Wildbird

Ligny to Bar le Duc

Another day of still waters and lily ponds (and  a little worry about yet more weed...). 

We are accompanied for some of the way by an itinerant VNF man who is over-filling the "biefs" because a large peniche (commercial barge), heavily laden, is coming up the locks. Slightly worrying given the amount of water lilies and weeds at the edge and obvious shallow patches.. Where will we meet him, and will it be deep enough so we can move over and let him through?  He has to go down the middle, it appears.

The VNF man is making sure that he has 30cm extra water as he passes up the system, which seems to occupy the man for most of the day, whizzing up and down in his van., so the barge must be deep, as I haven't seen any less than 2m -and usually 2.4 - 2.6m all the way down the system.  I suppose it keeps the VNF occupied as we and the barge seem to be the only boats moving on the system today.

 

We finally meet him about 4 locks short of Bar le Duc. he's churning up the mud in the canal, and turning it from milky green blue to brown, so I guess he's pretty deep.

 

The lifting bridges in Bar are fun... again we have an itinerant lock keeper to come and operate them and have to give him our schedule for tomorrow, as he needs to plan for operation of the next two lifting bridges.

Bar le Duc itself is a pleasant surprise as we were expecting an industrial town. There are lovely renovated areas with creative pots (see piccy), houses of pale stone with multicoloured shutters, several nice bridges over the Ornain river, and also the Canal des Usines, a little arm of the Ornain which flows beneath/under the houses

I'm afraid crew mutiny has now reached its peak, as we set in search of  yet another restaurant.. lots according to the tourist office, but we fail to find many open, as we miss the restaurant street.

We resort to a rather glorified snack bar, for a third rate meal, Its only redeeming feature being that the waitress loves dogs....

Right, Captain is putting down her foot and suggesting we eat out when there is a NICE restaurant.. one reputedly two stops away.   The crew, I think, agree (but tomorrow will tell!)

 

 

More Wild flowers

Here we are outside the grain silo. Actually, apart from the noise its a pleasant mooring and opposite is a glorious field of flowers.. a fantastic wild flower meadow nestling underneath a wood.

I cannot resist a good walk with the dogs before we depart.. through the meadow and then up through the woods, even if very wet. Then to the nearby village to collect the bread.

 

The flowers are irresistable.....  another vase full from the meadow

 

I take advantage of the

Downhill! Demange aux Eau to Ligny-en-Barrois

 

We decide to do a long day, as the crew are about to mutiny if they do not get a restaurant tonight. Lignes promises several.. and its down hill all the way!

This stretch of the canal proves to be lovely.. remote and rural, and full of wild flowers, birds, rolling fields and woodlands.. just beautiful.

 

The down locks are a delight. The water is clear and full of fishes (and weed and waterlillies).. obviously not much traffic here.  Come to think of it, we have seen very few boats.. I think 3 in the last 4 days.  We were one of only two boats to go through the Mauvages tunnel yesterday, and today we see no-one.

 

We are so struck by the wild flowers. Sylvia can't resist picking them and creates a garland for Bliss. I don't think she is very amused, but likes it better as a collar .

 

 

 

Sam meanwhile decides that 24 locks is just very tiring...

 

 

 

 

 

Trish perfects her front of boat technique.

 

 

 

After a long day, we arrive in Ligny to find the town mooring is too shallow. There are no signs of promised bollards, so we have to go another two locks on to a mooring outside a grain factory.  Not exactly the most salubrious place, as what sounds like a grain dryer switches on and off all night. 

 

Its a walk back into town.. but  HURRAH.. we find a pleasant. if basic, restaurant in the town square. Steak and chips called for, anmd a promise of something better soon.

 

Early morning flowers

 

A day of fishes

Today's the day of the "big" tunnel... just under 4.9km. We apparently get towed through by an electric barge, according to the pilot book and notes handed to us by a "itinerant" lockkeeper/VNF man who finds us en route.  Freinds have told us that last year, they were allowed to motor behind the tow barge...  ...we shall wait and see.

But before the tunnel,the staircase of 12 locks. The weather is kind, and the scenery pleasant.. until shrieks of horror from Sylvia. I wonder what's happened.. have we hit something or run aground?

No!  Sylvia, on putting on her glasses has realised that what she thought was a little scab of unknown origin is actually a tick, with its head buried resolutely in her thigh.   Tick removal kit and alcohol duly located, we tie up in the next lock to perform the emergency medical procedure (or thats what it sounded like by Sylvia's shrieks).

Phew!  Tick removed and all is well.

We arrive early at the Mauvages tunnel for the 3.30pm slot, so sit and wait for the tow barge. The LED display repeats a summary of the information we have already had, including the compulsory nature of the tow. Seems like it will be being towed then.

Around 3pm, along comes a VNF man on a bicycle, and beckons us forward round the corner to the tunnel.  No sign of any tow barge, but, instead we are to motor through and be accompanied by two men on bicycles.   Quite a difference!

 All goes well for the first kilometre, and then my heart sinks. The engine exhaust starts making that hollow booming sound that indicates that we are running short of cooling water.  Bugger!  Its very weedy up here at the top of the canal, so perhaps i have sucked it a bunch of weed. Nothing for it but to keep on going, motoring slowly and watching the engine temperature gauge creeping up, with my heart in my mouth.

We go 2km.. 3km, 4km...  still OK but getting hotter. The temperature warning light comes on about 100m short of the end of the tunnel.  I decide to continue to creep out and moor immediately outside. PHEW!

Clean out the filter...Yes, its some weed, and part of a dead fish, which is exceedingly pongy (not shown in pic, as I dispatch it quickly before stinking out the boat).

Weed in the engine filters seems a constant concern.. not the first time we have had to clean out the filter.. but an unfortunate moment to suck this lot in.  Still, no harm done.

With some relief we motor to Demange Aux Eau and...  ... find the lock closed. The VNF men must have thought we were stopping there, as they have shut the system down for the day. Fortunately there is a nice mooring just above the lock, where we can stop .

Of course, another disappointment.. the restaurant shown on the village map is closed...  not just for the day, but seemingly for good.

Ah Well, there is always tomorrow.

 

The dogs love it here... seems like more dead fish have been removed from the canal, and are littering the bank. Oops...  "Eau de dead fish" on shoulder does not endear them to us, and tea tree shampoo does not endear us to them...

 

 

 

 

A short day: Pagny to Void

Well, we are nearly at the top of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin.. just one more staircase to go to reach the 4.8km long Mauvages tunnel.  The weather forecast is iffy, but the day dawns reasonably  bright so we decide to set off.. first of all along the long "bief" (stretch lof canal between locks) between Pagny sur Meuse to Void.

Pleasant cruising, but the wind starts to get up and the skies darken, so we decide to postpone our trip up the last staircase up to the Mauvages tunnel, and stay at Void.

A wise decision, as soon after we moor, the heavens open and the wind howls. We would have been roughly in the second lock up had we continued.. so big pats on the back for stopping early.

A couple of rainstorms later, and the weather improves again, so its off for a long walk through the woods and a quick explore of Void in search of the ever elusive restaurant. One is signposted in the town centre, so I set off resolutely to find it, but about 2km later nothing has transpired. I ask... its 8 km away. Hmmmppphhh.

Not much to say about Void... an interesting old gatehouse to a chateau, with a lovely "Cannonerie" in the form of a lion with a gaping open mouth.  A well signposted walk through woodland.... errr  hum....

Great sunset.. the weather clears up completely by eventide.

 

On the road again: Toul to Pagny sur Meuse

Sylvia's here!  The weather is good.  All set for the next bit of the voyage up the canal de la Marne Au Rhin, and the Marne to Paris.

We are somewhat overwhelmed by Linssen yachts.. about 15 of them arrived in the marina last night and filled much of the available space.. amd then woke us up at 7am as they started the engines and set off queuing to get down the next locks (which only open at 9)  . If they all were like the two we met coming down the canals later in the day, I will steer well clear...talk about rude!

We have a new strategy for the rest of the "up" locks.. Sylvia is going to bicycle  (yes, Val, I have another "volunteer") and do rope handling from the top.  The locks are close together, so this will hopefully not be too onerous.  That's if Sylvia has recovered from the surfeit of gin of last night.   (And can I mention that Sylvia joined the honored sleepwalking cast list.. I had to yell at her to wake her up as after trying my cabin (woof woof from Bliss) she went upstairs and was about to unzip the cockpit tent and go out on the pontoon in search of the loo. Wearing.. errr.. just pants.  A near-naked lady prowling round the marina might have endeared us to the Linssen rally members, but I feared for her safety.)

The aftermath of last nights boozing leaves us all a little bleary, but its a wonderful day, and the cycle/lock system works a treat. Sylvia  is away in a world of her own, gently cycling up the canals and picking wild flowers. But (when she remembers to activate the locks) it is much easier than the from the bottom system.

The Foug tunnel is safely negotiated (still exciting going through the tunnels), and we stop at Pagny sur Meuse on a nice pontoon in blistering heat.

Socialising

Still in Toul, waiting for Sylvia to arrive.. but getting to know several lots of people in the marina.

We bump into Bart, Alan and Connor whilst mutually looking for any open restaurant on a Sunday evening, and subsequently have many chats with them, not to mention the dog training and swimming. It's quite a surprise to see their boat on the canal.. its a 58' cruising ketch of classic design:" Silver Apple.". built from  Iroko and locust - English oak,  dating from 1967, !   Bart turns out to be a mine of knowledge.. he's the son of F. Spaulding Dunbar who designed many classic wooden boats (including Silver Apple, originally called Rama Dora)  and he's also friends with  Charles Maunder (ex head of Rival Bowman).. and persuaded the latter to use an American designer (Chuck Paine) for the Bowman 40. What a small world!  Connor is Alan's grandson, and on a special trip with Bart and Alan, and gets on famously with the dogs.

Don and Patty on "Maria", a beautiful 28m dutch barge, are very helpful. They've overwintered here, and are still waiting to resolve a gearbox problem, and meanwhile helping everyone with information, and in our case, much appreciated trip by car to the supermarket for yet more fuel, gas and most importantly beer and wine.

David, from the Capitanerie is very funny...

Its also a relief to see the near drowned guy reappear. He's been released from hospital, but has a strange voice.. not sure if its an after effect of the lungs full of water, or his normal voice. We hear through the grapevine that the boat that crashed in the lock was not a hire boat at all, but was his - he had just bought it from the hire company, and was on his maiden voyage...  ...sans license, it transpires. The police were reportedly investigating, as the boat needed extensive repairs.

 

 

 

 

 

Toul's Vauban walls

Well, I wrote about the cathedral in the last post, but have to say that having spent a few days here, by far the most impressive thing about Toul is its fortified ramparts - largely intact, apart from some enlarged gates for modern traffic.

John, of John and Lynda fame, keeps talking about Vauban.. and now I understand...  very impressive fortifications designed by him and dating from 1700, completely surround the town , built of dressed white stone,topped with grass, and in places over 5 metres high, and largely moated.

 

 

Time out in Toul

Trish and I chill out in Toul for a few days. Time for a rest and recuperate, along with sightseeing and domestics.. which, as usual on a boat, seem to take up much of the day (especially when its transporting fuel in 20l cans on a bicycle).

For me, Toul is noticeable for two things, its magnificent cathedral and the Vaubin fortified walls, which are largely intact, although updated later by......

We saw the Cathedral as we came down the Moselle, completely dominating the skyline, and sitting majestically above red roofed houses.

It was a "must" visit. The "Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toul".... Magnificent, at least from the outside ... a wonderful facade, and some beautiful cloisters.. apparently the largest in France, and currently being renovated.

 

In side it was not so startling, though the renovations of the ceilings were fun, and the "reliquary" with several blindfolded skulls puzzling. Still haven't managed to find out quite what the significance was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I rather liked the peaceful spaces and simple altars created in some areas, splendid with the light falling through the stained glass windows.

 

Of course we had plenty of time for dog training... down stays in front of french bars being a thing we thought needed some practice... hard work this dog training...

 

 

 

A retrospective: how to go through the Saonne locks (thanks Val & Paul)

 

 

Cough cough..... 3.2m!  Not  15ft!

Toul on a Sunday

Peace and quiet.....

A lovely sunny morning, and an early exploiration of the city, but much is left to do - no rush, as we have several days here.  We find a nice square with a fountain and several cafes and have breakfast in the sun-- proper french style.

Then the "Vide Grenier"- what a fantastic flea market! Hundreds of stalls and all very cheap and we cannot resist lots of "Bargains".  It appears that people here have to sign on their honour that they are not professional sellers and can only sell at two markets  a year. Just like UK car boots used to be. Fantastically cheap and lots of stuff. 

Its takes us hours to walk round (including the obligatory Muerguez sausage ina bun, frites and a can of beer). Final  haul:

4 deep green old lidded jars (1 Eu each)

A metal decorative lighthouse (1 Eu)

A Lovely square pot with fish decoration (50 cents)

Pair of linen trousers (1 eu)

Two little beaded decorative bags (50 cents each)

Fish shaped chalk board (1 Eu)

Easter childrens decorations (1 Eu)

Cat picture (wow- expensive!  2Eu)

A childrens snowman mobile which has produced (on dismantling) about 10 lovely xmas decorations (1 Eu)

And finally  ... the cuddly toys! (two animals   at 50 cents each)

What fun for 7 Eu each!  Very tempted by an antique bicycle for 50 Eu.. and a gorgeous green carbouy for 6Eu but  decided it was going too far to stash those on the boat!

Probably the best car boot I have ever been to...

 

 

Ooooops.... how not to do canal locks, and Trish's heroic moment

... but first of all ...

Soon after we leave Richardmenil, we do the last two locks of the Canal des Vosges  and emerge onto the Moselle...wide guage/ big lock country and big barge country. Quite a shock after the little domestic Canal des Vosges.  Immediately on leaving the last lock we emerge to Neuves Maisons.. a gigantic steel yard, where recycled metal is delivered by large gauge barges, and then reprocessed into steel wire. Wow.... here's one of them 170m or so long

The locks are  wide(12m) and deep, and we feel dwarved inside them.. here we are coming out of the first one.

The Moselle - first of all canalised, but then on the river proper - is wide and deep and one the one hand it feels really spacious and easy to navigate, and on the other hand a tad boring at times, with deep grass banks obscuring much of the view. But as we get down towards Toul and on the river proper, its better: lots of activity with rowers and dinghies all over the place.

We've decided, having looked at a couple of potential  half way stops, to continue right on to Toul, which means leaving the Moselle, and starting up the Canal de La Marne au Rhin...  ...just three locks up to the marina in Toul, where we'll have a few days relaxing before Sylvia joins us.

 

As we activate the lock system, we spot another little barge coming the other way, who also wants to go up the canal. Although we've activated the system well in advance of him, and the lock is now empty and ready for action, he ignores us and charges at full pelt into the lock (bouncing off the walls) with us yelling for his attention. He finally acknowledges us and we creep in behind him. Good.. at least we are not in front and near the horrid waterfall of the up locks. I stay well clear of him at the back of the lock.

The lock starts to fill and I'm watching Wild Bird and getting ready to swap ropes on the rising bollards, when I become aware that the barge in front is in deep trouble. They have let go of their ropes and the barge is crashing into the lock gates, driven forward by the surging undertow.  I'm concerned that they may drive backwards into me and am concentrating on keeping Wild bird out of trouble, when Trish yells that one of the guys in front has fallen in the water.  

I look up and see that the nose of the barge has become trapped in the lock gates, and as the water continues to rise the back of the barge is tilting upwards at an increasing angle and bucking violently with its nose by now well under water. The bucking must have thrown the other guy off.

The crew member  on the barge manages to scramble off and stop the lock with the alarm pole, but then yells that the guy in the water can't swim (and of course he is not wearing a life jacket) and can we throw him a rope.  In the confusion,Wild Bird's nose has drifted across the lock (which turns out to be a good thing as ladder access is opened up), so we tie her off at both ends, and Trish throws him one of our mooring ropes.   He misses and submerges again.. clearly he's in deep trouble. Trish yells and throws the rope again and this time he gets hold  of it and Trish holds on to the other end and talks to him whilst the VNF guy, who by now has arrived, is working out what to do.

A passer-by also comes to help (thank god, as the crew of the other boat is standing helplessly.. obviously in shock) and we get the drowning guy to get hold of another rope which  I then walk down the boat with and pass him over to the  guys on the steps - now including the VNF man  (Why did none of them - or indeed us - throw him a life ring, I wonder in retrospect?).

The drowning guy is completely exhausted, but after a bit of coaching manages to climb the ladder and be hauled to safety.  I'm really concerned that he has not the strength to climb.. but he just makes it.

The VNF guy empties the lock enough to free the barge's nose. The barge by now is listing badly and l has a lot of water in it.. and I have visions of it sinking in the lock..  but they manage to pull it out and moor it just outside the lock giving us enough room to get out. PHEW!  The ambulance arrives just as we are leaving, and carts the near-drowned guy off to hospital.

We are shaken, but able to continue up two more locks to Toul marina where we moor up on a ridiculously short finger pontoon.  A little while later the damaged barge arrives too,  being driven by the very competent Duncan from Lorraine marine. He tells us that after we left, the  fire engines and divers arrived, pumped out the barge and checked the damage on the bottom.. and miracle of miracles it is not holed. It seems that all the water flooded in  over the top when its nose was under water.

The near drowned guy is still in hospital, we believe... 2-3 days was the forecast. But apparently OK.

To Richardmenil

Trish and I have a first day"solo"...  planned as a short day, but we are going so well, and the promised moorings after half a days trip look dreadful. So onwards to Richardmenil to a very pleasant mooring by a small town.. yes with two restaurants (although we don't partake)

Its not the same without the little flathaired communication bird, twittering in the background with running commentry on the days events and scenery... it fact its very quiet .. but we cope.

And it is quite interesting travelling down this bit of the canal if you are in to industrial archaeology. At times we are travelling through lush green countryside, through plane tree lined canal banks and pushing our way through drifts of blossom in the water.

Then up pops a factory... mostly derelict and fascinating.. some lovely buildings, some in art deco style, but crumbling or with roofs fallen in, like this factory.. or brickworks?

The proposed moorings we were going to stop at turn  out to be nasty metal lined banks, some near busy roads.. so a quick calculation reveals we can get to Richardmenil.. but first we have to cross the Viaduct over the Moselle.  Its very windy, and the zapper turns out to be really close to the start of the viaduct. Hmmm. Not good news.

I can't enter the viaduct until I get a green light, but we have had to get about 30 yds away before the zapper works.  The wind catches us, and I realise I am not going to be able to hold position, so have to execute a 180 degree turn pronto and retreat a bit. Another moment of concentration, as the canal isnt that much wider than Wild Bird. Thank god for bowthrusters (that work.. thanks Yannick)!

 

 

 

 

 

Then a far less eventful trip in very warm sunshine,  and a lovely peaceful sunset  at Richardmenil.

 

 

A domestic day

 No mast and rigging makes wash day more difficult but a bit of improvision is called for. The boat hooks come in handy...  (Trish says ".look what she's done with our poles, Val")

A day off?  Yeh..Right!!!   Shopping.. yes there is a Lidl, hurrah... washing, cleaning.. and what was supposed to a be a quiet day turns into a bit of a domestic blur... but at least the long promised sunshine has arrived.  (Sorry, Val!)

Val's last day (Thaon to Charmes)

Val’s last day (Val writes)

I am feeling rather sad this morning: I have so enjoyed myself on this adventure.  However, feeling sad does not disqualify the “volunteer” from duty and after taking the rubbish out for the last time I jog off to the boulangerie for a very naughty breakfast order for all 3 of us.  Croissant Amande.  Mmm Mmm.  Worth every extra inch and could be eaten over and over.  Carol and Trish decide that the rest of the trip will be devoted to discovering the best croissant amande in France.

The weatherman tells us that we are going to have a little cloud and then sunshine, what a treat after yesterday.

Then its on deck, the volunteer on the ropes and now jumping nonchalantly back on board  after pushing off with Trish yelling to me to get back on board as she is worried I will not make the leap.  And we are off.  Carol has tried to time our departure to miss meeting the Sand Barges.  They are so enormous and traverse this section of the canal all day, They are big and travel fast and when loaded are quite low in the water so they don’t like moving over for small boats with keels and we are concerned that their wash will push us onto shallow water and ground us.  A number of people have warned us about them and we are quite worried. 

One goes past us and then another, and we are fairly confident that if we leave now we will have them behind us, so cast off.  We were wrong.  There are 3 of them, and a couple of locks down we realize there is one in the lock heading towards us.  We pull over as far as we dare, and I practice looking worried and vulnerable and stay up the front of the deck.  We needn’t have worried, the pilot stays over and goes past us incredibly slowly so we are safe.

Then its out of the industrial zone and back into beautiful countryside and the cuckoos are back.  They deserted us for quite some time in the dense woodland and commercial areas, but now we are back in open fields we can hear them almost permanently. 

The weatherman is wrong, its still drizzling and no sunshine, so its wet ropes and wet legs and then, the “dooberry wotsit” (my name for the blue rod we have to push in the lock to close the gates and activate the system) changes sides!  How dare they! We are all very blasé about operating the system on the right and now its switched to the left and we have heavy wet ropes on this side having switched the light ropes over a couple of days ago to make life easier.  However, no time to gripe: Trish and I switch sides and haul the heavy wet ropes into position.  Trish’s lassoing technique is second to none and she continues to catch the bollard first time nearly every time.  I am less able but am nearer to the  bollard so have less excuses to get this wrong but still manage to miss quite a few times.

Now the big test.  Trish and Carol decide to try and “do” a lock on their own in case they decide to continue travelling when I have left.  It works a treat and both feel confident that they can do this.  I video the process and we will put this on the blog as soon as we have a good internet connection.  Its quite an art.

Finally we are here in Charmes.  Lovely mooring, but lots of motor homes, clearly a bit of a tourist spot.  Never mind, the attraction of electricite and running water, means not just showers but hairdryers too.  Will we remember how to operate them I wonder?  Me first because Paul is on his way and Trish thinks I should look and smell OK!  Whilst I am drying my hair I hear music and  discover that there is a wonderful musician on the boat behind.  He is Dutch and serenades us all with a fabulous repertoire on his Sax.  When he hears that I leave today he plays he plays “We’ll meet again..” especially for me.  What a fabulous last day. 

So that’s it.  I’m off.  I can’t thank Carol and Trish enough for having me and giving me this wonderful chance to have such a big adventure.  I have really loved it and recommend it to all the crew who are to follow.  Just remember though, you do have to “volunteer” an awful lot, but its fun really. 

So au revoir Wild Bird, Au Revoir dogs, and most of all Au Revoir and thank you Carol.  And by the way Trish, your hair’s flat. 

Bye

Down the stairs to Thaon les Vosges

( Trish writes)

If anyone out there has any idea that this a holiday, relaxing on the deck and watching the world go by, I would like to disabuse of this notion right now. 

We awake to heavy drizzle and low cloud.  We are promised sun later which we live in hope of.  Val “volunteers” to nip up to the boulangerie and orders are placed for croissant and pain au raisin.  Lovely breakfast with coffee and then we are off at about 8.40 to aim to get to the first lock for opening time, 9.00 am.  We are all kitted out with waterproofs and layers, although its not as cold as it has been considering how high up we are now.

Carol has shown me how to lasso  the bollards so I am hoping to put this into practice.  In we go, and this is very strange, the locks are so calm and there is no turbulence at all because they are full and we are looking down at the bollards.   Val hooks the rear bollard and I try out my lassoing technique and it works a treat.   However, all the ropes are sodden from the overnight heavy rain and within a very short space of time we are both soaked through. 

So the treadmill begins, 15 locks to go through, back to back.  I notice that there seem to be jackdaws on each lock and they appear to be watching us, but after a few locks Carol realizes that they are actually waiting for the lock to empty because the fish are becoming trapped in the rear gate of the lock and the jackdaws swoop down and grab them as soon as the lock empties.  Another example of nature adapting to the opportunities presented.

The drizzle persists and so, once we are through the 15 locks I “volunteer” to go and make some soup for everyone and Val and Carol continue, managing the next 4 locks between them.  

What a contrast the landscape has been today.  We have been going through a really different part of France, with a massive housing development which seems to go on forever.  Who says the economy is in crisis?  Next we have a huge industrial park and one of the biggest gravel pits producing and shipping gravel via the canal system.  Not attractive at all, but we know that our mooring in Thaon-les-Vosges, according to the pilot book, promises abundant restaurants.  We can’t wait to eat out, and early signs are good.  Its clearly a huge place and there are all sorts of lovely facilities, a football stadium, running track and some sort of modern theatre like building.  Signs are all good. 

So moor up, watch the locals playing boules, shower and change into dry warm clothes.  The promised sunshine never materialized and we are all feeling chilled and missing that sun.  Then off we go, out to search for a nice restaurant.  Initial signs are not so good, everything looks rather shabby and run down, but we find the main street and the patisseries and boulangeries proliferate and we think this must be a good sign as they all have the most fabulous pastries and sweets in them.  But no, we find nothing so we ask.  There is a look of blank amazement on all faces.  They offer a pizza parlour but there are no restaurants! 

Its an absolutely huge town and we do not believe them and set off on a search.  Carol on the bike and Val on foot.  Rien, they are right.  This really is a town without anything other than pizzas and kebabs. Carol even cycles as far as the Chinese restaurant we saw on the way here on the industrial complex a few kilometers back, but it doesn’t open for another hour, its drizzling and she has no coat so she returns empty-handed. 

Well that’s it then.  Left over smoked chicken and pasta.  Carol cooks and we all enjoy enormously.  Then we stay in to go out to the flicks again, to watch the Most Exotic Marigold Hotel.  It doesn’t play properly, the sound is bad, so Carol suggests "the Bucket list".   What a beautiful film, we all end up in tears and have a thoroughly good night in.  We need to get to Charmes tomorrow as its Val’s last day and Paul is picking her up.

Onto the TOP!

Monday morning 9.00 am.  Yannick picks up Carol and off they go on the hunt for the much needed screws.  Whilst they are away, Trish and I  do some housekeeping and got Trish’s bedroom ready for the Frenchman again.  Trish is very excited, but sadly he turns up in his double zipped overalls which she feels are too much for her.  Add to that the fact that the whole package smells rather pungent with oil and grease, and Trish decided to scrub the deck instead.     Yes!  Success! … we found the correct screws at a massive cost of 3 euro, and Yannick quickly reassembled the bowthruster , and it worked and sounded well again. What a relief!

Yannick and Jacqueline wanted to return the hospitality and invited us over for coffee before we left.  This was a wonderful opportunity for us all to be terribly nosey and elicit a conducted tour of their boat which is being beautifully fitted out inside using wood, mainly oak.  On the outside it looks rather like a boring steel hull, but inside it is a warm and welcoming home. 

Chocolate cake, chocolates and coffee along with stories of Yannicks many trips all over the world, provided an entertaining hour before we left, and despite Carol’s best endeavours she was not allowed to pay him for the work which would have cost so much if a professional engineer was doing it.   Contact details were exchanged, photos were taken, and we left, promising to let Yannick know how the bowthrusters performed. 

Through the lock without incident and then we enter the narrowest and darkest section of the canal so far.  Heavy trees overhanging the canal, and steep walls cut out of the sides provide a rather austere and dark canvas after the sunlight and green fields of the last few days.  

Once we are back out into the open again we are running alongside a busy main road, the first we have encountered, so we decide to delay mooring until it is quieter.   We are rather frustrated by a sign for a restaurant which is on the right, but the only mooring is on the left and there is no bridge, so we decide to move on a little further.  The style of the houses is clearly showing a more alpine influence here and there which is probably due to being so near to the Swiss border.  This is a much more affluent area with more modern homes. We are now approaching the highest point on the Vosges canal (Carol adds....and the highest point of the whole trip): the watershed at 361m (1185ft).   Honister Pass in the lake district at 1167 ft is actually lower than us! All those locks!

We come to the last likely mooring at les Forges and decide to pull in if the water is deep enough. It is, so we stop for the night and Carol takes the dogs for a walk whilst Val “volunteers” to suss out the restaurant options.   Disaster!   It is Monday, and everything is closed.  So, back to the boat,  into the depths of the fridge to find the smoked chicken and a meal is cobbled together.  Tomorrow we will DEFINITELY eat out because the Pilot Book says we will be moored in a place with at least 3 restaurants!

After a few glasses of wine, life seems quite acceptable, and we decide to get to bed because tomorrow is THE DAY OF THE 15 LOCKS OF THE GOLBY STAIRCASE  Once we are in and going down, we can’t stop without seeking permission as one lock triggers the next.  This is going to be a new experience as we will be entering a full lock, and descending, so Carol suggests some lassoing skills might be useful to hook on to the bollards.  This will be interesting!

 

Well.. we are stuck in Girancourt, but the good news is that our lovely Frenchman, who we know now is called Yannick, has dismantled the bowthruster and has isolated the problem..  two allen screws which hold a particular piece in place seem to have come undone, and the piece has dropped and is hitting some other screws (highly technical this!), as are the heads of the allen screws.  Bits of shiny metal abound. Hence the horrible noise.  The solution is going to be two new screws... …if we can find them (seems like they are imperial, though the rest of the measurements are metric?). Yannick and Jacqueline offer to drive me to Epernay or Golby where there are specialist shops.. but of course not today, as it is Sunday.

Instead we decide its  a “fill up with water” day as we are running low, and showers are not possible without  more resources. The ever resourceful Val spots that the Englishman on a boat three away has a trolley, so she “persuades” him to lend it her.. but instead he comes and insists on filling up our water carriers. I haven’t the heart to tell him that we want several refills, so he duly delivers one lot and then goes off with the trolley. We get out the trusty bikes, and wobble our way to and from the lock where there is a tap.  Yannick and Jacqueline,  on seeing our wobbles, insist on using their car…. 

Not a lot else to report.. Val cooked a meal for us all, including Yannick and Jacqueline.. the least we could do after all their help;  Sam howled at the Sunday bells, and I had a jungle trek along a very dank part of the canal and back through very wet woods, coming back drenched.

Between locks 8 & 9 to Girancourt

  (Val Writes)

After 14 hours sleep we all feel a lot better and get up to have a healthy breakfast, walk the dogs and wait for the VNF man to arrive, as he has to accompany us through the next few locks.  He duly arrives around 9 am and Carol has already spoken to the Dutch people on the barge who are going to go through the locks with us.  They understand that we swing about a bit in the lock and need to stay forward of us to give us room.  So, off we go. 

This is easy compared to yesterday. The locks are so close together and the VNF man keeps on helping us to rope the bollards.  Whats more, its easy with the barge in front of us taking all the turbulence from the lock gates which means that we sit still in the water and Trish and I have very little to do in comparison to yesterday.  Oh yes, this is turning into a good day.

Five locks later we say goodbye to our lovely VNF man who informs us that the next lock is “automatique”  So we sail through the last lock with the help of the dutch people who kindly slip our ropes on and off the bollards for us.  Carol suggests that we moor up for a spot of lunch and to get some shopping from the Intermarche which is right next to the canal.  We moor in a beautiful spot, write a shopping list and do a BIG shop.  Then after this is stored away, we saunter out for lunch at the local restaurant. 

This is where things begin to unravel.  The restaurant has closed for the weekend. 

So, back to the boat, make a lovely lunch, eat it, and decide to continue on our way to a mooring which is outside a restaurant about 10Km away.  Just as we cast off, the guy in front of us does the same, and heads for the lock.  He fails to see us so we have to back up as the lock gates close.  This means reversing up the canal using the bow thrusters to stay straight, as the wind has got up, and is blowing us about.

All is not well. The noise coming out of the bow thrusters is not healthy, and then they pack up completely. We limp back to our mooring, fighting a strong breeze which is pushing Wild Bird in all directions.  Eventually, moored up. Carol suggests that we need to look at the bowthruster propellers to see if there is something snagging them.  On enquiring she explains that she really needs a dinghy to do this or she has to jump in the canal.   I head off up the line of boats and suss out that the large one on the end has a dinghy. 

After a rather convoluted exchange (they said they spoke no English, and I spoke no German, so it had to be in French), they agreed to lend us the dinghy.  The guy kindly brought it up to the other end of the mooring and handed it over to Carol.  He then walked off, and I held the rope, whilst a rather unattractive Carol, clad in old clothes and a snorkel emerged from the boat to board the dinghy.  She then submerged her head in the water, issuing a string of instructions through the snorkel which were totally unintelligible to Trish and I, and using manic hand signals, waving her bum in the air, as she traversed the front end of the boat apparently doing something.

 I was then instructed to take her around to the far side where the same procedure was followed, equally unintelligibly, bum still in the air and head under water.  This time things did not proceed so fluidly, she went a lean too far and flipped the dinghy over!  Carol disappeared under water, and I am ashamed to say that I was less worried about Carol than I was about telling the German that his pristine outboard motor was upside down in the canal. 

However, she fortunately re emerged, looking worse for wear but much calmer than I, and politely asked me to lower the ladder at the back of the boat so that she could board.  This I did, at the same time as rehearsing in my head, how I might tell the German about his dinghy.  Fortunately Carol, dripping and bleeding from a cut finger, made it rather obvious that something was amiss.  The German was not amused.  By now, we had been joined by a Frenchman who helped to haul the sorry dinghy and motor out of the water.  Then an Englishman arrived and the three men took off with the motor to try and rescue it using “man language” and leaving Carol (dripping) and me hovering.  There was no attempt to ask Carol if she was ok, the engine needed to be attended to.  We all breathed a sigh of relief as said engine sputtered back to life after major surgery, and smiles all round, and a few pats on the back, and I rather thought we might have been forgiven.

So back to the boat and Trish and Carol agree that Carol should use our meager water supply for a shower as the Eau de Canal Vosges was not too pleasant.  Carol then dashed off to get some decent wine from the shop to give to the German, by way of apology, along with her insurance details in case the engine suffered a relapse.

Next, the lovely Frenchman next door turns out to be a marine Engineer so he offers to have a look at the bow thrusters.  Trish now has a Frenchman in her bedroom although the oily overalls are perhaps not as romantic as one could wish.  He is delving into the bowels of the boat with Carol testing the engines.  On checking the manual it appears that the Frenchman knows whatn he is talkign about, and also knows how to contact the french suppliers. .  We are therefore staying put until Monday so that he can help us to sort this out and allow us to continue with confidence. 

We are all rather frazzled again so I am therefore “volunteered” to ride the collapsible bike,  down the road to the Intermarche, where a pizza van with a feu de bois pizza oven is awaiting our order.  I park my collapsible rather nonchalantly in its semi collapsed position.  This draws a crowd, there are clearly no collapsible bikes in Girancourt.  I am now the centre of attention so my pidgin French and my admission that it is pretty crap draws laughter and a crowd sourcing support system to order the pizzas and understand that it will be at least an hour before they are ready. Laughter and bon homie all round.     However, pizzas ordered, collected, eaten and all is well.

A day off tomorrow, and we might even go out for a bike ride.  The only obvious hazard is that this is Sunday, we are near the church, and Sam appears to like howling in unison with any bell ringing, so it may be rather noisy. 

Addendum

Well it seems our day was not quite over after all.  Not sure what was in the wine we drank but I woke at about 12.30 am absolutely convinced that we were floating down the canal in the dark having somehow slipped our mooring.  Not wanting to disturb anyone erroneously I even took the time to take a panicked trip up on deck to double check.  No, we were definitely in the middle of the canal and had water on both sides and seemed to be travelling at speed.  I rushed back below deck shouting to Carol that we were drifting down the canal and she emerged from her slumbers to tell me that this was impossible.  However, I was so insistent that Carol climbed out and took a look.  She then, much more politely than I deserved I think, told me I was not quite right in the head and got me to look out again.  It seems the rippling water I had seen was actually rippling long grass on shore to which we were still securely moored.  Doh!  Back to bed chastened and embarrassed

But the night was still young and a couple of hours later I awoke to hear Trish crashing past me on my sofa bad,  with Sam in tow.  She was muttering about needing to get on deck and then that she had forgotten her shoes and she would go back for them.  “Trish?” I said.  She stopped, looked at me and said “WHAT?”  then “Oh I thought I was wanted outside”  With that she promptly marched into her room and went back to sleep.  There was definitely something in the red wine last night.