Today is a day of firsts: 24 locks, 4.8km tunnel, reaching our last summit, 2 lock breakdowns, driving with the floodlight and mooring in the pitch black!! I said they were firsts, I didn't say they were good!!!
After waking early (running the gennie to take the chill off) and a photo session outside we pushed off at 9.00 on the dot to get through the last two automatic locks to the summit and hit the tunnel good and early. The sun is shining so all smiles for the day ahead...
At the final lock the doors don't open automatically - you have to call head office so they know you are there and can give you clearance to pass the tunnel as it is one-way traffic.
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| The summit lock - elaborate! |
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| A cabanon - I guess in season one could be stuck here awhile! |
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| Farewall locking up!! |
Since crossing the channel to Le Havre on 5th September we have now done 276 locks and covered more than 1300km!!
A boat with an 'Electrician' banner came out and we were ready to push off but he called to say there was a second boat following! Bit dangerous - and out they came, with a boat trailer with a little golf buggy on it! A definitely hid the existence of such a contraption, as what would have been cooler than Js Mini Moke on a trailer behind the Goodbye George?? Not to be this time, but surely an excuse to get another Moke sharpish?!?
And so we attacked our first 'real' tunnel - where you can't actually see the other end of it, with the knowledge that the scenery was likely to include dead deer and large logs in our path - nice! Strangely, the Sparky had pulled a U-ey and was following us in?! So HE was the unannounced traveller and not the buggy people! We fired up the floodlight, but abandonned it after not too long as it lit not much, and there was a group of workers rewiring the lighting in the tunnel itself so there were sections of bright light giving way to sections of pitch blackness; the key to navigating seemed to be to pick the line and speed and stick to it and we encountered no obstacles so all went very well. About 45 minutes in the dark - but no speeding ticket!!
We arrived before midday into the first downward lock (in a chain of 8) and swapped in our remote for another one and were thoroughly questionned by the VNF staff - J carefully standing in front of our expired vignette the whole time, but as predicted by everyone en-route they just didn't seem to care!! They also advised we'd meet a commercial Peniche at some point today but it was far off right now, so who knows when?!
We set off into the second lock, lines on but nothing happened when we pushed the activation bar - first breakdown and call for help but those aren't bad odds given the stats above. And we're close to head office so help arrived very quickly and he reset the machine and off we went, continuing the chain of 8 locks - the next preparing for us as we leave the last as they are only 500m apart; reminded how much more relaxed locking down is...
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| See the next one in the distance? |
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| And there's the previous one! |
The lock numbers are going up from 1 on the downward slog of the Canal between Champagne and Bourgogne and we reached #14 by 3pm. Activated by the remote it went from preparation (Red light and green light) to out of service (2 reds) in short order, so another call to the VNF for help! 2 in a day - no comment! Not so for the pedestrians passing, who informed us that before the section was made automatic there was never a problem, whereas now its a regular sight to have boats milling in front of the closed gates of a lock with its knickers in a twist. Help was sent speedily so automatic became manual and on we went.
The keeper told us the electricity had been switched off at the stop where we were headed (Dommarien) and advised we continue on to Cusey; not fancying a second freezing night without heating we set our sights on this grail and pushed on a bit harder...
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| Goggles set to night vision - camera not!! |
And so, following the clock change, we locked out of #19 at 5.25 and its already dark, but Cusey is after lock #22 even if its only 1km away. Still, the locks themselves are flood lit so that at least is something!
At 6.10 we left lock #22 (18 lock record smashed!!) and broke out the rubbish floodlight to navigate by in order to spot our stop. And haleluia - it was close by and what's more, although the conveniences were locked and the water switched off, we had POWER!!! Youpi!
Heaters on and settled in over our casserole we heard noise outside and there was the commercial barge we've been expecting all day! Hope he wasn't after this pontoon, as although we're neatly at one end, our presence still means there's no room for him...
So, with our two oil filled radiators on, its a toasty 16°C inside and even the dog has her drama queen shivering under control - night night!
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