Simon
Jenkins is a well known figure on the British canal system and has
been a boater for decades, living on, working and owning boats and,
for the last couple of decades, the managing director of Norbury
Wharf on the Shropshire Union Canal.
There
he runs a brokerage, hire fleet, day boats, a trip boat and a
chandlery, as well as a paint dock, dry dock and full engineering
services. Simon has dipped his toe in to the waters of other
boat-related ideas including sea-going charters, but the inland
waterways are his first love and he has turned his gaze to Europe,
with it’s wide waterways and fully functioning system of commercial
river and canal navigations. He is just back from the boat buying
trip of a lifetime, bringing his first historic barge back to
Belgium, the country in which it was built, from the shores of the
Mediterranean. Last month we heard how he completed the Rhone despite
the winter water levels. Now he is moving ever northwards on the
River Saône.
This is his story, in his own words.
We
emerged from the last lock on the Rhone with some relief. We had made
it without incident or accident, the barge had handled perfectly, the
engine faultlessly and, apart from the generator battery dying on us
and one of the macerator toilets packing up, all was good.
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Another
pusher tug and its barge, seen from the wheelhouse of Amborix
We
still had plenty of food onboard so we could crack on with the next
step, the River Saône.
As we were passing through Lyon we were told of a good place to buy
diesel – the only place as it turned out – and, sure enough,
there it was.
A
fascinating array of barges, some being worked on, some lived on, one
was even being used as a floating dry dock-with another barge half in
and half out having a new bottom welded on to it. There, in the
middle, was this rather large fuel barge cum chandlery run by a
lovely family.
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The
waterfront in historic Lyon
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| Passing through the city which clearly enjoys its river |
They
had been pre-warned of our arrival so we were greeted kindly and we
proceeded to fill up with fuel. Our barge holds 4,000 litres of red
and 2,000 litres of white, so we filled them to the brim as we did
not know where we would find fuel again.
It’s
not easy to get fuel in France, it’s not too bad for small boats as
some of the marinas sell it, but we cant get into these marinas as we
are too big, so you have to be a bit self sufficient and plan ahead.
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| Leaving Lyon |
All
filled up now, so we carried on the river Saône
– and it doesn’t seem that much different to the Rhone to start
with, maybe a little smaller, but still a large commercial waterway
of 218 km with 5 locks measuring 180m x 12m.
We
travelled through Lyon and past all if its wonderful barges and
carried on to Saint-Jean-De-Losne where it was planned that we stop
for a day or two for our crew, Paul and Mal, to take care of some
important business.
This
was also where they lived and so we had the use of their car which
allowed us to do some much needed shopping for the next leg of the
journey.
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| Moored under the road bridge at Saint-Jean-De-Losne |
When
we arrived we stopped in the old lock cut and filled our water tank.
As with diesel, there aren’t many convenient places to pick
up water, although its free. Still, the boat carries 6,500 litres of
fresh water, so it doesn’t need topping up frequently.
Saint-Jean-De-Losne
is a lovely place and an important centre for the canals as it is
where the Canal Centre Champagne et Bourgogne joins the river Saône
and was a very busy inland port.
Our
original plan was to use this canal, however a lock on the Ardennes
canal had collapsed which would have meant a much longer trip around
the stoppage. Instead we carried on the river Saône
which would take us to the Canal de Vosges
(Canal de L’Est).
Sometimes
you are reminded that they do things differently in France and whilst
in Saint-Jean-De-Losne
we were boarded by the French river police to check our papers and
safety equipment. It’s odd having armed police board your boat and
it is certainly a contrast with a C&RT number checker on his
bike. It was all OK though, and nice guys they were too. They were
happy with all of our paperwork and licenses etc.
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| Coming into one of the first 'narrow' locks |
The
Saône
is almost two separate rivers. There is the large commercial waterway
but, after Saint-Jean-de-Losne, things start to change. This section
is 147 km and has 19 locks and soon we came to a small lock, well it
was small compared to what we had been used to so far.
These
locks are for much smaller boats, although still commercial, they
will only accommodate boats of 38 m x 5 m. Now this is starting to
get interesting and more like the UK canals.
Our
barge is 30 m x 5 m, so squeezing in to these little locks takes some
seriously good judgement and a certain amount of skill - none of
which I had mastered at that point.
The
poor old boat took a bit of a pounding to start with as I was trying
to enter the locks with a little speed. I soon found out the only way
to do it was at a snails pace. Thankfully I soon got that mastered
and after that nearly all the locks were entered just fine.
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A
misty morning on a village mooring on the River Saone
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The
upper Saône
is lovely. It has a much more intimate feel to it, beautiful views of
far-off villages through lovely unspoilt countryside, small towns
that flank the banks of the river in places, smaller locks and some
have pretty lock keepers cottages.
Most
of these locks are semi-manual locks -what is a semi manual lock I
can hear you cry?
Well,
on the approach to the lock there is something called a twizzle
stick. This is a device, usually hanging from a wire strung across
the navigation, and, as you approach, you have to turn the stick, or
pole, or tube, in order to operate the lock’s automatic system to
open the gate.
Once
inside the lock there are two bars - one blue, one red, and if you
push up on the blue pole and the lock operates automatically, the
gates open and off you go to the next lock. In case of emergency then
just push the red pole and the whole operation stops.
It
makes operating the locks a bit of fun as you have to try and find
the swizzle stick on the approach and then place the boat in a
position in order for a member of the crew to operate the stick.
In
the next episode: A world of locks and tunnels and the obligatory
daft Englishman in a GRP boat, as well as a meeting with an old
friend
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