Monday 17th April 2017 Naix-aux-Forges to Demanges-aux-Eaux 14.6kms 13 locks

Sensor - little grey box in the slot
(slot for old lock activation system that used an angled bar that
boats had to push into the horizontal slot to make an electrical connection -
OK for wide beamed boats but a right pain for us,
glad they've been modernised!)

6.5°C Grey clouds and loads of rain showers. Set off at 9.45am as the rain stopped (for a short while). Mike lifted the rod at 14 Barboure as the sensor was on the right and the pole on the left. It was almost 2kms to the next through beautiful wooded countryside, the canal doing snake impersonations as we neared the head of the Ornain valley. Up lock 13 St Amand and Mike took photos of the sensor at the lock entrance. 1.18kms to lock 12 Charmasson. The sensor at 12 didn’t work so Mike had to back out and do it again, OK second time. Made a cuppa on route on the longish 1.125kms pound leading to lock 11 Trèvernay. On the right bank there was a long series of factory buildings, a foundry which

Closeup of the proximity sensor 

looked still in use but shut for the holidays. Lock 11’s lock cabin is the command post for locks 1-17 and there was a VNF man on duty. When the lock was almost full Mike asked if there was drinking water there – yes! So we topped the tank up, only needed 150 litres. Mike took the guy a couple of bottles of beer to say thanks and we both went in to have a look at the computer technology that controls the lock flight. Pretty good, he could work any of the locks from the computer. He said he was the only one on duty today and if anything went wrong he has to go out and fix it if the computer can’t do it – ie physical stuff like bits of wood stuck in gates etc. We asked if we were the only boat on the flight and he said no, there was a péniche on its way down between locks 6 and 7. Great, there’s life on the Marne-au-Rhin! Au-voir to the keeper and off we went, 690m to lock 10 Charbonières. There was a layer of apple blossom petals covering the surface of the water in the lock – there were several old apple trees around the lock. 920m to lock 9 Petite Forge. A lockhouse and it was lived in. Gongoozlers? No, in fact they were the inhabitants of the lockhouse who came out kitted out in

Loaded peniche Kiev exiting lock 8 Laneuville

raingear just to look at the boat! 820m to lock 8 Laneuville and the loaded péniche was just about to enter the lock. We stooged about below the lock while Kiev from Nancy came down then we went up. The showers turned heavy. I made sandwiches for lunch on the move and we ate them on the 1,175kms pound, winding through the woods to lock 7 St Joire. The sensor was on the same side as the pole, so my turn to lift the muddy thing, thank goodness for leather-

Railway track that follows the canal from Tronville

palmed gardening gloves! 1.2kms to lock 6 Boèval. The rain poured down again. 650m to lock 5 L’Abbaye d’Evaux – wow! Clean walls! Did the chores on the 1.405kms long pound to lock 4 Montfort – back to the coating of thick mud on walls and poles. I used my little green watering can to swill the mud off the fenders. 950m to lock 3 Bois Molu, Mike’s turn to lift the rod and get muddy. 680m to lock 2 Demanges, last lock for today. I said the sun would come out

Moored on the pontoon at Demanges-aux-Eaux

when we stopped – it did – between the showers, well it is April, what do you expect? We tied up on the end of the old pontoon at 3pm behind a small cruiser called Libertè that was being refitted. Glad we got water from the VNF as the taps on the pontoon were dry. The bloke on the cruiser was running a small gennie, which was out on the pontoon, when he needed to use power for sanding.

Another poster for Mauvages tunnel-
Please come to the first light to be taken care of
OOh that sounds sinister.........