Advice pls - French waterways to Med

[Guest]

If I was to consider sailing cross channel and then down to the Med via the French water ways - (just say I was) then could anyone offer advice on:

1. Is it possible to go all the way (no sarky comments please!).
2. Best ports of entry to the waterway system.
3. Best routes down - not necessarily the quickest - food, drink and beautiful vistas are more important.
4. Good marinas, moorings on the way.
5. I think I've read somewhere that you need to unstep the mast - where and what to beware of?
6. Good ports of exit to the Med.
7. Anything else you can think of.

Thanks in advance to all who may reply. Incidentally, to save time looking at the bio - we own a 27' Jeanneau Fantasia.

Would you take this boat the long way round(?) - hopping round the coast - I'm not particularly interested in long passages.

Thanks again.

Geoff W

 

[Peter_the_Grate]

2. Best ports of entry to the waterway system.
Depends to some extent where you are going. Calais is good; there's a VNF office there so you can get a pass suitable for
your passage (you must have one, you'll get asked for it at regular intervals at "declaration" locks).

3. Best routes down - not necessarily the quickest - food, drink and beautiful vistas are more important.
Several routes, through northern France anyway. The Riqueval tunnel is interesting.

4. Good marinas, moorings on the way.
These vary a lot, but are all cheap. Some are private and will turn you away. Be prepared to do it yourself for at least a
couple of days at a time. Supplies are not easly available everywhere. Some towns that you pass through do not even
have somewhere to tie up, and canal-side restaurants almost non-existent. It's odd that the French will happily site beside
a busy road and eat lunch at a roadside cafe, but won't sit beside a quiet canal.

The rules say that you cannot pump out (head) into the canals but we never found anywhere to empty a holding tank.

Take a small truck or trolley and a jerry can for diesel. You'll have to get it from roadside Garages (when they're close
enough to walk).

5. I think I've read somewhere that you need to unstep the mast - where and what to beware of?
Air clearances are marked on the canal charts (search the net, there are several). You won't get far unless your air draught
is less than four metres. Lowering the mast in Calais (Marina) is cheap - it cost me 60 FF (... £6).

7. Anything else you can think of.
The RYA is helpful. Give them a ring.
Check the depth frequently and DON'T RUN AGROUND - no tide ...

 

[LadyInBed]

I did a round trip in 95 taking 4 Months - Le Havre The Seine, Rouen Paris, Canal du Loing, Canal de Briare, Canal latéral à la Loire, Canal du Centre, The Saône, Lyon, The Rhône, Avignon, Arles, Port St Louis, Med.
Then back via the Midi, Vilaine, Rance and C.I's. I enjoyed it so much, I did it again in 98.
Yes, you have to drop your mast, Le Havre is as good as anywhere. It is best to have your mast stowed centre and parallel to the water above standing height, to facilitate the rigging of an awning, and for hanging a cockpit shower, if you are not in the ‘luxury class’. On that count ensure you have :
Mains extension lead (10 mtrs) with ‘caravan’ type fitting, and a converter for French style sockets, (you can buy this at Vittards chancellery, Rouen, if you haven't got one).
Small (low wattage) kettle (from Argos).
Mains reading lamp.
Mains Drill is useful, with attachments.
As much water hose as you can carry (20 mtrs) with as many end fittings as you can find, including a trigger action shower attachment - most essential!! and along with the end fittings, ensure you can ‘adapt’ the hose end with progressively larger diameter short (1 ft) lengths of hose, as, no matter what fittings you have, there will always be some that you haven’t. Lyon - tap IN wall opposite side to good tie up point (apart from the Rats) springs to mind!

There are lots of nice little ‘Halt Nautique’s’ on the way up the Seine, all free, with water and often electricity. Also if draft allows, don't stick to the main channel of the Seine, use some of the back waters. You will be impressed by some of the riverside cottages.

You need bikes, apart from the obvious repair kits a towable golf type trolley is useful for shopping, but mainly for transporting fuel. (it can be 5 kms away) I assume you are Diesel, take as many 20 Ltr plastic containers full as you can carry (covered if on deck, as your not supposed to import ‘extra’ fuel) I got mine from large DIY shops that rented out industrial carpet cleaners - that’s what the shampoo is delivered in!

 

[Guest]

I am planning to go to the Med via the French Canals next spring.What are the pros and cons of having the mast transported south on a lorry?My fin keeled yacht draws 5'4" in sea water.I am told that this will increase by about 3" in fresh water.Would this increase be offset by the mast coming off?I believe that the published minimum depth in the French Canals is 5'11" - am I likely to be 'ploughing' all the way to the Med?Has anyone out there any knowledge of the feasibility of going round to Bordeaux and having her lifted out and transported south from there?Opinions / information would be most welcome.

 

[tcm]

not done it, but I understand normal entry point for brits is le havre/seine. Get the "livre de Bord" as soon as poss - unlike uk pilots all the numbers are correct! also quite a lot of english text for brits, incl the routes thru france etc and only 16 euros.

 

[Peter_the_Grate]

A couple of things I forgot.

If you are going to go up the Seine, read as much as you can about it and plan your trip well. The flow is predominantly downstream (pretty obvious), but what might not be obvious is that it's quite fast, much faster as the tide falls than the upstream flow as the tide rises. The ebb and flow are quite unequal, especially after a lot of rain. We went along the Seine in July and it was still going like the clappers, far faster than the pilot books suggested. The pilots say that there is nowhere to stop between Rouen and Le Havre (not actually true, but there are only a couple and they are quite exposed) and that you are not allowed to anchor, so you're faced with plugging against a very strong tide for hours. Consider your maximun through the water speed in relation to the distance and the predicted flow rates, especially between Le Havre and Rouen. Above Rouen it gets better and indeed there are some good (and very picturesque) places to stop.

You can get to Rouen with your mast in place, but not beyond. The guide books say that there's a small crane for lowering of small boat masts in the basin in Rouen. When we were there last year, there were four 60-ton barges moored against the jetty where the crane is located so it was unuseable. The best we could find was a dockside crane (the type for unloading cargo ships) at 800FF. Others who were travelling down the Seine went to Honfleur, which was the closest place where they could raise their masts.