Saturday 27th May 2017 L’Isle to Abv Deluz 2-rise. 50.1kms 20 locks

Waiting (again) at La Goulisse

12.3°C Sunny and very hot 34°C. Mike got up early and we set off at 7am. Down 27 Papeterie, 1.2kms and down 28 Appenans, then a longer 2.5kms to lk 29 La Goulisse – which had still not been fixed, the locking device didn’t activate it. We attached to the wall above the lock and Mike went to call on the intercom. It was 8.05am and we sat and waited and waited. A very polite and pleasant VNF man arrived at 9.10am. He asked how long we had waited, I said an hour, he

Piggy back froggies

replied that the service doesn’t start until 9am, sorry. OK. He worked the lock from the cabin and we were on our way again at 9.20am. 4kms to the next. Into a canal section and we passed the Nichols hireboat Fontainbleau (they'd moored by us in L'Isle yesterday) on its way upriver. Down the deep (nearly 3m) lk 30 Plaine de la Pompièrre, then 1.6kms of canal to lk 31 Pompièrre. There were gaps in the gates and we thought it was full as the hireboat had just come up, but it was empty and we had a short wait while it filled. 3.3kms of river down to Clerval past an island

Church tower at Clerval

with holiday chalets behind it. A VNF van went past as we descended another 2m in lk 32 Clerval. 4kms to the next, a short river reach passing Clerval then into the canal through an open manually-operated floodlock and down lk 33 Chaux-les-Clerval. 2.2 kms of canal to lk 34 Branne. Our VNF man was fetching weed out that had collected in front of the top end gates of the lock, he was in his van and gone before the gates opened. 1.4kms river reach to lk 35 L’Ermite which has a wide weir all across the river to its right. 1km on the river to lk 36 Hyèvre-Magny which also has a wide weir all across the river. 2.5kms twisting bends of river

Well camouflaged (but very loud) frog

reach to lk 37 Grand Crucifix where we spent a couple of days on the way up due to bad weather (a distant memory - all that rain!) A large British cruiser (with radar – sea-going?) was waiting to go up below the lock. The skipper was too intent on operating his locking device to even notice we were there, but his wife waved. 2.2kms of river to lk 38 La Raie aux Chevères, another with a wide weir all across the river. 2.2kms more river to lk 39 Lonot, passing lots of moored fishing boats and open rowing boats on the right, the past an “invisible”

Clouds creeping up over the hills

weir – water beyond it means the crest of the weir is indistinguishable from above it. There were several black cows on the lockside under the trees on our right at Lonot, about 2m above us (extra height of the lock walls) making the air in the lock chamber pretty pungent. A group of cyclists had stopped to watch, (again, about 2m above the boat, opposite the cows), most of them taking photos on their phones and chatting away in a language we couldn’t recognise. Almost 5kms of river and canal through Baume-les-Dames. By the entrance to the canal there was a big submerged sandbank, visible with the sun on it. Into the narrow cut with steep sloping

Lock gate recess left when locks lengthened.
Underwater ledge, dangerous for small boats

high banks covered in vegetation and trees. Through the open floodlock and past the moorings. They’d got two visiting cruisers among the “dead” boats in Baume. Lots of lumps of dead and decaying blanket weed were popping up to the surface in the canal and our wash broke them up to make it look like we were stirring mud up from the bottom. Under an ancient footbridge and on down the canal to lk 40 Baumerousse. There was action at the lock, several people milling about with ropes. We dropped a rope on the pontoon above the lock and waited while a German cruiser and a large Locaboat hireboat came up in the deep lock (4.1m). Our VNF man from this morning followed them uphill in his van. Another VNF van (a big one, maintenance we reckoned) was on the lockside and we were glad he was there as the big bottom end gates refused to open. He had problems getting them to open from the control cabin as one of the top end ground paddles was leaking (probably something stuck in it) but eventually brute hydraulic force opened the gates to set us free on to the next 3.5kms river reach. As we left the lock I turned round to see fluffy white clouds starting to form beyond the forested hills behind us. Down another 2m in lk 41 Fourbanne and spotted another big sandbank on the left as we left the chamber – it really pays not to wander too far from the channel on this river (the sandbanks reminded us of Poland!) 2.2kms of exceptionally beautiful scenery to lk 42 Ougney-les-Champs, the lock has a new wooden clad house opposite the lock house. Still on the river for another 2.4kms and down the shallow lk 43 Douvot (1.3m). The Dutch cruiser which had been moored at L’Isle was attached to the pontoon below the lock, its skipper asked if we wanted to moor alongside him, sorry, but we’re pushing on downriver today. The motorbikes were out in strength today, a loud pack of about a dozen went roaring past as we went into lk 44 Laissey. There were around a dozen youths on the high wall that shelters boats from the weir on our left and a few more were down on the weir. Naughty, there are big signs on the lock saying swimming is forbidden, they’d crossed the lock to get there and that is also forbidden – there are signs on all the gates. It sounded like the former forge alongside the lock was working. Down another 2.2m and a battle through the competing weirs (river and millstream) below the lock to make it around the hard right hand bend where the navigation channel runs close to the bank. Not a good place for fishermen. There had to be two among the trees with at least three ledger rods each with lines out to halfway across the river – Mike managed to avoid all but about three or four lines, which we gathered around our bows. He reversed to try and drop the lines and not get them around the prop. At least we didn’t pull their rods in. He was annoyed as that means getting the weed hatch up when we stop to check what’s on the prop – if anything (there was nothing but one piece of weed, rare that he checks the prop since leaving the UK, but he had to make sure). Further downstream there were lots of groups of youths, and a few girls, swimming in the river or sunbathing on exposed sandy banks. 2kms to lk 45 Aigremont, another shallow one, less than 1m and still on the river for another 4.3kms to our intended mooring above the next lock at Deluz, except that floodlock 46b was still in use. It was very slow, we were getting tired in the heat, but eventually we were about 6” lower and into the canal. Another Nichols hireboat was waiting for the lock. On the road alongside the canal cars were hooting, a traditional French marriage procession, driving around the village honking their horns, we joined in. Moorings at the Locaboat base in Deluz looked full. On towards the 2-rise and tied to the Armco about 200m above the lock. It was 6.20pm and we were tired - suffering from mild heat exhaustion I think.