Who says the canals are boring....

[Carolwildbird]

Those of you contemplating doing the canals... take care! Just witnessed a near- fatal event..

We've just arrived in Toul on the Canal De La Marne au Rhin... ...just three locks up to the marina in Toul from the Moselle.

At the first lock on leaving the Moselle, as we activate the lock system, we spot another little barge coming the other way, who also wants to go up the canal. Although we've activated the system well in advance of him, and the lock is now empty and ready for action, he ignores us and charges at full pelt into the lock (bouncing off the walls) with us yelling for his attention. He finally acknowledges us and we creep in behind him. Good.. at least we are not in front and near the horrid waterfall of the up locks. I stay well clear of him at the back of the lock.

The lock starts to fill and I'm watching Wild Bird and getting ready to swap ropes on the rising bollards, when I become aware that the barge in front is in deep trouble. They have let go of their ropes and the barge is crashing into the lock gates, driven forward by the surging undertow. I'm concerned that they may drive backwards into me and am concentrating on keeping Wild bird out of trouble, when Trish yells that one of the guys in front has fallen in the water.

I look up and see that the nose of the barge has become trapped in the lock gates, and as the water continues to rise the back of the barge is tilting upwards at an increasing angle and bucking violently with its nose by now well under water. The bucking must have thrown the other guy off.

The crew member on the barge manages to scramble off and stop the lock with the alarm pole, but then yells that the guy in the water can't swim (and of course he is not wearing a life jacket) and can we throw him a rope. In the confusion,Wild Bird's nose has drifted across the lock (which turns out to be a good thing as ladder access is opened up), so we tie her off at both ends, and Trish throws him one of our mooring ropes. He misses and submerges again.. clearly he's in deep trouble. Trish yells and throws the rope again and this time he gets hold of it and Trish holds on to the other end and talks to him whilst the VNF guy, who by now has arrived, is working out what to do.

A passer-by also comes to help (thank god, as the crew of the other boat is standing helplessly.. obviously in shock) and we get the drowning guy to get hold of another rope which I then walk down the boat with and pass him over to the guys on the steps - now including the VNF man (Why did none of them - or indeed us - throw him a life ring, I wonder in retrospect?).

The drowning guy is completely exhausted, but after a bit of coaching manages to climb the ladder and be hauled to safety. I'm really concerned that he has not the strength to climb.. but he just makes it.

The VNF guy empties the lock enough to free the barge's nose. The barge by now is listing badly and l has a lot of water in it.. and I have visions of it sinking in the lock.. but they manage to pull it out and moor it just outside the lock giving us enough room to get out. PHEW! The ambulance arrives just as we are leaving, and carts the near-drowned guy off to hospital.

We are shaken, but able to continue up two more locks to Toul marina where we moor up on a ridiculously short finger pontoon. A little while later the damaged barge arrives too, being driven by the very competent Duncan from Lorraine marine. He tells us that after we left, the fire engines and divers arrived, pumped out the barge and checked the damage on the bottom.. and miracle of miracles it is not holed. It seems that all the water flooded in over the top when its nose was under water.

The near drowned guy is still in hospital, we believe... 2-3 days was the forecast. But apparently OK.

Morals

If you cant swim, wear a lifejacket (or in all locks, according to VNF safety advice).

Do not moor close to the front gates if at all possible. The undertow is fierce! (Duncan from Lorraine marine tells us this is by no means the first accident in tbhis lock, especially with hire boats...there.. he says usually the fronts are ripped off the boats who get stuck in this way.)

 

[vyv_cox]

The closest I have ever come to sinking my boat was on the canals. Not as spectacular as yours but certainly set my pulses racing.

We were ascending from Narbonne, back up to the Midi. The locks there are fully automated. As we approached one the entry light was red but a German crewed peniche entered the open gate anyway. We followed when the light turned green, then the lock sequence started. As soon as the upstream gate opened the peniche left but we were a little slow as we were putting Jill ashore on her bike for the next section. I then began to motor out but realised that the gates were now closing. I put the throttle to full ahead and accelerated as much as possible, but the gates just caught the toerail, marking the wood slightly and ripping off one fender. I assume that, having counted one boat in (us), the control assumed that once one boat had left (them), the cycle was complete. If I had been a couple of seconds slower the boat would have been crushed, as those hydraulic rams look pretty powerful.

 

[Grehan]

A few rules . .

• Keep away from the gates at front and back.
• At the rear, going down, there is often a concrete sill or step that it is possible to get the sterm caught on - quite apart from this situation, getting the bow trapped in the lock gate as the water rises.
  In the dramatic photo below, at one of the Toulouse locks, the couple and their dog were ok (if shaken) and the boat also.
• At the rear, it is also possible to get some part of the boat - for example outdrives - trapped in the cross beams that project from the gate.
• Rope up sensibly so that skipper and crew can control the boat, even when water is buffeting it strongly. It goes without saying, never pull directly on a rope, always take a turn around a bollard. Stand 'four square' so that if a strong pull happens, you won't be pulled in.
• Never untie until both lock gates are fully open

 

[A1Sailor]

A few rules . .

• At the rear, going down, there is often a concrete sill or step that it is possible to get the sterm caught on - quite apart from this situation, getting the bow trapped in the lock gate as the water rises.

It used to amaze me, when working as a lock keeper on the Crinan Canal in Scotland, how little heed Yachties would pay to instructions/advice from canal staff. There are now signs warning about the sills, but it was not unknown for yachts with transom hung rudders to get them redesigned due to Skippers' ignorance...
Lock 10 at Dunardry is perhaps the most impressive, with the greatest rise/drop. You can see the sill below the upper gates when the lock is drained.
Quite why anybody would go near a canal without a lifejacket on is beyond me - particularly a non-swimmer!

 

[Carolwildbird]

My word, Grehan! That's horrific......

Beam me up Scottie! Want to get back to open seas....

 

[rivonia]

Hi Carol,
Wow what an experience. Looks like you have TWO dogs now.

Hope all is well with you.

Peter (ex-Lefkas) now in Nth Cyprus.

 

[Carolwildbird]

Hi Peter

Well, two dogs on the boat at present, but not all mine. Just one is mine: baby Bliss, 7 months old. I also have a visiting dog at the moment.. Sam.

When did you leave levkas? Can't now remember whether you left before last pup (Ollie) was poisoned by the greeks.. hence why I am heading back to England,.

 

[rivonia]

Hi Carol,

Yes we were there when the poisoning happened and we were very upset, it was horrible. We are BIG dog lovers and just could not understand it.

Glad that your OK now and Baby Bliss loks realy nice.

All the very best to a very nice person

Peter

 

[Grehan]

I didn't have time yesterday to have second thoughts and post them, but . .

• Sorry to hear the report, Carol, you and your crew must have been quite shocked and upset (I know I would be) and, of course, hope the unfortunate casualty recovers soon and completely.
• I should have said that, first off.
• We have shared many locks with many boats over the years, the vast majority of whatever size and obvious level of competence their skippers had, have gone without incident, even though locks can be tricky chaps, each with their own little peculiarities.
• However, there have been a few occasions where boats/skippers have cast common sense and proper seamanship/boatmanship to the winds (if they ever knew any) and charged into locks, out of locks, overtook waiting boats, ignored light signals, etc etc etc. Doing so indicates a certain reckless frame of mind, and a frame of mind that leads to incidents, accidents and potentially tragedies, in the long run, at sea or inland.
• Reading your report, it sounds like this was the root cause of what happened.
• I've heard it said that some Dutch people say that tying on, going down in the lock, is unnecessary, just use the engine. Even though going down is much easier, calmer, than going up, this is still madness.
• The Toulouse drama was caused (I can clearly see) because the boat in question used two lines onto the rear-most 'slidey pole', which is located to suit barge stern lines and hence very close to the back gate. We know that (deep) lock well and getting lines on in a 'safe' manner is tricky - I think I may have had to resort to using the engine (with ropes) to maintain position.
• The boat in Carol's report is not 'properly' a barge, it's a 'penichette' which is a hire boat type, actually quite a good one, if a little old now. ('penichette' = little barge, but some artistic licence there). I'm regularly asked about ICC and CEVNI qualification requirements for the inland waterways. Hire boat skippers need nothing . . and often set out with just half-an-hour's 'familiarisation' (that, and a burning desire to get to the next place as fast as possible). Which is why, in the interests of self-preservation / peace of mind, we treat them with the utmost caution. Especially in locks.

[edit]
I should also add that, whilst many excellent lock-keepers/eclusiers know what they're doing, some (especially in summer when students are employed) know b**er-all and appear never to have been on a boat in their lives. We broke a line last year, due to my following what a student eclusier told me to do ('instructions from head office') against my considerably better judgement.

 

[Saint Louis]

What an awful tale, and difficult/stressful for all concerned.
There is certainly a general lack of awareness of the hazards to be found on the canals, particularly going through locks. The hire companies seem to be very poor in failing to give vigorous advice before and after booking - after all, that could affect their level of bookings, b...er if their clients and other waterway users are later put at risk.
We can all learn from this incident. Do we each have an action plan ready for such an event? For example A) press emergency stop on the lock controls B) deploy all fenders possible to give the casualty a safe space in the lock amongst bouncing boats C) cast a horseshoe buoy with rope into the water for the casualty to hang on to D) One crewmember don a lifejacket, and as soon as the turbulence has stopped jump into the water to help the non-swimmer casualty. E) call emergency on 112. This series of actions could take a 2-man crew less than 20 seconds if they were properly prepared.
It is clear that there are very serious issues surrounding the lack of training given by hire companies to their often very inexperienced clients. This is one of the reasons, for example, that we so often see atrocious cases of hire boats travelling at ridiculous speeds past moored boats - although this particular behaviour is by no means limited to hire boat drivers.
On another note, I would add to a previous comment by saying that I am constantly irritated at the mis-use of the word "barge". Hire companies incorrectly use the word in their advertising, it appears to bring them business; the boats they hire are not remotely similar to barges. I believe that a more honest approach in all aspects of their operations would be to the advantage of their clients and to other waterway users.

 

[Kimmo]

I'm regularly asked about ICC and CEVNI qualification requirements for the inland waterways. Hire boat skippers need nothing . . and often set out with just half-an-hour's 'familiarisation' (that, and a burning desire to get to the next place as fast as possible). Which is why, in the interests of self-preservation / peace of mind, we treat them with the utmost caution. Especially in locks.

We found that extremely strange during our time in France and in the canals, as we came across a leaflet that advertised the rental boats.

For my own boat I need a handful of papers proving all sorts of things, not just that in theory I know how to skipper a boat.

But this rental boat advertisement specifically highlighted that you don't need anykind of paper, not even a drivers licence to get a rental boat in certain sections of the canals.

After that leaflet, we were very careful around the "bumber cars".

Thank you Carol for sharing this incident. It got us thinking how we would have handled the situation. My first thought was to trigger my inflatable life jacket and jump into the water to help the guy, but then again, that might have not been the wisest thing to do. In panic the guy could have drowned me too, lifejacket or not.

We never came across a dangerous situation, probably because we both are quite stubborn and refuse to do things, if we think that those are not safe. There was this one time when a French skipper was really mad to us, because he couldn't fit into the lock at the same time with us. He was yelling at us to move right into the gates, so he could get in also. We refused completely, as the mast would have been against the lock gates. Thankfully we refused, as the turbulance in that particular lock was quite impressive next to the gates.

 

[SHUG]

This is a terrific post ...packed with practical advice. Must re-read and take notes.

 

[Grehan]

Just as an aside, some factors in the hire boat non-qualification discussion are -

• The dispensation was given on the basis that all hire boats would be fully covered by insurance.
• Hire boat skippers are supposed to be given adequate instruction.
• It would be impractical to expect 'holiday skippers' to have to 'get qualified' and be tested before being allowed to hire a boat.
• Pre-qualification, etc. does not happen in the UK inland waterways.
• I'm not sure it happens with charter yachts, either.
• Many sailors here on YBW often express a desire to be 'free of unnecessary regulation', dislike bureaucracy, hark back to the 'free' 'good old days'.
• If it wasn't for the hire boat industry here in France (which was started by a Frenchman after WW2 as a direct result of seeing hire boats in action on the Broads - and then greatly developed by the English) then many minor waterways would be closed to navigation, be dying or be badly maintained.

None of the above justifies the idiotic and dangerous behaviour of some (a few) hire boat charterers, some of which is down to ignorance and quite a lot of which is down to hire boat bases shirking a responsibility to instil just a bit of boating manners and common sense into their customers before they set off. However, as Saint Louis has pointed out, bad behaviour is not solely the preserve of the inexperienced - I recently observed an appalling piece of poor boatmanship from an English private motor cruiser, possibly the worst I have seen for years. Arrogant 'Solent type' bullying 'get out of my way' (they were definitely in the wrong) behaviour.

 

[Grehan]

There was this one time when a French skipper was really mad to us, because he couldn't fit into the lock at the same time with us. He was yelling at us to move right into the gates, so he could get in also. We refused completely, as the mast would have been against the lock gates. Thankfully we refused, as the turbulance in that particular lock was quite impressive next to the gates.

• As skipper, you're responsible for the safety of your crew, yourself and your boat, so never be bullied into doing anything you feel (seriously) puts that situation at risk. It's your responsibility to position (within reason) and rope your vessel safely.
• One is bound to follow the instructions of any lock or waterways staff.
• Those two can sometimes conflict, particularly when 'instructions' come from the obviously inexperienced, and there's no simple answer to the paradox, except to stay calm and be prudent.
• 'Going in last' is almost always the best policy, particularly 'going up' and/or when accompanied by a hire boat. We always wait patiently outside until it's clear they've got themselves properly sorted out. We'd prefer to 'miss going through' than get tangled up in an uncomfortable situation.

 

[boatmike]

• As skipper, you're responsible for the safety of your crew, yourself and your boat, so never be bullied into doing anything you feel (seriously) puts that situation at risk. It's your responsibility to position (within reason) and rope your vessel safely.
• One is bound to follow the instructions of any lock or waterways staff.
• Those two can sometimes conflict, particularly when 'instructions' come from the obviously inexperienced, and there's no simple answer to the paradox, except to stay calm and be prudent.
• 'Going in last' is almost always the best policy, particularly 'going up' and/or when accompanied by a hire boat. We always wait patiently outside until it's clear they've got themselves properly sorted out. We'd prefer to 'miss going through' than get tangled up in an uncomfortable situation.

There are old sailors and bold sailors but very few old bold sailors.........

 

[Jegs]

We never came across a dangerous situation, probably because we both are quite stubborn and refuse to do things, if we think that those are not safe. There was this one time when a French skipper was really mad to us, because he couldn't fit into the lock at the same time with us. He was yelling at us to move right into the gates, so he could get in also. We refused completely, as the mast would have been against the lock gates. Thankfully we refused, as the turbulance in that particular lock was quite impressive next to the gates.[/QUOTE]



Did you pay for the size of boat you were using, i.e. the overall length, including projections x beam?

John G

 

[Kimmo]

Did you pay for the size of boat you were using, i.e. the overall length, including projections x beam?
John G

That particular case which I mentioned, we were waiting for the lock to open, no other boats anywhere. We got into the lock, tied up. Suddenly however three French motor boats appeared around the bend. We were already as far forward of the lock as possible and the next bollard would have been on the line with the gates.

We have a small boat and one or two of those French boats could have easily fitted into the lock, but I guess they were moving in groups and wanted to fit all three into the same lock.

Anyways, the lock keeper agreed to close the lock as she could also see that there was no way for us to more forward.

 

[Ionian Yacht Sales]

Hi Carol,

Well you are leading a very interesting life since you left us here in Lefkas. Glad all turned out alright in the end.
Hope to see you back here sometime,

Paula

 

[Carolwildbird]

Interesting conversations....

Sorry about describing the penichette as a "little barge".. poetic license, as I wrote it up for my blog and most of my friends wouldn't understand "penichette".

The said vessel is moored next to us now, and OK, and I am pleased to report that the drowning guy has been released from hospital today.. he's speaking with a strange voice (iassume he's had tubes in or something), but he's OK. Phew!

Its very interesting to analyze in retrospect what we should have done (at the least find a life ring from my boat, if the shore crew member didn't throw him the obvious one). I guess that's why RYA sail training has the thumbs up from me. Doing things such as MOB drills extensively whilst sailing gives you some automatic responses when the **** hits the fan. But in this case, I hadn't anticipated such things happening, and, like the crew member, didn't have a practice base to build from.

Yes, Grehan.. I am shaken.. but hoping things go more smoothly from now on. I just feel this huge weight of responsibility for people who I am with (who are trusting that I know what I am doing)....having witnessed how easy it is for things to go tits up.

 

[SteveSarabande]

Doing things such as MOB drills extensively whilst sailing gives you some automatic responses when the **** hits the fan

If you could get all your man overboards and mishaps out of your system before LeHavre that would be great Carol.
MOB drills will take on a whole new meaning on my DS course next week