Cruising donkeys

We decided on a short trip yesterday so we could do a full day on the canal today, in hind sight not a great decision. There was a bit of breeze which was lovely but the river was very busy with lots of hire boats and a few liveaboards we had to wait to enter our penultimate Saone lock while two other boats went up, the lock was only 40x7 ish so no room for more boats. After we and our companion hire boat, entered to ascend there were four other boats waiting to go up and one to come down busy busy. As we carried on up we started to worry that the mooring place we were headed for would be too busy but on arrival it was fine though a bit shallow, good practice for the canal. We stopped in Pontailler sur Saone on a stepped quay by the Marie. We walked through town and up to the plateau behind it (Mount Ardoux) and were amazed just how flat it looked in all directions. It can’t be that flat as the canal has 43locks to the summit each at least 3m deep and the last five are 5m each. In town we also saw the most decorative tiled roof we have seen to date, it was beautiful.
Today we set off just after 9 no point going earlier as we were close to our final Saone lock and first canal lock, the canal locks only operate 9-6 for pleasure boats. The river was stunning so flat and scenery so green that the reflections were incredible. As we passed through our final river lock I lowered the Bimini, the guaranteed air draft on the canal is only 3.5, water draft 1.8 we expect to forge a few channels as we go. Our first canal lock 38x5 argh hadn’t realised they were so thin damn best get the kayaks aboard before the next one as they make bloody expensive fenders. The second lock let us in OK and the water level rose but the gates wouldn’t open to let us out, bugger. OK use the lock ‘phone’ with dodgy French and broken English we establish that I have to take the remote control unit that the telephone operator has released for me, tell her the boat details and where we are going then she will open the gates. OK back on board with control but nothing happens, back to phone yes she will open gates but they are ‘kaput’ she will try again and send engineer. OK we use time to shift the kayaks on board, eventually the gates open with flashing lights and klaxons and off we go. We don’t use the control on the next lock but then it comes into its own, we press control at receptor and by the time we reach the lock it’s ready, open and waiting. This works well for maybe 7 locks then things slow down and we realise by the second time that there is a boat just ahead of us also going up meaning we have to wait for locks to empty before they open. We decide that if we don’t pass the boat on a halte before next Lock we will just stop earlier than planned so we don’t have to loiter out in the sun at each lock. Luckily the boat has stopped so onwards we go and the locks are ready and waiting, we are nearly at our halte, when disaster strikes we go into the lock but the gates won’t close, we try the ‘phone’ it’s broken we try ordinary phone they’re engaged, we resort to pulling the emergency alarm rod. Someone arrives after 30mins and sets us free, 2locks in rapid succession and we are here, a tiny pontoon but it’s home for the night. We now know that 16locks in temperatures in excess of 30degs without shade is about 8 too many!! I thought we were tight in the locks, our fenders are ravaged, most of the fender socks are in tatters, one has disappeared completely.Read more