To Paris

Entering Rouen Due to Tan’s lack of sailing experience we decided to avoid the Bay of Biscay and go through the French canals even though Blank Canvas was on the depth limit with a draft of 1.8 metres. We used the local library to research and plan the route and what was needed. The original plan was to cross the channel to Le Havre, up the Seine to Rouen, Paris, and St Mammes, then the Canals du Loing, de Briare, Lateral a la Loire, du Centre and then into the Saone and Rhone. The plan was suddenly changed when we got to St Mammes and the lockkeeper turned us back because of a leak in one stretch (pound) near Digoin. The only route open to us was the river Marne, Canal a la Marne to the Saone then on down the Saone and Rhone as planned. A mere 1398km, 173 locks and 4 tunnels, one of them 4.8km long.

On the eve of the 28th of May we departed the Hamble with Gryf, an experienced sailor as crew. After a very pleasant night crossing we arrived at Le Havre early next morning where we stayed for seven days while we had the mast removed and arranged for it to be transported to the South of France. We made our first new sailing friends in Le Havre, Paul and Greet on their beautiful Dutch riverboat Wanderlaar. They were also going to Paris.

Entering Paris You have to do the 82 nautical mile trip from Le Havre to Rouen in one go because there is nowhere to stop. The lower reaches of the Seine have strong tides so timing is crucial and huge ships and barges ply the river creating large swells. The canals and rivers are marked in kilometres so we set the instruments to display in kilometres but maintained the ship’s log in nautical miles for consistency.

We left Le Havre just after 5am on the 5th June to be in position in the mouth of the Seine a couple of hours before slack tide. We fought 6 km/hr tides for the first few hours before it changed and then flew along at 17 km/hr. Paul and Greet left long after us but caught us up mid-afternoon and we travelled the rest of the way together. At 17:30 we arrived in the very beautiful city of Rouen where we bought our Vignette (canal license) for €209 and where we were boarded by customs (it is France!). We stayed at Rouen for two nights but should have stayed longer but our journey had just begun and we still had to learn to slow down and savour life!

Two days later, another early start, departed at 06:45 in convoy with Wanderlaar. We were dreading the first lock but survived it without any damage, just a lot of stress. The second lock was easier but in the third we were put in front of a large barge close to the lock gates. It was hell. Tanya did a good job fending off in all the locks which are very large and very dirty. We cruised at 13 kilometres per hour (7 knots) and arrived at Port de L'lon at 18:15.

Paris Arsenal After topping up with fuel we had a we had a leisurely start next day at 12:30 and a nice relaxed cruise in convoy with Wanderlaar to Nouvelle port St Louis at Poissy. It’s a bit of a dump with no services but well sheltered and ok for one night. The days are sweltering hot at 32C.

We arrived in Paris on the 9th July in the company of Paul and Greet after another early start and negotiating four more locks without disaster but still very inexperienced. This is definitely the best way to enter Paris, it’s spectacular cruising under the ornate bridges and seeing the sights from the water. We even passed the IBM building en-route so I waved, I hope they saw me!

The marina Paris Arsenal is in the very heart of the city but interesting to enter through a tiny lock which they cram with boats, but again we survived without damage.

The canals

Lock into Canal du Long On the 4th day we left Paris and headed upstream to St. Mammes with the intention of entering the Canal du Loing but once in the lock the lockkeeper told us there was a leak much further down the south and we wouldn’t get through. We had to exit the lock and turn around the very narrow canal then go back through the lock into the Seine and back down the river to St. Mammes. Guess what, it’s Friday the 13th.

We had a day off at the very pleasant little town of St. Mammes, got the dinghy out and motored round to a quaint little town called Briare sur Loing where we did a bit of shopping, 1st time we'd been shopping by dinghy. We met Kitty and Rob at St Mammes and the temperature was in the upper 30’s low 40’s so we stayed a couple of days and went swimming in the Seine.

Tan swimming On the 16th June we went back down the Seine past Paris and finally stopped at the entrance lock to the Marne canal at Neuilly-sur Marne after hitting something very hard with the keel while trying to enter a nautical stop. We had a terrible evening with water skiers causing the boat to rock wildly until I finally flashed them with the mega-torch at 22:00. What made it even worse is that when we went for a walk in the morning we discovered that we could have stopped at the other side of the lock in the canal in peace and tranquillity.

By the 19th we were at the excellent halte nautique at Epernay after experiencing our first floating pontoon lock. The following day we had a great free tour round the Castellane champagne cellars and bought a couple of bottles.

Barge entering a lock At this stage we were travelling through vineyard clad valleys and doing 20 to 40km per day with just a few locks spaced well apart. Meeting barges (Peniches) coming the other way was always a challenge in these narrow canals. I had a big sign on the front with 1.80M and a big arrow pointing downwards. I would angle the boat in to the side of the canal until we ran aground and wait for the barge to pass, then hard astern and come out on the wash of the barge. All the bargees we met with the exception of 2 were very nice and helpful. At the opposite end of the scale were the canal boats for hire, the majority of which were often driven by someone with no understanding of wind or current. Consequently they often arrived sideways or charged into locks not realizing they didn’t have brakes. They were known collectively as “bumper boats”.

Castallane at Eperney Due to the heat we had a short day on the 22nd and stopped at 13:50 at the pretty little village of St. Germain la Ville. We have now covered 582km out of 1398 and negotiated 39 locks out of 173. By trial and error, Tan and I have developed a good lock routine and mostly it’s smooth sailing. From here we climb up into the mountains with sometimes up to 20 locks a day so the distance covered dropped to between 10 and 20km per day. All this in 40C.

On the 25th June we cast-off at 09:30 when the eclusier (lockkeeper) arrived. Most locks are unmanned so you are assigned an eclusier (usually a student) who operates the lock then dashes to the next one by moped. They also stop for a 2 hour lunch (this is France!). At 17:30 after 13 locks, 3 swing bridges and 32km the eclusier dumped us in a turning circle in the middle of nowhere, he must have had a hot date! We couldn't even get ashore but there were plenty of noisy frogs to keep us company.

4.8km Balesmes tunnel We are now heading almost due south after travelling east from Paris for so long. The scenery has changed, we have left the vineyards far behind and are now in cereal and cattle country and the harvest is in full swing. The scenery and wildlife are spectacular. Many herons, swans, cormorants, ducks, otters, and even eagles.

On the 28th we passed through our 100th lock and on the 29th reached the peak at Langres where we stayed for three nights. Langres is a medieval walled city perched atop a hill. It was here we met Sasha in his black boat named Magpie’s Call. He is a very colourful character and masseur to the rich and famous, everything including Sasha was in black and white.

The walled city of Langres is a long uphill climb but well worth it with over 3km of ramparts and a beautiful old town. We Stopped at a Champion supermarket for supplies on the way down and had our first rain in a long time, heavy showers punctuated by dry spells.

On the 3rd July we left Langres early with Hank on his Dutch boat Flamingo and had a good run through the last 2 uphill locks and into the 5km Balesmes tunnel. The tunnel is lit but I had rigged a headlight on the bow and a handheld spotlight in the cockpit just in case! The trip through the tunnel required a lot of concentration but was not in the least daunting.

Auxonne Out of the tunnel to our first downhill locks, a staircase each of eight locks each about 5M. We almost had a disaster by being too far back in the lock and nearly landed on the concrete sill. We had to learn a new technique and discovered a red line which marks the sill but it's much easier than going up through locks. We arrived at Dommarian a very pretty village at 15:50 after covering 25km and 17 locks. Tan met an old farmer with a bouvier de Flanders dog. He gave here a huge bunch of parsley from his vegetable garden.

The Soane

July 5th, Out of the canals and into the Petite Saone, what a joy to be in the rivers again. Tied up at the public quay at Pontallier sur Saone after 9 locks and 19km. It's a basic town. Had a leisurely start next day a arrived at Auxonne at 13:15 A very nice pontoon (free) but no H2O or Electricity. There is a tourist information office next to the pontoon and the town is a real gem. Napoleon did his military service here.

Off down river again next day, but only for 10 miles, then we stopped at St Jean do Losne. It’s a huge Marina where many people winter their boats and has a Casino supermarket almost on the doorstep. We stayed two nights and caught up on the shopping and did some sightseeing. Met Kitty and Rob from St Mammes again. Sadly my laptop died, with a fatal error.

Verdun We arrived at the lovely little ramshackle town on Verdun on the 10th after seeing many herons along the way. It was market day so we had a wander around the market and the town. The ramps down to the pontoon are very steep and we discovered why when we crossed the bridge. There is a marker on the wall of a building showing the high water level in Spring when the snows melt in the mountains. The bridge can be submerged. They have a delightful capitanierre here.

Bastille day fireworks at Chalon-sur-Soane Arrived at Chalon-sur-Saone on the 11th July and decided to stay four nights to catch the Bastille day fireworks. We did some serious shopping at Carrefour and I looked at laptops in Darty. Met up with John, Trev, and Jan who we first met at St. Mammes and had drinks on their boat. I went to the market on Sunday and bought lots of dried sausage (too much). Chalon is lovely to walk around. The Bastille day fireworks were fantastic.

We are cruising now, taking our time, laid back and enjoying life. I must also mention the hotel boats, 110 metres long and so wide they just scrape into the locks. En-route from Chalon to Tournas we saw eagles low over the river. It’s not the first time we’ve seen eagles but there are quite a few here. Tournas is a pleasant town with an interesting main street, beautiful abbey, cloisters and gardens. There is an handy supermarket and we stayed for two nights free on the pontoon with H2O and electricity.

On the 17th we arrived at the charming city of Macon and stayed three nights, the 1st two on a very nice free VNF pontoon in front of two restaurants, very close to the town centre and with a beautiful view of the bridge. On the third day we moved to the Halte Plaisance for a night because it is close to Auchan. That was a mistake because it was 40C in the shade and airless.

From Macon we tried to dock at St. Romain des iles but it was too shallow so we continued down to the free VNF pontoon again with H2O and electricity at Belleville. Lots of families were walking and picnicking on the grassy river banks in the hot sunshine. We went swimming in the river. On Monday we went shopping at InterMarche, stocked up with Pol Remy superior at 80 cents a bottle then went downriver to Montmerle but the pontoon was full so we came back to Belleville. Only 4km round trip. Severe thunderstorm in the night, lost power on the pontoon.

Montmerle Next morning we went down to Montmerle again and got on the pontoon. It’s a charming little town, full of flowers along the river bank and the streets. We climbed to the fort at the top of the hill. This is the place we first met Dick and Anna from Anna Mare. We had drinks on their boat and dinner on ours. Tan, Anna, and I went swimming. They were to become close acquaintances and traveling companions all the way to the Med.

We arrived at Trevoux on the 23rd and stayed three nights. When we went to the tourist office we helped them translate their entry for the new Navicarte. The view of the church and town lit up at night is magnificent, almost Italian looking but it’s a long walk out of town to go shopping.

Hotel boat - 110m long, 11m wide The next place we stayed at was Fontaines-sur-Saone. It was noisy with very little to recommend the town other than a mid-size supermarket. Posted a congratulations card to Timothy on his new job. Tan hated this place.

Lyon 27th July. The city is at the confluence of the Soane and the Petit Rhone which merge to form the mighty Rhone, and it is mighty. Lyon is a beautiful city with wonderful architecture and an excellent clean underground railway system and multiple funicular railways. We met-up with Dick and Anna again and had drinks on our boat. There are dossers on the quay but they aren’t a problem and it's a bit noisy but it's very convenient for the centre of town. The quay is opposite the old citadel and I watched as an eagle take a large fish from the river and spiral upwards the sun glinting on the fish in it’s talons. Lyon is one of those cities you could spend months exploring.