Advanced Beginners

Our first full day on the water and, like yesterday, we didn't travel very far. By the time we moored for the evening, we had only covered a collective distance of about 18km. We're going to have to step up the pace a little to avoid a cannonball run on the last day of our boat hire.

The locks on the Canal operate from 9.00am so super-early starts aren't an option ... we're very pleased with this arrangement. It also suits us that the locks don't operate for an hour from 12.00pm so we're forced to tie up somewhere scenic and enjoy the quiet peacefulness, which is only disturbed by the sounds of our own munching.

This morning we needed a few things to supplement our munching plans so we stopped at Brienon-sur-Armancon after negotiating our first lock for the day. The simple task of dropping by the shops is not a quick activity in The Tub. Finding a place to tie up; checking that it isn't too shallow and we'd be beaching rather than mooring; throwing ropes ashore to tie down; someone leaping off the boat to actually tie the ropes to something; getting the front of The Tub tied down; bringing the back around and securing the back rope; adjusting the front rope; putting out the 'gang plank' ... it's a major exercise with all hands required on deck ... and it didn't necessarily happen in the order described or without several attempts. After all, we're still learning 😁😁Read more