French canals 2013

So, we just tried to take the dinghy down into the centre of Chalons (to get some fuel, we figured it was easier than lugging by foot) and were very rudely shouted at by the VNF man at the lock. No, we didn't try to lock through!
As we walked the dinghy past the lock to get to the branch on the down stream portion of the canal that leads to the centre of town, the lock keeper started yelling at us to not put the dinghy into the water.

Grehan, maybe I misunderstood your page about taking the dinghy around the centre of Chalons, but if I didn't, beware they are not happy about this at all. Very, very rude about it, in fact.
 
Cardo said:
No probs, you should be good now pending any crazy weather!

As a note to others - Epernay is a nice place to stay. The Club Nautique, whilst very pleasant, is surprisingly small and the couple in charge don't really seem to know about boats of our size. When I arrived, they were indicating for us to moor up across the slip ramp! So I would suggest you moor up in the location you feel is most suitable. Plenty of leccy and water points. It's €2/metre (rounded down) for the night, which includes a pass for a free tour (the pass covered two of us) at the local champagne house (the tour normally costs €10/pp). We did the tour and it was very entertaining and came with a free glass of champers at the end! The marina itself also provide an "aperitif" at around 1800 hrs after the capitanerie closes. This is usually a small kir royale, which was very nice. :) In fact, I think I had seconds, also on the house. :D
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Thanks for that as we are berthed at Cercle Nautique de Poincy and plan to head east to Epernay then on to Rheims
Finesse II
 
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Finesse II said:
Thanks for that as we are berthed at Cercle Nautique de Poincy and plan to head east to Epernay then on to Rheims
Finesse II
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Arrived at Poincy today to find the river in full flood and a large amount of flotsam, including large logs rushing through the moorings. So we will wait a few days before going upstream as I don't want to be cleaning a birds nest out of the water strainers every day:-(
Boat needs some TLC anyway after the winter ;)
Sante
 
Finesse II said:
Arrived at Poincy today to find the river in full flood and a large amount of flotsam, including large logs rushing through the moorings. So we will wait a few days before going upstream as I don't want to be cleaning a birds nest out of the water strainers every day:-(
Boat needs some TLC anyway after the winter ;)
Sante
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We stayed a night at Poincy and had the same thing. Loads of **** floating past the boat. Our guest in the forward cabin had an interesting night!
The following morning was the first time we had the raw water inlet block. We had to anchor up mid-river* so I could use the dinghy pump to clear it out. That was fun!

* ok, not quite mid-river, we were over to the side. :p
 
Ok, update! Slightly delayed due to lack of interwebs.

The Canal entre Champagne et Borgogne did open yesterday morning as planned. We had been warned there were loads of barges waiting to go through and we saw a bunch of barges heading up evening of the 29th and morning of the 30th, so we decided to have a lazy morning and then head up late morning. There was no need, no queue at all, straight through.

You get a remote box at the first lock that not only opens the locks for you but also activates them once you're inside. No pole twisting or lifting necessary.

Beware, the water level on the canal is very high, pretty much at the max. Nearly all the locks we've been through have filled to the very top. I recommend having some very low down fenders, and even some tyres or something that can go below the water line, otherwise you may end up resting on your hull!

Our first stop on the canal was Orconte. This has a "halte nautique", which consists of a quay with space for three boats. There is a hut with shore power, some showers and a couple of wash basins with push down taps. No facility to easily fill up water tanks, though. We were the fourth boat to arrive so moored up on the VNF barge moorings next to the halt nautique. Shortly after the locks shut down, a couple of people came past asking for money. Their opening gambit is that the facilities are available so they expect you to pay for them. I queried that we were too far away to use the electric and we didn't need the showers, I also pointed out we were on VNF territory. This was probably too much hassle for their limited English so they left us to it. The poor boat behind us got stung for €8 even though they'd had to use stakes to moor up and also weren't using any facilities. A right swindle, if you're not careful! So beware, if you don't want to use the facilities, just moor up on the barge bit and then tell the money grabbers you don't want to use any facilities!

The weather is horrific. Today has been heavy rain pretty much all day so far. Grim.
 
Ok, update! Slightly delayed due to lack of interwebs.

The Canal entre Champagne et Borgogne did open yesterday morning as planned. We had been warned there were loads of barges waiting to go through and we saw a bunch of barges heading up evening of the 29th and morning of the 30th, so we decided to have a lazy morning and then head up late morning. There was no need, no queue at all, straight through.

You get a remote box at the first lock that not only opens the locks for you but also activates them once you're inside. No pole twisting or lifting necessary.

Beware, the water level on the canal is very high, pretty much at the max. Nearly all the locks we've been through have filled to the very top. I recommend having some very low down fenders, and even some tyres or something that can go below the water line, otherwise you may end up resting on your hull!

Our first stop on the canal was Orconte. This has a "halte nautique", which consists of a quay with space for three boats. There is a hut with shore power, some showers and a couple of wash basins with push down taps. No facility to easily fill up water tanks, though. We were the fourth boat to arrive so moored up on the VNF barge moorings next to the halt nautique. Shortly after the locks shut down, a couple of people came past asking for money. Their opening gambit is that the facilities are available so they expect you to pay for them. I queried that we were too far away to use the electric and we didn't need the showers, I also pointed out we were on VNF territory. This was probably too much hassle for their limited English so they left us to it. The poor boat behind us got stung for €8 even though they'd had to use stakes to moor up and also weren't using any facilities. A right swindle, if you're not careful! So beware, if you don't want to use the facilities, just moor up on the barge bit and then tell the money grabbers you don't want to use any facilities!

The weather is horrific. Today has been heavy rain pretty much all day so far. Grim.
 
France Canals

Hope things improve for all those battling their way up or down VNF waterways.
At the Rhone Delta area the Mistral is forgetting to stop these days,and boat movements in/out are suspended until whenever!
At least it is dry mostly and sunny too.Temps are way down, and a cabin heater and hot water bottles are still needed.And as for polishing the hull due to boredom, it is being sandblasted as I write!
Eastwards at Nice the effects are minimised, the problem is getting east, or even getting launched
I got a trouncing earlier in the year delivering a boat from Dublin to l'Aber Vrach, so my appetite for further punishment is diminished!
Upside was a superb waterside plat du jour "Canard a la chevre" with delicious small omelette and rattatouille trimmings, washed down with a demi of rose.cafe.€29.for 2 persons.Fit for a a king!Outside dining was a bit precarious, but one has to hold the side up!
 
paulclan said:
Hope things improve for all those battling their way up or down VNF waterways.
At the Rhone Delta area the Mistral is forgetting to stop these days,and boat movements in/out are suspended until whenever!
At least it is dry mostly and sunny too.Temps are way down, and a cabin heater and hot water bottles are still needed.And as for polishing the hull due to boredom, it is being sandblasted as I write!
Eastwards at Nice the effects are minimised, the problem is getting east, or even getting launched
I got a trouncing earlier in the year delivering a boat from Dublin to l'Aber Vrach, so my appetite for further punishment is diminished!
Upside was a superb waterside plat du jour "Canard a la chevre" with delicious small omelette and rattatouille trimmings, washed down with a demi of rose.cafe.€29.for 2 persons.Fit for a a king!Outside dining was a bit precarious, but one has to hold the side up!
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Oh dear!
Well, we're hoping to pop out of there some time towards the end of the month. Let's hope things have somewhat returned to normal by then!

Further update -
Making progress along Canal entre Champagne et Borgogne. Some locks keep breaking down, which means you have to call the VNF guys to come sort them out. You can see them whizzing up and down the canal path.
Of note, Vouécourt lock opened fine using the remote however would not cycle once we were in. On the off chance we tried the pole and that did work. The boat in front of us ended up waiting for the VNF man as they didn't realise that would work. The VNF man then came to tell us the lock was working fine before driving off!

Water levels still very high, but not really an issue.

We've already passed a few people going the other way. They made very good progress!

There are quite a few council/VNF haltes that are in picturesque settings with electric, water, and sometimes more services. I haven't seen anyone ask for money for stopping at these. They're pretty obvious as they all share the same distinctive signs.
Beware of other haltes nearby who will charge you. We stopped at Joinville, just upstream of Rongeant lock. The first mooring is on the grounds of a youth hostel and will charge you €5 for the stop. They have electric and water. We stopped for lunch and to get water and they charged us €2. However, about 200 yards further upstream is the official council/VNF halte with all services!
Also, have fun going through Joinville, the water is packed full of dead reeds. We had loads of the stuff trailing from our rudders and progress was slow. Fortunately, it all clears up once you get out of the town.

I do have one query. We're currently stuck behind this numpty french guy in a very wide motorboat. They insist on starting up ridiculously early, before the locks are open, so he's first in line at the first lock. He then takes an age to enter and leave the locks as he's so wide, but insists he has to get going as he is in a hurry! Unfortunately, a number of us are caught behind him and are slowed down by him as even though we have to wait for the locks to cycle round to get through, we still catch up with him as he's so slow. One of the other English boats tried to speak to him to ask that he lets us past but he's IN A HURRY!
We even stopped for a while to try and let him get ahead of us but we've frustratingly caught up with him again. He's just ahead of us past the next lock (which we annoyingly missed out on by 2 minutes!) so we'll be shafted behind him again tomorrow. How do you deal with these kinds of idiots?
 
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Hi Cardo,

Have been following your posts with interest, since I plan to set out from my base in St Jean de Losne in about 10 days time to head up the Champagne-Bourgogne and then down the Marne to Paris. So your reports have been of particular interest. I see you haven't posted for a few days - how is it going? anything we should beware of?

Anyway, I hope the weather is now fine for you and you are having a good time - I have had a similar experience of getting behind a very wide and slow boat in the past - German that time!. Best of luck.

Nick
 
saskia said:
Hi Cardo,

Have been following your posts with interest, since I plan to set out from my base in St Jean de Losne in about 10 days time to head up the Champagne-Bourgogne and then down the Marne to Paris. So your reports have been of particular interest. I see you haven't posted for a few days - how is it going? anything we should beware of?

Anyway, I hope the weather is now fine for you and you are having a good time - I have had a similar experience of getting behind a very wide and slow boat in the past - German that time!. Best of luck.

Nick
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We're back online! First thing to note is it would seem the Canal entre Champagne et Borgogne has lousy 3G coverage! Aside from that, it's not a bad route. It's just taken us 7 days to get from Vitry-le-Francois to Pontailler-sur-Saone. Some of them were pretty lengthy days but it wasn't too bad. Weather started off **** but is now gloriously sunny and hot. The bit between the Saone and the tunnel only has a few haltes, so do plan ahead where you'll be stopping. The bit between the tunnel and Vitry has plenty of very nice haltes, so no need to plan quite so much. The water level on the canal is pretty high, but it's not really an issue. Practically no current along it, at all.
There was quite a bit of current on the Seine when we went through it, and I understand it worsened afterwards. It may be helpful for someone further back to comment on the status of the Seine through Paris, as my information is likely to be out of date!

So we're now on the Saone, at a small mooring in Pontailler. There's a fairly big marina with loads of motorboats, but it looks fairly dicey/shallow going in, so we've tied up on a pontoon by the entrance. Out of the current and wake of the river, however it is pretty shallow at 1.5m! No facilities at this particular bit.
Tomorrow we're planning to head down to St. Jean de Losne, hopefully should be there by early afternoon. We're hoping to get our steering issue sorted so we'll probably be there for at least a week or so.
 
saskia said:
Hi Cardo,

Have been following your posts with interest, since I plan to set out from my base in St Jean de Losne in about 10 days time to head up the Champagne-Bourgogne and then down the Marne to Paris. So your reports have been of particular interest. I see you haven't posted for a few days - how is it going? anything we should beware of?

Anyway, I hope the weather is now fine for you and you are having a good time - I have had a similar experience of getting behind a very wide and slow boat in the past - German that time!. Best of luck.

Nick
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Last week the Marne was in full flood condition when we drove down to our base in Port de Poincy and we stayed on or berth to give the boat some TLC. On the the 4th we went upstream some 30 km for lunch and the locks were still lively especially returning downstream. Today the flow is back to normal but we have to return to the UK. Typical ! But we will return in two weeks and plan to cruise to Epernay and Rheims for two weeks so may pass you.
Sante
Finesse II
 
Thanks to you both for the very useful updates. I will look out for you - Saskia is an 11m Dutch Vledt-style boat - dark blue hull.

Best regards

Nick
 
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