Montbeliard to Montceau

Sep 10

It was all a bit uphill from Montbeliard as we were backtracking, which we hate, to Montceau .  Angela was a bit nervous ref river levels but the Doubs had turned into a pussycat - well almost.

There is an ecluse there somewhere

We took a photo of the 'bent' ecluse we had passed through going upstream

Ecluse with a curve

We had to overnight at most of the moorings we had used on the outward journey, but we skipped Besancon as there were no moorings available at Port Tarragnoz and we motored on to our greenfield site at  Routelle.

Entrance to Citadel tunnel - Besancon

This time through we managed to get a mooring at Dole near 'Avontuur' and 'Hendrika' - very windy so a bit of 'to and fro' through the crew's gritted teeth when mooring (if only females were as 'even tempered' as men :).

Dole

Heading south on the Saone early one morning - the mist thickened to a real pea souper - we tried for a mooring at  Gergy but overshot it so had to carry on.  We crept on with Peter in the bows looking for channel buoys, oncoming traffic and bridges - in a clear spot we found we were leading a convoy of 4 or 5 smaller boats!  Eventually the mist cleared enough to spot the entrance to the Canal du Centre and we pushed on to Fragnes.

 Chapel (partial) - Fragnes

This time through we stopped at Santenay, a small mooring with a track to the village which has about 15 wine caves. However, after seeing the prices of good Burgundy we decided a bulk buy was not a good idea - onwards to our farm shop in Blanzy where we could at least get some Merlot.  A lot of the time we were following a commercial that was having problems with water depth and therefore managing the bends so it was painfully slow progress.

Daughter (Nikki) sent us a photo of her practising her 'rescue the parents' skills.

Need a tow?

By this time we were ready for a long halt, so it was pleasant to get back to our winter mooring at Montceau on 1 Oct 10.  We were the first in, just as well as there were three potential contenders for two T berth slots.  Terry and Teresa Barrett on 'Renaissance' arrived a few days later and Sue on 'Kellis' (a narrowboat) some time after that.  By that time we had found all the supermarkets and boulangeries, a source of the Sunday Times and a Bar to drink in when the sun was shining.  It took Angela a few weeks to explore all the dog walks as Montceau has two large parks (dotted with lakes) which have been developed on the site of the old mine workings.

A quick check on Navigo and we found we had done circa 2,300 kms since 1 Apr - if we get bored during the Winter we must add up the locks!

Montceau to Belfort Junction

Sep 10

Our son suggested a meeting on the Rhein (he is based in North Germany) so we looked at the Edition du Breil and decided the Canal Rhone au Rhin (aka River Doubs) was achievable, it had also been recommended by friends as a good scenic route.  However, it did involve retracing our course up the Canal du Centre to the Saone and St Jean de Losne - off we set anyway.

This time through we stopped at St Leger sur Dheune which is mostly taken up by a hire base - once again we shrank to 15m - must retitle Angie as a 'Procurer of Discounts' - perhaps it is her improving French rather than the eyelashes.  Into Fragnes again where Kes likes the canalside walks.

Kes - Fragnes

Then the River Saone,  the weather was beautiful so the Helmswoman went on strike and once again it was a man and a dog doing all the work.

River Saone

 Verdun sur Doubs - we were stung with Peniche rates (female Capitaine) but not a lot of alternatives.  No moorings again at St Jean de Losne - so we fuelled up (another 'ouch') and into the Canal Rhone au Rhin where we met our first grumpy eclusier.  It took 30 mins to have the lock zapper explained (must admit it is a more complicated type) then we moored up at Abergement La Ronce (having been cut up by an English barge at one of the locks).  Not a wonderful day.

Next a short run to Choisey where we spent a few days (supermarket 2km up a hill but not much else) - met a very smart Sagar 'Alicia' (crewed by Steven Sagar who built Kotare). Steven kindly donated a couple of surplus fenders designed for sloping walls - perhaps it was the scratch on the bow. Then off through Dole which was wall to wall boats, so we moored at Ranchot where we got a greenfield mooring with electricity.

Ecluse - Dole

We found a cute little greenfield mooring at Routelle in a triangular shaped basin - Kes loved the area - then off to Besancon.  We were now experiencing the full joys of the River Doubs weirs where the weir and ecluse are often collocated - a whole new experience motoring along the face of the weirs after leaving the ecluse - the Helmswoman was not impressed as water levels were high.

a Doubs weir

In Besancon we had to go through two tight ecluses and the Citadel tunnel to get a mooring at the new Porte Bregille - very smart.

Besancon Citadel

It was very windy and this combined with a strong current made turning and mooring difficult (another bowthruster fuse has to be charged to the Helmswoman too).  We had a good time exploring the City and the impressive Citadel.

River Doubs from Citadel

We then did a short run to Deluz, the new marina is useless as a barge mooring but we used the electricity and water to pressure wash Kotare and then used the free nearby mooring.  We had decided to paint the cabin and wheelhouse tops which were looking a bit tatty (Steven Sagar had looked a bit disapproving too). Two days later - voila - though mixing paint by eye meant it was a tadge too yellow.

Deluz - Kotare newly painted

At Baume les Dames, the next stop, we had to raft up to a fellow English barge, Bob and Jenny on Hendrika who also had a border collie - Kes in love again. The heavy rain didn't interfere with the social life though.

Canal Rhone au Rhin

At this belated point we checked Navigo and found that the eastern third of the Canal was closing for a month (at the end of the month) so a hasty revision and we agreed to stop at the Belfort Junction.  With time in hand we meandered on to Isle sur la Doubs (where we met Ian Lones on Avontuur - our DBA Winter mooring guide). We then spent a few nights at Columbier Chatelet on a deserted pontoon by an attractive little village and ecluse. We dismantled and varnished the hatches, route marched to the Bar in the next village on the grounds it was exercise for Kes and Angie also squeezed in some sun bathing. Dampierre was mainly a Catholic shrine on the waterfront and a boulangerie so we only stayed one night.  The River was quite high so we were being fairly cautious.

Starboard a bit please

En route to Montbeliard the Canal crosses the River without benefit of an aqueduct, so if the River is high VNF close traffic due to the strong currents - Ian had been held up for a few days but we were OK.

Ian Lones had directed us to the free mooring at Montbeliard (outside the VNF office) which pained Bob on Hendrika who was paying the full rate.  Lots of shopping and sightseeing and Chris (son) arrived late with a another car load of NAAFI stores - after an 8 hour drive down the length of Germany so was knackered.

Montbeliard - Chateau

Delegating the heavy lifting to Chris, we went off to Belfort Junction and stayed the night on a good pontoon in the midst of a lot of greenery, then back to Montbeliard to wave farewell to Chris (now retitled Chief Logistician).

Belfort Junction

Son posing as an idle layabout

Corre to Montceau

Aug 10

Getting a winter booking was becoming more urgent - Epinal was now too far North and the two possible DBA spots (Fragnes and Pouilly-en-Auxois) were foundering on VNF indifference.  At this point Terry Barrett on Renaissance suggested Montceau-les-Mines on the Canal du Centre (south of Dijon).  Not a decision to be made unseen so full throttle ahead.

The Upper Saone started off small and scenic and we wandered down to Port sur Saone which was a good and busy mooring but the town wasn't that inspiring.  No internet so definitely a one night stop. Off to Gray a much bigger town with supermarkets - the moorings were a bit silted up so lucky to get in in windy conditions - Peter finally installed the new washing machine and disposed of the old (room in the wheelhouse at last. Visited the museum in the Chateau - fortunately the entrance fee was low but at least it had a good view.

Then we found a small mooring at Lamarche sur Saone - we had to wait for a hire boat to move off but it was great stop.  The village had an excellent boucherie and boulangerie and a fairly tired Spa, but the latter had a good Beaujolais and an excellent Morgon so stocked up.  A steak barbecue on night One and boeuf bourguignon night Two - if only we had a deep freeze on board.

Auxonne was the next stop - fortifications and a Napoleonic museum (he served there) in the castle/chateau keep which was dire - NO more town museums! Found a bar to drown our sorrows.

Auxonne 

The Saone was getting bigger and few ecluses, so the kms per day were adding up. We were looking forward to getting to St Jean de Losne (hub of the waterways etc) but there were no moorings, so moored outside a restaurant which allowed us to stay for the night (any excuse not to cook). For a 'hub' there wasn't a lot of activity - so we bought a fender (down to the helmswoman) at H20, chatted to a few English boaters and drifted on south.  Moorings on the big rivers are tight, so after our first big ecluses since the Moselle we squeezed into Seurre with some fast talking - Kes made friends with the Capitaine which helped.

Next was Verdun sur Doubs - a short turn off the Saone - only one barge mooring and we were just in time for the market - fish for dinner.  Angie fluttered her eyelashes and the Capitaine agreed we were under 15m. A nice little town and we found a good bar - after two nights we had become 'regulars'.

Verdun sur Doubs

A few more big ecluses and we were at the Canal du Centre - the Canal entrance is 'industrial' and entering the first ecluse (10m rise) is like going into a mine entrance.  No problems and onwards towards Fragnes where we spent a few days. A very popular mooring, the canal side is beautifully maintained and a good boulangerie and restaurant (and a hairdresser they seem to breed like rabbits in French villages). No surprise that the restaurant had to be checked out - good food but moderate service.

The ecluses were automated using a rope 'trigger', but dreadfully sited  at one end of the ecluse or the other so difficult to operate from on board - a mix of 5m and 2.5m lifts. A commercial quay at Chagny (don't bother) - a greenfield quay at St Julien which was fine with a boulangerie in the village 5 mins away (all the rural villages seem well maintained with tubs of flowers) and then Blanzy where we squeezed onto a small quay (free elec/water).  We found a farm shop near the quay which made us homesick for the NZ farm - we stocked up with cheap dogfood and Merlot (only in France).  The next day was Montceau les Mines

We tied up on the T of a finger pontoon at Montceau and made ourselves known to the Capitaine Catherine who spoke quite good English, checked out the town,  the dog walks (important) and Internet reception (critical) . As Terry Barrett had said,  it had all mod cons, was remarkably cheap and everyone was friendly so we signed up for the Winter and relaxed for a few days.

Montceau Mooring

Strasbourg to Corre

Jul 10

As we were retracing our footsteps along the Canal Marne au Rhin we tried to stop at different moorings to the way out, though there was no real alternative to Lutzelbourg.  This time we managed to find a mooring at Saverne opposite the Chateau.

Chateau Rohan Saverne

We kept on meeting boats ex Strasbourg though traffic overall was quite light - a bad year for the Hire firms?  Not a lot of wildlife either other than swans.

The deep lock at Rechicourt (15.4m) was a squeeze this time - the Eclusier insisted on fitting in 4 craft and our jackstaff got damaged (more grump).

Rechicourt ecluse

Peter had to go back to UK to help daughter move flats in July, so we moored up at Lagarde and Peter did the 10 hour drive back to Bristol in a hire car - Angela was left with a can of varnish and brush (for the wheelhouse) - Kes to entertain and a boatload of Italians to fend off.

Lagarde - early morning

Peter got back a week later with a car full to the gunnels incl boat paint, new fridge and washing machine etc. While back he had also squeezed in an unplanned removal of a skin cancer - which was found on his routine check (too many years in hot climates).  The NHS is great but works on rather extended time frames so a speedy private job depleted the cash flow again.  The Bristol flat was now let  - so sonst ist alles OK.

Fascinated by some of the place names en route Xouaxange, Gondrexange, Xirxange, Xures which don't exactly trip off an English tongue - must do a Google search to find the derivations.  A lady sharing an ecluse with us gave us a fright by falling into the rapidly emptying ecluse from her hireboat (she thought it was funny once we get her out)!! Not sure filling out Inquest forms in French would be.

So we traipsed back past Nancy to Toul where we turned south on the Moselle - we had planned a shortcut down the Embranchement du Nancy but that was semi-permanently closed (to the surprise of our Navigo software). A few very long days in the absence of any good moorings - Angela tired and giving the crew a hard time again.  A few nice family sized chateaus on the Moselle which Angie fancied (I pointed out the cleaning and heating costs)..

Moselle chateau

We were looking forward to getting on the Canal des Vosges, though we were hearing rumours about possible Arrets de Navigation.  Richardmenil was a nice mooring but all the restaurants were closed - back on automatic locks - whoopee. The next day a green bank mooring just short of the Flavigny sur Moselle ecluse and aqueduct - a lovely spot.

Flavigny aqueduct

We pushed on through Roulle devant Bayon to Charmes, following a slow commercial most of one day. Saw a lot of Kia,  a swiss registered Peniche de Plaisance, first met west of Strasbourg. Charmes was busy and we found a slot at the Camping Ground, we spent the evening in an ad hoc canal side meal with some Australians from a campervan.

Canal des Vosges

At Thaon les Vosges a VNF worker told us that Ecluse 6 was 'broken' and we would be held up for 4 days -  luckily the town had all mod cons so Peter fuelled up by jerrican, we depleted the supermarket and when bored we gave Kotare some TLC (washing, varnishing and painting).  An adjacent barge was called 'Miss Marple' but was owned by a Frenchman (with a very noisy generator).  Angie took my stitches out (lots of previous practice with our dogs). Met Etoile de Soir, a very early, and small, Sagar owned by a Kiwi from Christchurch.

Off south again towards Epinal which we wanted to recce as a winter mooring, but the embranchement was closed so pushed on (an extra 14 ecluses) to Les Forges.  At which point we were told by VNF that Ecluse 37 was closing for 2 weeks + in two days! Could we do 37 ecluses in 2 days - mais bien sûr.  A pity as we were sprinting past places where we would have liked to linger.  Fontenoy Le Chateau was pretty little town - if slightly run down in places aka derelict - a possible wintering spot one year?  Managed to get bread and water before lunch closure.

Departing Fontenoy

We finally got to Ecluse 37 where we found three barges ahead of us, one of which was Vrouwe Catherina.   The water level was right down as the ecluse gates were knackered - VNF was pumping water into the ecluse from a lake to get each boat through.  We put our bow into the shore while waiting and were lucky to get off when we wanted to move as the water level had fallen further.  We were the last boat through before they pulled the plug.  Continued on to Selles where there was a nice restaurant, so we collapsed for a few days and, led astray by the Ramsey's on V. Catherina, squandered the housekeeping on wine and food.

Then off to Corre and the junction with the River Saone

Nancy to Strasbourg

Jun 10

So ever eastwards with time to spare to get to the Rally.  Nancy, other than the centre, was a bit grotty but nice big supermarkets on our route out (a full refuel of food, gas and diesel - Peter's arms are stretching as all the refuels so far this year have been by jerrican).

Trundled from rural mooring to rural mooring until Lagarde (a hire base) where we tied up for a few days and improved the takings of the bar/restaurant in the village - the best crepes to date and the worst omelette! We hired a rattly 2CV from the hirebase to investigate - Angie drove as she had 'prior experience' with a 2CV gearchange (!).

The villages were fairly useless as we moved east (poor alimentation's where they existed, the bars all seemed shut and in some cases no boulangeries - quel horreur).  We overnighted at Niderviller before the excitement of the Niderviller tunnels and the Arviller Plane next morning. One of the minor tunnels:

The Arviller plane was exciting and/or fun in that it was our first plane incline and we weren't quite sure what to expect - in the event no sweat..

Arviller Plane

Onward to Lutzelbourg - an attractive village a bit like Monschau in Germany (prices to match) - spent a fortune on delicacies in the Epicerie. One more chateau to climb to.

Lutzelbourg

After a few days we moved on to the Foret du Brumath - where three other barges were waiting to go into Strasbourg - we gathered for an evening meal in the local forest auberge - but it was a bit of an Irish bargee closed shop.  Then off to the Bassin Dusuzeau in Strasbourg past the EU Parliament and a few interesting river cross currents en route.

More taxes

The Rally was 33 x DBA barges all shapes and sizes - a number of other Sagars so we could check out the mods on the newer barges. Vrouwe Catherina alongside - but no mains electricity (despite all the promises) so some boats left early.  The main Rally events were a Dinner and cruise on some of the closed waterways but the organisation wasn't up to Army standards (lets blame the French)

Strasbourg Rally

The Bassin was being developed and was very active at night (except on Kotare).

We collected the mail, did the shopping and lots of sightseeing.  The Rally visit coincided with a music festival so there was plenty of action in the streets. Petite France was pretty but full of those pesky tourists.

Petite France - Strasbourg

There was even some wildlife.

It was the longest we had stayed static since Kortrijk but after 9 days it was time to cast off.  We considered heading up the Rhin towards Basel but chickened out and went west again retracing our steps.

Givet to Nancy

May 10

We were slow timing it towards Strasbourg for a DBA Rally, so often we would only do 3 hours a day when travelling. We crossed the border near Givet but didn't see any signs to show it.

Givet

Givet was our first experience of automated 'point and zap' locks, an excellent system providing a hire boat hasn't stuffed it up.  Past Givet a German boat jammed two locks in succession so we moored up and had lunch. After motoring on we misread the Marina mooring instructions and missed our turning at Revin ecluse - at which point the River shallowed and we came to a grinding halt - no way off - so we inflated the dinghy and headed for shore and let Angela practice her French with the Eclusier - a lot of Gallic arm waving and shaking of heads - I mean the locals don't need signs do they!  A few hours later a friendly VNF man raised the river level a bit and we scraped off (incl any moss and barnacles at a guess).  The Eclusier was so pleased to see the back of us he even worked 10 mins overtime.

We passed through the Revin tunnel at dusk and a fellow bargee let us raft up in the adjacent marina.  A good stop as there was a giant Intermarche about 100 metres away. A late start therefore towards Chateau Regnault where we moored to a concrete landing with some Dutch boats - as the largest boat we ended up with another one rafted up.  We are going to miss all the English speakers as we move further into darkest France.

Although we are both moderately competent, Angela has dodgy knees for scrambling over the boat and pontoons/banks, add in a a more cautious (aka safe) temperament and we decided that Angela should officially become the Helmswoman/Radio Op and Peter (with a strong right arm) the Deckcrew.

Off through Pont a Bar to Mouzon where we got cut up by a small Dutch boat, who stole our  mooring while we were manouvring to reverse in (grump). We found another one but no electricity.  An attractive town with a nice Abbey church.

Mouzon Abbey church

Carried on south to Duns sur Meuse, where we met Roy and Beryl Ramsay on Vrouwe Catherina for the first time (also en route to Strasbourg). Then off to Verdun where we did the conventional sightseeing - not sure getting a million men chopped up is that Gloire though.

Verdun memorial

Angie took her life in her hands and had a haircut - excellent but it was a significant % of the monthly income.  Organised a French sim card to cut phone charges and bought a load of geraniums as our trough flowers are wilting in the heat. On return we appeared to have sprung a leak (see below). We shared a bottle with a Kiwi from Hastings (Clive Snow) - a lot of Kiwis and Australians seem to spend the antipodean winter barging in Europe.

Verdun fountain

Carried on south through a lot of nice villages/moorings.  At St Mihiel we ended up knee deep in Gendarmes and helicopters as a couple of jail prisoners had escaped while on a canoe outing. At Commercy we visited the Chateau (Duke of Lorraine) and then to the end of the Meuse (now officially the Canal de Este (Nord)) and turned east on the Canal de Marne au Rhin.  We lost our automated ecluse zapper as the locks are manned (in chains of ecluses) from here to Toul.

Downhill to Toul - Peter managed to trap a bow rope in one of the ecluses so quickly cut it clear - a splicing job for Angela.  Into the marina at Toul - a bit tight - met up with Vrouw Catherina again and a friendly french barge also heading for Strasbourg.  Checked out the fortifications and Cathedral and after an idle weekend headed towards Nancy.  No moorings en route, so a long flog into the Nancy outskirts (through the grottiest ecluse to date incl dead goat, birds and ?).  Found a free mooring close to the centre but no utils.

Place Stanislaus Nancy

Maastricht to Givet

May 10

We wandered off from Maastricht very early (misread the time) on Sat morning and headed south along the Maas - we knew moorings would be in short supply (as they are on a lot of rivers ) but squeezed into a tiny and expensive marina at Huy.  Most of the towns en route had Vauban type citadels perched above and all the climbing should have slimmed us down. We were colocated with a circus and Kes thought the lions and tigers were fairly threatening - compared with our farm dogs he is a big wuss - prepared to protect the boat against all comers providing he has a skirt to hide behind if the going looks tough.

Huy citadel

Then it was Namur and then a few nights in Riviere swapping war stories with an Australian bargee. Then off to Dinant near the French border.  A perfect, if expensive, mooring in the centre of town and off we went to explore the town.

Dinant waterfront

It was all a bit touristy for us,  but we were also looking for the main Post Office to collect Post Restante mail. However, the town PO had closed a week before and the replacement, once found, was 3 km uphill in a shopping mall on the outskirts of town - unimpressed especially with the dodgy directions 'near the Hospital' which consisted of 3 sites spread around town.

Our last Belgian sight was Chateau Freyr and gardens - even Angela didn't fancy the upkeep.

Anseremme - Chateau Freyr

Anyway - next stop France.

Boom to Maastricht

May 10

We were looking forward to getting out of the tidal rivers and back to safety on the Canals so we pushed on up the Nete to Lier. Chris (No 1 son) had met us in Boom for the weekend and met up with us again in Lier (Kes being sick in the BMW - disgrace! The Red Cross parcel or three from NAAFI - a mix of essentials like Glenmorangie whisky and nice to have (cheddar and bacon). Plus a load of mail so it was Xmas in May. Even the navigator seemed to have recovered.

Lier has become quite touristy since I served there in the early 80's so we had no problem finding a 'good' restaurant  - Angela has a talent for fund depletion (or is that all females).  Once Chris had departed we headed off along the Albert Canal to Herentals where we moored by the Sluis.  The Albert Canal was quite choppy and Angela who can get seasick looking at a bath was glad to get off it. The next day was a trek into town to stock up on 'kuchen' for the visit of Belgian friends.  It is amazing how many people say 'how lucky you are' (having a barge lifestyle) - what has luck got to do with it - I thought it was just a case of itchy feet and a willingness to make it happen!

From Herentals we headed east along the Bocholt-Herentals Canal - It was mainly pine forests with not a lot of moorings.  The canals were lined with pillboxes - good fields of fire but they don't seem to have done the job too well - I felt sorry for the poor squaddies who manned them in the dark and damp.

Then the run down the Zuidwillemsvaart to Maastricht on the Dutch border- all a bit boring until we had to find a mid River mooring on a River Maas (Meuse) pier.  Once again Kes had to practice his ladder climbing over my shoulder every time he wanted to cock his leg!

Maastricht is a nice city with lots of sightseeing (and shopping) potential, unfortunately it was very cold (and I forgot the camera) but this is a farewell shot of St Servis.