News for May 2007
One of our first decisions when leaving Toul was how to manage the climbing locks. There was a good hard surface alongside the canal and the locks were fairly close so it was ideal for Diane to cycle between the locks and be ready to hook up the bow rope to secure the boat. We were going through a series of locks so as we went through one, so the next was set into motion. Every lock ready for us as we approached it. The cycling arrangement worked but before we approached a 6 metre lock the folding bike and Diane were back on board, probably in that order! The lock keeper operating the deeper lock on that stretch of water was very clear about which side of the lock we should moor and his judgement was correct. As the lock filled, the water ran alongside the boat and held us into the lock wall without any difficulty. It was at this point that we were reissued with a telecommande (zapper) to operate the locks on the Meuse. Our first stay was at Pagny-sur-Meuse, a small town with a pleasant park area for children and an impressive sculpture erected in 2000. We chatted with a local person and her child whilst moored up who expressed her delight to see a boat moored on the pontoon. They were used to seeing many and varied boats but because of the closure of four locks for a period of a month, mid April to mid May, the movement of craft was restricted.
We moved on to Commercy going down 5 locks using the zapper which reliably set each lock into action. The mooring consisted of a hard quay with a view of storage of materials belonging to a DIY store. Not the prettiest mooring that we have had but the town made up for that. There was a lovely looking pharmacy that had been in existence since 1907 and in the style of 'art nouveau', apparently the only one remaining in the region. There was also a beautiful tree lined alley with flower displays which led to what used to be the town hall but is now a 'Maison de Musique'. There was a good selection of shops which is always useful to keep fridge and store cupboards topped up. Whilst at Commercy we had a visit from the VNF (equivalent to BWB) to ask about our plans for boating as a little further on we would be working with lock keepers again. As we were not sure ourselves we agreed to make a necessary phone call at the appropriate time to communicate our intentions. That afternoon we had a gentle chug to Sapigny and the following day to St. Mihiel.
There was a good pontoon mooring at St Mihiel with water and electricity and yet again, no charge. The town centre was very close to the mooring and in the town there was a very interesting 'boucherie, chacuterie', huge with a wide choice of produce. It was enjoyable to shop there. The town also had a couple of small supermarkets. Whist we were moored at St Mihiel we had two visitors. One, a kitten who was very curious and sat himself on the gunnels for a while looking through the window and even decided to explore the front deck but more importantly the second visit was from a French gentleman informing us that there was a boat a short way behind us that had grounded under a bridge whilst attempting to come into the pontoon. We quickly set ourselves into action and Paul reversed the boat to throw a rope to the grounded boat. Fortunately we managed to pull them off and the New Zealand (NZ) couple were able to moor up. We were happy to help and have been grateful of help when we have found ourselves in similar situations, not too often thank goodness. Before they took their leave they gave us two beautiful decorative pins which they had brought with them from New Zealand.
We made the necessary arrangements with VNF to take our leave of St. Mihiel after checking that there was electricity and water at La Croix, that was to be our destination. Normally we do not worry about 'hook ups' but we were having a bit of a problem with the alternator so the electricity was going to be very useful. Unfortunately when we arrived at the mooring, electricity, there was none! A bit of a difficult telephone conversation with VNF did eventually result in them agreeing for us to continue, At certain times of the year they often want notice of movement on the previous afternoon in order to organise the deployment of personnel. We are pleased to report that Paul managed to sort out the problem with the alternator and for the technically minded, it was an issue with the carbon brushes. So after an overnight stay at Dieue we arrived at Verdun.
Verdun proved to be a good mooring, again with electricity and water with no charge. The lengthy pontoon was below an esplanade full of cafes and restaurants. The town centre was close and people once again very friendly. It is a town steeped in history and although perhaps remembered for the 300 consecutive nights of intense fighting in the 1st World war the history of battles goes back to the 1800's. It is a town that suffered over many years and there are many monuments as remembrance of the troubled times. We even managed to find an historical and tourist guide written in English in the market.
Learn more about the battle for Verdun >>>>> click here Link
Our next journey was from Verdun to Dun-sur-Meuse and was shared with a delightful couple in a 13 metre yacht, Joe and Jane. We set off just before 09.00 as organised with the VNF. We travelled through beautiful gentle, rolling scenery and thankfully the weather forecast was completely wrong! We had no rain and no thunderstorms. Lock keepers took us through 8 locks and then the last lock for that day was automatic functioning with the zapper. One of the locks had slanting walls and a floating pontoon had been installed in the lock for leisure boaters to rope up to. It seemed strange to get off the boat and wander around whilst the boat descended. The good day of boating was finished off with Joe, Jane and us having a drink together over a conversation about boating experiences.
We had a couple of nights at Dun-sur-Meuse and whilst there managed to run out of water, first time ever! Unconcerned we set the hose up to fill the tank only to find that the water was not turned on. Once again we experienced the help and co-operation of the French people. A gentleman living near by made a telephone call and less than an hour later 3 men, each in their own cars, arrived at the mooring. There was lots of discussion and eventually one of the men explained that they would try to sort out turning on the water. True to their word, half an hour later one of them arrived and we were able to fill the tank. The water hadn't been turned on, although the electricity was on, because there is no charge for mooring until beginning of June. We were not charged! At Dun we had a long chat with a couple who boat for a period of time on a 13 metre 'Sea Otter' called 'High Jump'. We were pleased to learn that the gentleman is a regular reader of this web site.
Link to >>>>>>> High Jump
|
Pagny war memorial garden
By this time the lock closure 40 - 43 was over and there was a lot more boats on the move and so we anticipated that mooring could be a problem for a relatively short space of time mainly with people moving South. We are moving in the opposite direction but moorings still have to be shared. We did a half day boating to Stenay which was a well organised pontoon mooring. The only drawback was that Idling By was too long to be able to turn so we had to reverse out of the port. Thank goodness for the bow thruster to help with corrective direction from time to time. For once we actually paid for mooring. Taking our leave of Stenay we headed for Mouzon. We went through a narrow stretch of water (2kmph) which was very picturesque and thank goodness we did not meet up with a commercial barge. The town, although small, has a spectacular looking Abbey and a town hall with an impressive spire.
The next mooring was Sedan, and it is from there that we are updating the web before moving on tomorrow (29th). When we arrived the quay was full and so we reluctantly went towards two pontoons that were chained together on the opposite side of the port. At first sight they looked a bit rickety and so we made good use of the telescopic poles with hooks to secure the ropes to the cleats and not step onto the pontoons. On closer inspection we decided that the pontoons were safe and consequently decided to stay overnight especially as we would easily have a further 3 hours boating to do to the next port and we had no means of knowing whether we would find space there. Fortunately for us, the next morning there was movement on the quay and so we were able to move across the water. Whilst at Sedan we have seen another narrow boat, 'The Last Farthing' and enjoyed meeting the boaters Linda and Eric. Their boat was put into the water at Calais a month ago. Linda said, "I have to keep pinching myself to know that this (boating in France) is really happening". We know the feeling, even 2 years on!