French Canals

[boatmike]

Is there anybody out there that knows how to get definitive information on the present state of French canals? I have tried e-mailing VNF and get silence and my French is still not good enough for a telephone conversation I am afraid. There are various reports on the internet of some canals being closed. One said they arrived in Paris only to find that in 2003 the Canal de Bourgogne and the Nivernais were closed and the only route open now was the Marne....
Be a bit annoying to get half way and find a section closed...... I believe the Canal du Midi and Garonne are OK at present but even here I get reports of problems due to water supply drying up. Does anybody know how to find out for sure?

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[Sea Devil]

http://www.vnf.fr/vnf/img/cms/Domaine_public_fluvial/hidden/chom_2004_200404081814.jpg

the above gets you to a site with maps and dates of planned closures of the French Canal system. the reality is that it depends on the weather and breakages.

The Canal du Midi is now very short of water is several sections and if you try it mid summer close to the limit you may well have problems The tourist web site for rivers and canals is www.vnf.fr but it is not always up to date!

Most of the rest of the canals are always fine in summer - the French are aware that tourists use them - but sometimes though lack of water or locks breaking they have to close sections but you will be told and there is always another route - except in the Canal du Midi which was down to 1 mtr in the summer of 03.

I live in France so if you want more help come back and I will try to find out what you want - I have done Amsterdam - Port St Louis, Sete - Le Harve and the canal du midi at various times and never had problems with closures except surprises like one easter when the lock I was waiting for closed for the holiday!

regards

Michael

<hr width=100% size=1>If you have time visit my web site
www.michaelbriant.com/sailing

 

[Sea Devil]

Mike hi,
just went to check! go to www.vnf.fr but if it comes up in english click (top right) to French - the english bits do not seem to work - look up chomarges and advis for all national info. If you are certain about canal du midi trip and have an exact date (ish) email me at bambola.productions@wanadoo.fr and I will try to check out the exact situation.
Michael

<hr width=100% size=1>If you have time visit my web site
www.michaelbriant.com/sailing

 

[jerryat]

Hi Bambola,

Thanks for that link. I've done the trip from the Med to Honfleur, but not the other way. We normally go the Atlantic route to Gib then up into the Med, but are considering the canals for a change when we push off again, hopefully next year.

Do the French Canal Authorities not still issue the list of planned closures, normally over the winter months as I recall. Is it called the 'Chomage' or something similar? Like Boatmike, my French is strictly schoolboy!!

Cheers

Jerry

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[boatmike]

Mike thats great! I looked at your web site too.. We have something in common having both experienced pirates (on an American boat off Cuba in my case) and Lightning strikes (Paxos of all places!) At 61 and retired I am trying to live a less exciting life, hence the French canal trip! Ambitions stretch no further than Greece now and include copious supplies of Ouzo and lots of dangling feet in water.... Tried the French bit of the site but will now follow your directions exactly and try again.
Thanks again for the info. In fact 1 metre of water in Canal du Midi would not be a problem if the locks are still working. My boat is a Prout Snowgoose Elite catamaran and draws less than a metre. but it is 4.95 metres beam so will only just fit in a standard 5.2 metre lock. Can't decide if Paris / Lyon via the Canal de Bourgogne would be more fun than the Canal du Midi though if treating it as a holiday in it's own right. Seems the du Midi avoids all commercial traffic and has wider locks. What do you think?

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[jerryat]

Hi Boatmike!

If I may 'butt' in on your post, I would definitely go the Paris route. It's superb, the commercial traffic is nowhere near as bad as most believe, the canal scenery is wonderful AND .... there are far, far fewer holiday charter boats than on the Midi!

The Midi is, I'm told by friends who've done it, absolutely packed especially in the summer months, and lock waiting times can be agonisingly slow.

My draft won't let me go the Midi anyway, but even if it did, I'd still go via Paris - my favourite European city so far.

Have a great time whichever way you go.

Cheers

Jerry



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[boatmike]

Don't apologise for "butting in" Jerry. That's what this forum is for! I had hoped to get as many opinions as possible and that's interesting input. Crew favours this route anyway and we both know Paris very well and visit regularly. There are sites on the net where people have not enjoyed navigating the Seine up to Paris. Personally I think there should be no problem if you get the tide times right in the lower bit. Reading the guide books the Canal de Bourgogne seems favourite and as Bambola says if it closes there are alternatives. When and which route did you take, and how long did it take to get to the Med?

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[Sea Devil]

Mike hi again,

Seems we do have a lot in common - I think - age adventures.

I seem to remeber that some of the bridges and locks in the canal du midi are really narrow - I took an old moody 33 through there and looked at the concrete sides sticking 6 inches out of the water and wondered what damage I would do even at 3 knots. You really do need good fenders and if its windy its difficult -

I found the canal du midi fine if you just want a fast delivery trip south from the UK to the central Med - Sad to miss the north spain coast and portugal, if you go that way, and the trip up to Bordeaux can be challanging.

On the other hand the locks and bridges of the Le Harvre or Calais routes down to the med are much wider, easier and if there is a water shortage or breakdown you are not stuck - Also I think its much prettier - If you are in a hurry its also not that slow - I did a fast return Sete to Le Havre in just over 2 weeks but ached a bit at the end of it. Going through Paris in a boat is a buzz and the rest of the trip just lovely - a real holiday. Wonderful experience
regards
Michael

<hr width=100% size=1>If you have time visit my web site
www.michaelbriant.com/sailing

 

[Sea Devil]

Jerry hi,

Yes they do issue lists of Chomage' at www.vnf.fr - as I said the french version works well for info but the english site seems a bit out of date and un attended.

I've normally done Biscay to the med but really enjoyed the canals on the 3 occaisions I have done that - Would certainly go that route again - real pleasure and quite special. for going back it beats going north up the Portuguese and French coasts to windward all the way = very tedious last year.

regards

Michael

<hr width=100% size=1>If you have time visit my web site
www.michaelbriant.com/sailing

 

[boatmike]

The "official" dimensions for the Canal du Midi gives the width of locks as 5.5 metres and the Canal Lateral a la Garonne that joins it as 5.8metres. most of the other Northern canals are a minimum of 5.2m apart from Nivernais which is 5.1m.
Lets face it. Not a problem for monohulls either way so I guess no one takes much notice being more worried about draught but with a multihull with 4.95metres beam (without fenders!) the difference concentrates the mind.........
In the Canal du Midi I will have a whole 10 1/2 inches either side while in the Nivernais it would be less than 3 inches...... (gulp!) Going the Bourgogne route I would have 4.9 inches per side.... Luckily the widest part of a Snowgoose is midships so I might get a fender forward and aft with a plank in between......(?)
I think I will measure my beam...... veeerrry..... carefully before setting off!

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[jerryat]

Hi Boatmike!

We went from Sete to Honfleur (not the other way) hence our thinking about the return trip next year. Our route was the Canal du Rhone a Sete, then up the Rhone to Lyons. From there (because of closures on the Marne, we went along the Canal du Centre, Canal Lateral a La Loire (utterly beautiful as it wanders around near the Loire itself in places), then the Canal de Briare to St Mammes where we entered the Seine. There is a good re-fuelling pontoon here, though it's also used by the incredibly skillful multi-peniche skippers too, so it's best to check first before going alongside.

Then, of course, down the Seine to Paris, Rouen, Honfleur (mast down here) Cherbourg then home to Plymouth.

If we do go back down the canal routes, we'll probably go Seine, Marne, Canal Lateral a La Marne, Canal de La Marne a La Saone to Heuilly, then down the Saone to Lyon.

'Course, we'll probably change our minds ten times before then, but it's lovely planning it all isn't it?!

Kind regards

Jerry

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[boatmike]

Yes it all sounds wonderful until you look at my beam (not mine I mean the boat's!)
There is no doubt that the du midi route will give me clearance. 10 inches either side in fact! That's enough to manouver and have workable fenders either side.
In the Loire there is a lock at Gailloux (no 9) which is 5.17 metres wide. This will only give me 4 1/4 inches clearance on either side without fenders! If I were to attempt this route I would have to clad either side of my boat in the middle with say Plywood. Assume I take up 2" with ply with carpet stuck to the back, I would have 2 1/4 inches on either side to allow for clearance....... I could have conventional fenders fore and aft of course as my hull is widest in the middle but its going to put great demand on my driving precision! Just how smooth are the sides of these locks? I only need a loose brick and I am knackered! I can see my blood pressure rising now...... Having done it before, would you go through with such small clearance? All the books say max beam 5 metres. I am 4.95.....

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[jerryat]

Hmmmmm! It's a mite close. Having said that, virtually all of the locks were in super condition and were manned (where not automatic) by clearly experienced lockeepers. In some ways, a 'tighter' fit is beneficial, as there is no chance of the boat swinging about, something that happened a couple of times on our trip.

We found the waterflow in/out of the locks very gentle (except one which had a faulty sluice - being sorted when we arrived) so there's no massive surging or swirling to cope with, at least not that we saw.

It might be worth giving the VNF a call (they do have people who speak English) and having a chat re your concerns. It would be such a shame to miss out on the experience because of a lack of info. Out of interest, the peniches fit almost exactly into the 'small' locks, with VERY little clearance on both sides - but they're steel of course!

On balance, I'd check with the above, then perhaps the Cruising Association, then PBO's Inland Waterways correspondent. One of them is sure to have answered your concerns before.

Oh, forgot to mention in the last post, we took about 26 days from Sete to Honfleur, though we were in a hurry for personal reasons and definitely wouldn't tramp along that fast next time! Take your time if you do go and enjoy it!!

Very best of luck, and let us know what you decide!

Cheers

Jerry



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[boatmike]

Forgot to ask this question before. Do these locks have vertical rubbing strakes in wood or is the dimension given to the bare stone wall of the lock?

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[jerryat]

H Mike,

When we did our trip, no lock had wooden vertical strakes - all the walls were vertical stone or concrete.

I've had a look through my Navicarte books since yesterday (see what you've started - got the bug now!!) and I see that the narrowest lock is 5.10 metres wide. What I think is that this may refer to the clearance at the lock gate itself(sometimes a tiny bit proud of the wall) and that the distance between the actual walls may be a wee bit more. It's certainly something worth checking.

Your idea of planks/carpet is fine. We used our plank outside half a dozen fenders and it worked beautifully. Remember that when you enter/leave the lock (especially where they're automatic and you control the operation) the water is usually flat, with little or no current, so handling your (twin-engined cat?) should be a doddle.

Our routine was to nose gently up to the ladder, usually on the port side just inside the gate, and put SWMBO ashore. I then nosed in slowly, lobbing the bow line to her. She made that secure and then strolled back to collect the stern line, staying ashore to help the lock-keeper (or work the control if auto) until we were ready to push off again.

It was all very lazy and easy going. Unless something crops up following your investigations, I would go and enjoy the trip.

I'll ask around a few of my friends who've also made the trip, check out their views andl post if anything approaching a 'showstopper' crops up.

Cheers

Jerry





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