NORBURY WHARF LIMITED

NORBURY WHARF LIMITED
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Thursday 28 March 2019

From the Mediterranean to the English Channel by boat - episode four


NOW FOR THE SAÔNE

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.


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.

The waterfront in historic Lyon


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.

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.

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. 

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.


A misty morning on a village mooring on the River Saone

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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