Rhone moorings

[gtuson]

Planning on going up Rhone over Easter. The Navicarte does not show many stopping places. Can anyone with experience reassure me that we will be able to find places to stop at sufficiently regular intervals? Are there particular stretches where you have to be careful not to get caught out at night? We are a motor sailer with a big engine - assume we should be able to deal with Mistral if happens - but any tips would be useful.

 

[Sea Devil]

I have done it a couple of times and there really are no problems with moorings - some all the way up and some anchorages shelterd from the mistral as well. The locks are quite impressive and you tie up midships to the floating bollards and hang on like mad,
Do you have Guide Vagnon no 5 - probably worth the 17 euros it costs... my old one indicates quite a few moorings that I have used.
The mistral develops some quite serious waves - I left with one starting and after a couple of hours went back..

 

[LadyInBed]

Hope you can maintain at least eight knots, otherwise it is going to be a very slow trip.

 

[trouville]

Going UP???? at Easter??? you meen Down to port saint louis?? Even so with melting snow rain and mistral the rhone will be raceing comeing up will be "difficult" going down will be interesting
Please promise to post a progress report,There are lots of stopping places if they havent been washed away! Mind the trees to they have prioty.

 

[narcer]

We went "down" the Rhone in Feb a couple of years back. Quite an experience with 6 knots plus under the keel. Numerous trees were a danger, especially down current of the lock gates where they collect. One harbour - Viviers was closed when we arrived, with the pontoons hoisted clear of the water! Also worth checking Rhone web site where they give "debit" or flow rates - if it exceeds 4000m/s or so for certain locks they close navigation, and in Easter with the snow melt from the Alps??? I never found tranquil anchorages either, with actuall harbours few and far between. There was good shelter however, up a tributary next to the bauxite plant just north of Avignon) Good Luck! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[LadyInBed]

Yes, Viviers - pk 166. A good place to tie up on a tributary, out of the main flow. I spent a week there, a sleepy old Gallo-Roman 1st C City that has declined to a village. Lovely narrow cobbled streets and a good supermarket about 10 km away with cut-price fuel. The only down side was the large trip boats (Liners) that pull in for an overnighter. Isn't it St Etienne a bit further down that has the pontoon or maybe they have put one in since my last visit.

 

[lilianroyle]

firstly the lock at Saint Louis will give you an idea of the current, we went up at Easter last year and we can do at a push 6 knots. We arrived at Arles without problem averaging about 4knots over the ground but then went down the canal to Sete. If your mast is easily stepped don't step it until Arles, we motorsailed until there. Previously I have come down the Rhone from Lyons and there are lots of places to stop the current is a problem but my experience would suggests that the don't do it unless you can manage 8 knots view is alarmist

 

[Grehan]

Viviers town/village is one the high points of French waterways, let alone just the Rhone. It has the smallest cathedral in France, complete with Gobelin tapestries. I would also recommend La Roche du Glun for a quiet and peaceful stop . . . at the right time of year.

Going up in March? OK it can be done and we know people who've done it in that month. Highly experienced sailors/liveaboards and when they got to St Jean de Losne they were vowing not to do it again.

The current will almost certainly be fierce, especially with the rain and (melting) snow Northern Europe's had. Combined with the Mistral, and the numerous tree trunks and branches racing downstream, this will make for "interesting" conditions. The pontoons at Avignon (and Arles as well, I suspect) are regularly destroyed. When we got (down) to Viviers in May last year they were only just starting to get round to reinstalling some modest pontoons and we tied up to the pontoon piles.

I trust you've got a good powerful - reliable - engine and don't expect to make too much headway or kilometres in a day. You will have excellent steerage and manouvring however! If you're carrying your mast be doubly careful and ensure it's thoroughly supported and lashed side-to-side and fore-aft. Its gonna be cold as well.

Personally, I would not agree that there are "lots" of mooring places (or even anchoring places) on the mighty Rhone - certainly not compared with lesser rivers and canals.

But Viviers . . c'est magnifique!!!

(There's a guide to Rhone halts on our website - "Places" on the side menu bar)

 

[trouville]

Grehan Thats the most honest and accurate description posted.

And indeed the pontoons in Avignon and Arles are not only washed away but sometimes with boats still tied on.

In my previous post i took it that the question was could he make it up by may,but as hes down there it would havd been clear from anyone or capitanerie,or just one look at the rhone passing Port St Louise. That you may get down very quickly but not up untill August/september?

Ive been following this thread as i wondered where the places to stop are to be found??There are places,when we went down we stopped in Avignon then an abandond industrial dump with a small cutting to moore a work boat,Other places i passed as the current was in my opinion to strong to to safly turn into or out of later in our hillyard.

As it was i misjuged a couple of times and was swept once into a very large plastic (thankfully) bouy and another almost into the shallows and even with out 72HP diesel at full power which normaly would give us about 8 knots it was to close for me!What if the prop had picked up a line? We always had 2 35LBS anchors ready

The rhone can be bad for your health!

 

[capsco]

I came up the Rhone last March with twin 300hp diesels and the Mistral, it was interesting to say the least, Avignon pontoons had all gone,-- again,there are places to moor, but if you are unfamiliar with the River, as I was, they are not always obvious, do not be put off it is a wonderful trip but good weather and a degree of caution are needed

 

[chasroberts]

We came down the Rhone at the end of the season last year. At one point near Arles we had about 6knots of current with us and fairly hammered along!!! That was just the rain at the time in the Alps! With snow melt and the like I would seriously consider your choice of time to try and stem this lot day in day out.... The pontoons at Avignon are still gone and the Capitainerie were saying that they are looking at a complete redesign of the Port de Plaisance. Knowing the French this will probably not happen overnight and may not happen at all for a considerable while..
Definitely get the specific guide books for the river and don't plan to make that much ground each day. We found lots of places closed when they weren't supposed to be without notice. Call in advance if you can to confirm availability...
Oh and by the way.... trees do have priority and they can be very hard to see in advance. Keep a sharp lookout and have a rope cutter or similar fitted to the prop. Ours got noticably used on a couple of occasions and God knows how many times we didn't realise...
Last thing is to watch out for the big Hotel peniches. They rule the roost and the old 'might is right' system seems to be very much in operation.
If all this and the rest of the replies haven't put you off then have a great time and feel free to PM me if you have any queries.

Regards

Chas Roberts