In preparation for Rob and Janet's arrival on the 26^th, we arrived in Migennes a couple days earlier. We had two lovely days of hot, sunny weather and desperately hoped (despite the forecast indicating otherwise) that it would continue when we got on the canal boat. We managed to get a couple loads of laundry done and pack up our stuff for our time on the canal. The following day, we drove over to the "Le Boat" base in Migennes to drop off Meghan’s bicycle. That’s when we were informed by the Le Boat staff of an advisory they had received just an hour ago informing them of possible flooding on the Nivernais canal. As a result of this, we wouldn’t be able to do the route originally planned (from Migennes to Decize, along the Nivernais). This would normally have been fine with us except that both Rob and Janet and we had a car rental tied to finishing our trip at Decize. We were due to pick up our rental car in an hour’s time and since we had no way of contacting Rob and Janet to decide on an alternate course of action, we had to make an executive decision. The Le Boat staff had told us that two of our three alternate options could still get us to Decize in time so we took a chance and picked up our rental car as originally planned. We made the 200+ km drive south-west to just around Decize with Meghan driving the van and me in the little Renault rental. This was the first time I was driving on the trip so I was a bit nervous but the roads and traffic were pretty straightforward and I was quite comfortable after the first half hour of driving. We were almost in Decize when we found that the campsite we were planning to stay at for the night was closed. We had to turn around and head back to Nevers. After we arrived at camp, we zipped off to do a preliminary shop for groceries that we’d need on the boat and then prepared for a very early start the following morning.

We were up by quarter to six in the morning, packed up camp and promptly drove over to the Le Boat base in Decize. We had to come all the way to Decize to leave our van in their secure parking lot for the duration of our canal boating trip. As soon as that was done, we drove as fast we could – obeying the speed limits of course – back to Mignnes, hoping to meet Rob and Janet off the 11am train. It was roughly a two hour drive back and we would have made it had it not been for a couple of slow vehicles that we got stuck behind. We arrived at the train station in Migennes just a few minutes too late so we missed meeting them off the train. We made our way over to the base and there were hugs all around when we spotted Rob and Janet. Meghan, Janet and I zipped off to the Leclerc to finish our grocery shopping while Rob (“le Capitaine”) got the orientation for the boat and finished the required paperwork. We returned to the base within an hour and everyone essentially agreed on going down the Bourgogne canal (instead of the Nivernais) down to Decize. This was a much longer route than the original so we were going to be running the boat for nearly nine hours a day (locks opened at 9am and closed at 7pm with a break from noon to 1pm). Even though it was going to be busy, we were going to see more and it was a more scenic canal than going down the Loire. I drove the rental car back to the nearby town of Joigny and cycled back from there to Migennes. I had left my bicycle at the car rental place the day before when we had picked up the car. While I was dropping off the car and cycling back to the base in the rain (yes, it had started raining and the hot and lovely weather of the day before was nowhere in sight!), the others had visited the local boulangerie to pick up patisseries.

We finally pushed off from the base, heading south along the Bourgogne canal, around 1:45pm. We came upon our first lock in a few minutes and I had to learn the ropes, literally, as soon as we entered the lock. It was raining quite hard and was pretty cold out but this didn’t dampen our spirits as we were finally underway. For those that have not been canal boating before, here is a quick intro on how to “lock” (i.e. the process of ascending or descending through a lock, or “écluse”). I have described our process for ascending through a lock below, which is more complicated than descending:

1.      The boat is driven in close to the banks, somewhere just before the lock.

2.      One person leaps off the bow or stern into the (usually) tall grass & stinging nettles, hoping that the bank is still intact.

3.      That person jogs up to the lock and waits for the boat to completely enter the lock. The captain starts the timer (if Rob happens to be your captain, he expects the highest standards from his crew).

4.      Someone on deck throws you the stern and/or bow ropes, which you temporarily secure (by means of a few loops around the bollard)

5.      You then then head over to the rear lock gate on your side and start closing the door while the lock keeper (known as an “éclusier”) closes the gate on the opposite side.

6.      Once the gates are closed, return to handling the ropes and ensure you only have one loop around the bollard (this gives you control over the boat while it rises but also allows you to take in the slack as needed)

7.      The éclusier goes to the front gates where they open the slew gates (either manually or electronically, depending on the lock system), to flood the lock.

8.      The water gushes in and you keep pulling hard on the ropes to remove any slack and to keep the boat in place as it rises. The bow and stern will usually swing a little bit during the process so don’t panic (that’s why all canal boats have lots of fenders on all sides).

9.      As the water level in the lock equals that of the canal on the other side, the person handling the bow rope temporarily secures their line and goes over to the front gate to open it. The éclusier handles the opposite side.

10.   In the meantime, the person handling the stern ropes is coiling their rope neatly while still keeping a handle on the boat.

11.   Once the gates are open, the person(s) handling the ropes step back onto the boat (which is now level with the top of the lock) as the boat pulls out of the lock.

12.   The captain stops the timer once out of the lock and records the elapsed time in his little notebook. A four to five minute lock is a pretty decent performance.

The first lock was a bit nerve wracking as I had to take in all of the above on the fly. However, by about the sixth or seventh lock, it was pretty straightforward and I wasn’t even thinking about it anymore as we had the routine down. For the first day, Meghan threw the ropes to Janet and I while Rob steered the boat. I do have to mention that on our second lock, Janet and I overstepped our boundaries. In the previous times that Rob and Janet have been canal boating, they have opened and closed locks, many times without an éclusier present. When we didn’t see an éclusier at the second lock, we immediately closed the gates behind us and began opening the slew gates. A few minutes in, an éclusier sped down the tow path on his little motorcycle and came up to the lock at an alarming pace. We could see by his body language, gesturing and tone of voice (even though we couldn’t quite understand what he was saying) that we should NEVER operate the locks without the éclusier present. We honestly hadn’t known this so we apologized and went on our way. From then on in, we always asked the éclusier if we could help them out and they were always glad that we were so eager to help. Even though it was raining quite hard, the first afternoon of canal boating passed by quite quickly. By the end of the first evening, we had completed eleven locks. We moored in between two locks by tying up to a couple stakes we hammered into the canal bank. By the end of the evening, we were all quite chilled so instead of kir, we opted for hot chocolate. We had a hearty meal of pasta and went to bed not too long after.

Over the next couple of days, we settled into a routine. We usually got up around 7:30am and if we didn’t have bread on hand, one of us would cycle or walk into town to pick up some fresh bread from the closest boulangerie and needless to say, patisseries for the day. Some days we splurged and even got croissants or pain chocolat to supplement breakfast or as a mid-morning snack. Most breakfasts have consisted of a fruit salad, granola and yoghurt, tea and fresh bread with butter and jam. Just before 9am, we cast off our lines and putter in to the next lock so we’re all set to go when the éclusier arrives. Once we’re off, Janet usually handles the bow line while Megs and I rotate between the stern line. If it’s a nice day out, Rob steers using the controls on the roof and tosses us the ropes from there as the rest of us cycle along the tow path. The canal was lined with trees on either side and there were lots of wildflowers and birds to watch for as we cruised along at 4 miles per hour (maximum speed allowed). As far as wildlife goes, we’ve seen magpies, wagtails, ducks, blue herons, kestrels, hawks and the occasional water rat and lots of swallows with blue backs that zip by, criss-crossing in front of the boat and dipping their beaks into the canal as they fly by. It was very beautiful outside and quite relaxing in the stretches between locks. These stretches were often spent just watching the rolling countryside, dotted mostly with cows (and occasionally sheep and horses), pass by slowly. We also get an interesting view on rural houses because we often get to look in on their backyards. The colours are lovely this time of year – lots of wildflowers (primulas, buttercups, irises) and fields of yellow mustard interspersed in between fields of green. As we approach a lock, we are all curious as to what it will be like. Many éclusiers take pride in their lock houses and have nice gardens facing the lock. Some also like to express themselves artistically and in those cases, we are treated to an outdoor art exposition.

If we have a long stretch of canal without locks to go through, we try to take our showers then (the water on the boat is heated via a heat exchanger while the engine is running). In the afternoon, we are usually inside for an afternoon cup of tea with fresh patisseries although occasionally we have kept our treats for after dinner and had speculoos or stroop waffles instead. Whenever it wasn’t raining, Janet, Megs and I were usually on our bicycles between the locks. We saw a few locals walking along the towpath with a bunch of wild primulas in their hand. This gave us the idea to pick some wildflowers for a bouquet as we rode along and I think we did a pretty good job. The locks close at 7pm and we have been going till then each day since we have a lot of ground to cover. After tying up (sometimes at a port, sometimes just in between two locks), Janet and Megs usually get dinner ready while Rob gets the kirs ready for our pre-dinner aperitifs. After dinner, Rob and I get the dishes done and put away. If it’s not too late, we hunker down for a game or two of Settlers of Catan or tile rummy.

On the 29^th, we began and ended the day locking with another rental péniche (recreational canal boat). Due to our efficient locking, we had caught up to this boat over the previous few days. This was the first time we were locking with another boat and unfortunately, they didn’t seem to be a model of efficiency. Not only that, but they were actually being lazy (not getting off the boat and waiting for either us or the éclusier to come get their ropes) and careless (not using their ropes while in the lock and therefore swinging about while the lock was being filled and on one instance, rear ending us lightly). Today, we were ascending “the staircase” (about forty locks in close succession) to get as close as possible to the Tunnel de Pouilly at the summit. Hence, the lackadaisical attitude of the other boaters didn’t impress us or the éclusiers too much. The éclusier was trying to get us to pass them and when we were close to doing so, an alarm on the boat started going off. Rob had a look at was going on and had the issue diagnosed quite quickly – the impeller needed to be changed. He could have done the repair, but we didn’t have the part so we had to call Le Boat. We hobbled through the next lock and then finally had to call it quits. The mechanic arrived the same evening and had the boat all fixed up within an hour.

The next morning, we completed the remaining locks in the staircase leading up to the Tunnel de Pouilly. At écluse No. 1, Rob had to go in and sign a paper to get our crossing ticket, which indicated our crossing time. The éclusier also checked that we had enough life jackets on board and informed us that we had to wear them through the tunnel. They provided Rob with a radio so that he could be in contact through the tunnel crossing if needed. It was a three kilometer long tunnel and since there was no traffic coming from the other way, we went through almost immediately. We put on our life jackets and sat inside the boat as we passed from daylight into sheer darkness. Rob had the spotlight on the boat turned on so that he had some visibility and after the first little bit, the tunnel was actually lit. Rob said that this was quite different from when they had last crossed many years ago – there were no lights, no radio communication and definitely no CCTV cameras within the tunnel. It took about forty minutes to cross and very shortly after we exited the tunnel, we were descending through a series of locks on the other side. We ended the day in the basin in Vandenesse, just a few kilometers from Chateauneuf.

May 1^st was Labour Day and we were therefore forced to take a rest day, just at the base of Chateauneuf. There was a vide grenier (literally “empty attic”) in Vandenesse, the town in which we were moored. We were pretty keen to check it out when we heard about it the day before from the éclusier. When we walked over to check it out, it was a bit disappointing because it was quite small and there was hardly anything worth perusing. So we walked on to Chateauneuf along the canal path. As we were walking along, we noticed a boulangerie van pull up to a house. I was expecting him to knock or ring the bell but instead, he just slipped a couple baguettes into a "baguette tube" attached to the side of the house, right next to the mailbox. We were all quite impressed by this and Rob commented on how this was the epitome of civilization. It was the first time we had ever seen such a thing in France. It was a bright, sunny day out and we were actually warm enough on the climb up the steep road that we could take off some layers. We wandered through Chateauneuf, poking our heads into the little church, checking out the viewpoint over the valley and otherwise just admiring the cute houses with their flower displays and wandering through the tiny lanes. We looked at a few lunch menus but none of them appealed to us. Megs and I found some pottery we liked so we picked up two small bowls as a small souvenir. We returned to the boat just as it began to rain quite heavily. We quickly took down the laundry we had put out to dry that morning and settled down inside to watch the storm come in as we played a few games of Settlers.

We headed into the locks at 9am on May 2^nd with another recreational péniche who clearly knew what they were doing compared to the last one we had locked with. Throughout the course of the day, we got to chatting with the boaters in front of us. We learned that they were canal boating for three years in France after having canal boated for five across the UK. Rob was definitely intrigued by this and said that when he won the Lotto 6/49, that he’d be on the lookout for a péniche. It started out as a foggy morning, and eventually turned into a beautiful day. We didn’t pass any boulangeries and as we were nearing lunch time, I had to ride about six km ahead to the next town to get bread for lunch. It started raining just as I got back so we had to eat lunch inside. The rain didn’t last very long and was soon followed up by an absolutely gorgeous, sunny afternoon that saw all of us sitting up top. We had kirs and mixed nuts for an aperitif around 3 pm while Megs opted for hot chocolate. I was sitting up top and was practising my rope tossing so I could loop and unloop it from around a bollard without ever leaving by deck chair (although I did have to set my kir down – I hadn’t had enough practice to do it one handed yet). We were all soaking up the sun and expressing how the weather we had signed up for had finally arrived. Cruising down the canals, it was looking like the advertisements on the “Le Boat” website I had seen – a group of people cruising down the meandering canals with drinks in hand, enjoying the lovely sunshine and beautiful countryside. A few hours later, as if we had somehow angered the sun gods, black storm clouds closed in all around us. Within a few minutes, it was pelting down and there was even thunder and lightning. Just as we were commenting how quickly the weather had changed, it started hailing! We were still descending through locks in this weather and I was determined to stay as dry as possible. I very quickly figured out that I could loop the rope around a bollard as we entered a lock and then quickly duck inside the boat and shut the door, with rope in hand. As we descended, I slowly let out more rope and when it was time to exit the lock, all I had to do was give the rope a good flick to slide it off the bollard and we were away. It was raining really hard as we went to bed that night, moored between locks 41 and 42, just 12 km north of Dijon.