The Yonne: Auxerre to Joigny

9 to 13 May 2018.

9 May - Auxerre to Gurgy.

10 kilometers, 5 locks, 2 hours 40 minutes.

With some trepidation (we need to get the hang of this lark again) that we would damage either of the boats moored fore and aft of us we cast off at half past nine, cleared the mooring successfully, turned north and, with an odd feeling of moving slightly sideways as the gentle breeze and current were on our stern, were at our first lock in no time at all. Long but with only a 1.22 meter drop it took quite some time to empty and eventually ejected us past the strongly flowing barrage.

Just over a kilometre later we were at the next lock. No electricity, no lock operation. So we backed off to a dilapidated quay about 200 meters away where we could not tie up as it was too shallow and, after trying a few unsuccessful manoeuvres, we just floated around until the lockie waved us forwards – electricity back on.

And it just got better! Beautiful, sunny weather (not nearly as hot as we had experienced in Auxerre), green surrounds, a gentle current in our favour, three more big, slow locks and after passing two very acceptable mooring spots at Monéteau

One of the two moorings at Moneteau.

we arrived just after midday at the lovely village of Gurgy with its plentiful and free mooring.

For just €5 euro you get twelve hours of electricity or two hours of water (approximately 800 litres). A slow walk around the village was followed by another such but this time our return was accompanied by a baguette ‘traditional’, a Chablis cheese, a bottle of Irancy Premier Cru and a bottle of Saint-Bris Savignon – all local products found within approximately a twenty kilometre radius of Gurgy.

XIthC church.

Sculpture suspended above a stream.

A wall-side library!

The view upstream.

Poster advertising an art exhibition - love
the statement!

Later in the day while sipping sundowners and watching yet another motorhome pile into the adjacent parking lot, this one a little unusual as it sported a GB number plate. And who should alight? None other than Colin and Joy from cruiser Fennavera, the same couple who had passed us in Thuin in June 2016 and with whom we later shared a winter mooring in Port Sainte Marie near Lagarde in 2016/17- what a coincidence! No time was lost in having them aboard for drinks and we chatted away well into the evening;I must admit to having a touch of a hangover as I write this the next morning…

10 May – Gurgy to Joigny.

23 kilometers, 6 locks, 4 hours 30 minutes.

Just before nine we said goodbye to Colin and Joy and set off for the first lock just downstream of the mooring – turned out to be a stop lock which was open so we could have left much earlier. RTFM!

The 'not a lock'.

A lovely mornings cruise with only a minor delay at our first sloping lock (Bassou) because the lockkeeper did not have his radio on and had left his phone in the office while he was doing some gardening.

Tied up to the floating pontoon on the sloping lock.

Njord was also having problems at their lock 8 (Rosoy) just south of Sens as their lockie had two big locks to control – as they arrived he had just left to open the next lock for a boat going upstream and then had to let another boat down and then again through the Rosoy lock. These locks are quite big and take a long time to complete a cycle.

Dashing to our final lock we made it with five minutes to spare before lockie lunchtime and the kind gentleman locked us through even although this meant that his lunch hour was cut short by fifteen minutes.

Joigny looks lovely from the water and initially we decided to moor just downstream of the bridge on the right-bank town mooring but moved later as the supermarkets and laundry which we need are on the other bank.

Arriving in Joigny.

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We were moored opposite the red restaurant marker (lower left).
The municipal mooring is on the opposite bank just below the bridge.

Shortly after five Njord arrived and Ian and Sian joined us for sundowners and a very good Lynn soup supper.

Njord arriving.

Lynn preparing soup.

Friday we need to source two house batteries as our two Varta 145Ah ones are not holding charge properly – my wallet has gone into mourning!

So the next morning I fire off an email to CPC Battery Services Ltd in England (on recommendation through the Barge Association (DBA) website) and while waiting for a reply take a stroll down to the Locaboat base to ask which supplier they would recommend. A most helpful young lady takes my number and promises to call back once she has consulted her technical person. The long and the short of it is that we now have two second hand 185Ah batteries installed (thanks for all your hard work Ian) for the princely sum of €200 – Steve Thompson of CPC Batteries was also incredibly efficient and I had my quote by 11am but at some €870 (of which more than half was courier costs) and a seven day wait, we think we have gotten off very lightly.

The rest of the day was spent shopping (mostly to replace rotten fridge contents), chatting and a quick whizz around the lovely town of Joigny.

Boat to boat comms.

Destroyed in WW2 and completely restored.

The following morning we popped into the huge market which is open on Saturdays and Wednesdays 

Mouth watering produce!

before cycling into nearby Cerzy for lunch at Le Promenade.

Sleepy Cerzy.

Cerzy town mooring - quite a way from the town center but charming.
5 bollards.

The bridge over the Yonne - back to Joiny.

And Sunday, our day allocated to exploring Joigny in more depth, the weather closed in and turned foul – but we will be back this way at the end of the year.