busy until
the end of September or for the next two weeks at least – he gives us the name
of “someone from the area” whom he says can do the job and leaves us with a
parting comment “If he needs spares for the pump or a new pump, we can provide”.
We decide to think things over.
The next morning Lynn calls ‘Chantier nautique Deluz’ (Plan E), speaks
to a friendly gent there who says they are capable of doing the job but all his
mechanics are on leave – these August summer holidays! – but they will be back
on 19 August so that is where we will be going, very slowly, as it was our
destination for about the 6th.
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| Practicing headstands in the engine room. |
We say cheers and thanks to Rory and Jenny who push us out of the
mooring into cleaner water,
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| Rory at work before helping us out of the weed. |
we shake the mass of weed off the starboard prop,
reverse out into the channel, and leave the weed-infested hole-of-a-port and
head for the ‘Steps’ where an Elle sized space welcomes us.
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| Much better! |
Some grocery shopping, a late chicken-braai lunch, some acid rock music
from the restaurant alongside, and all is well.
So that’s the plan but it also means that we will not make it to the
Rhine this year so it will be our first trip in 2020.
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