Up the Rhone, Sept. 9-23

 The Rhone is a very big river, draining almost all of east central France as well as carrying water from the Swiss Alps to the Med. It is a very busy commercial waterway with big barges carrying all kinds of freight and many cruise ships. There is a lock complex about every 20 k, all of them incorporating a hydropower facility. The locks are also very big; 11 meters wide by 190 long (36 ft. X 625 ft.) and averaging about 20 meters (65 ft.) deep.The French waterways authority on the Rhone, Compagnie National du Rhone (CNR), had a very useful website, InfoRhone, that provides comprehensive information on river conditions; weather, river current and forecasts. We had been keeping an eye on current because we would be traveling upriver against it and there are several places where the river narrows and the flow can be quite fierce. Also, the northerly winds, the mistral, can really kick up in the fall and between current and wind, make progress difficult. 

Of course just a few days before were to join the river there was a rainstorm in central France and the river current really speeded up. We waited at our last stop near St. Gilles before entering the river, letting things calm down a bit. Monday morning, Sept 9, things were looking a little better so we decided to head off. 

The first 3 hours was on the Petite Rhone, joining the main branch of the river just north of Arles. The section of the main river at Beaucaire/Tarason is one of the most challenging. The river narrows considerably and there is a bridge to navigate under. Oldtimer handled the conditions just fine although slowly and we arrived at the Vallabrègues lock about 1:30 pm.  It turned into a very long day as we stopped just after clearing the Avignon lock after 62 kilometers and a little over 10 hours underway. Each of the locks has a waiting pontoon for pleasure boats on each side and the lock keepers said it was no problem for us to spend the night there. We were tied up just about 6 pm. 

Day 2 on the river was more of the same, leaving the moorings just as it got light around 7 am, clearing two locks during the day and spending the night at another waiting pontoon after 45 kilometers, tying up around 5 pm after the Bollène lock.

Day 2 on the river was more of the same, leaving the moorings just as it got light around 7 am, clearing two locks during the day and spending the night at another waiting pontoon after 45 kilometers, tying up around 5 pm after the Bollène lock.

More of the same on day 3; 66 k and about 11 hours, stopping just after 6 pm. It was starting to get a little windy; in fact a gust blew the patio umbrella that was sitting on the cabin house roof into the river, lost forever.

Castles on the hill and a little bit of wind.

Wednesday morning it was off early again. The forecast said that the day would not be as windy as Tuesday but Thursday it was going to be howling for several days so we wanted to get close to the big marina at Valence where we would be able to hole up and wait for the weather. Also, Tanya was going to have to deal with a family issue that would take her to Paris for a few days and there were good train connections from Valence.

We cleared the Beauchastel lock about 6 pm after 66 kilometers to spend the night and then just had 12 k and about 2 hours to reach Valence. We secured a slip for 10 days and settled in.

Entering the Bollène lock. We’re going all the way to the top.

One lock we shared with a commercial barge.

The town of Printegarde with its impressive architecture.

And windy it did get. We had three days straight where gust hit well over 60 kph (40 mph). We did not want to be out on the river in those conditions. And while Tanya was in Paris I had the pleasure of trouble shooting a balky toilet. We had been having intermittent problems with it and it took three tries taking it out and reinstalling it before I was able to diagnose the problem and fix it. Not one of the more pleasurable boating tasks!

Saturday afternoon, Sept. 21 Tanya returned from Paris, we had a very nice meal at the marina restaurant and Sunday morning off we went for the last couple of days on the Rhone. The wind had died down so we were able to make good progress, spending Monday night at the Sablon lock and then reaching the confluence of the Rhone and Saone Rivers and Lyon about 5 pm on Monday.

Where some of that lovely Côte du Rhone comes from.

We would spend the night bankside in Lyon and head further up the Saone Tuesday morning.

The Confluence in Lyon; the Rhone to the right and Saone to the left.

The Trip Continues, August 31-Sept. 9

 It’s a good thing I don’t rely on income from the blog to buy groceries because my procrastination would cause starvation! 

I have returned to Southern California and Tanya has returned to her boat in southern France, mission accomplished. 

Oldtimer is now on the sales pontoon in Saint Jean de Losne and will hopefully find a new owner soon.

The trip to Burgundy turned out to be pure delivery; many kilometers per day and long hours. We didn’t do any sightseeing and on the Rhone we spent the night at lock waiting pontoons, not even in villages. I’m going to post some pictures we took along the way and point you to 2022’s blog for better descriptions of the sights along the Rhone and Canal du Midi. On the way down Cathy Jo and I stopped off at many villages and did alot of sightseeing. It might be worth revisiting. You’ll find the postings 2022 June - September through the links on the right sidebar.

Saturday, August 31 we traveled from Castelnaudary about 7 hours and 13 locks to a stop in Villesqueland in a nice park. After that it was 7 1/2 hours and 12 locks to our next stop near Marseillette; just a bankside mooring. Then another 6 hour day (9 locks) to Ventenac en Minervois where we arrived in plenty of time to visit the nearby wine co-op in the chateau to stock up.

The chateau houses the wine co-op.

This display of “welders art” was at on the the Midi locks.

Beziers was the next stop, about 8 hours along the Canal du Midi. Right before town is the famous Sept Ecluses de Fonserannes, a major tourist attraction.

We’re about halfway through the 6 lock staircase for this picture.

We have quite the audience.

I love this building across the basin from the port in Beziers.

The next day, Thursday, Sept. 5, was the end of the Canal du Midi, 2 hours crossing the Etang de Tau and entering the Canal Rhône a Sète, spending the night in Frontignan.

One of the famous white horses of the Camargue

We had been keeping an eye on the conditions on the Rhone as we would be traveling against the current on our trip north. Of course, a couple of days before we were supposed to join the river there was a bunch of rain in the north of France and the current took off. Friday evening we found the moorings on the side canal to St. Gilles available so we grabbed one and waited three days for the river to calm down.

Monday morning conditions looking much better so we were off.

Castelnaudary, Aug. 28-31

 Leaving Toulouse at the usual hour, we spent Tuesday night in the village of Negra. Wednesday morning we were off for another longish day to reach Castelnaudary. I spent several days here in 2022 waiting for the waterways authorities to fix lock that had been sabotaged. Read the entry here.  Tanya spent last winter here so was friends with Odile, the port captain and her assistants, and several others who had overwintered. During my stay in 2022 I had just tied up at the free mooring but this time took full advantage of the facilities for three days, moored right in front of Tanyas boat. Also, we had discovered that the alternator wasn’t the only electrical problem as the batteries that power the house functions (lights, refrigerator, etc.) had failed after 9 years; a very respectable lifespan. A trip to the auto parts store was required and luckily they would be willing to deliver the batteries to the boat and collect the old ones. I really didn’t relish the idea of fetching them by bicycle!

While visiting with Odile in the port office, Tanya met a newspaper reporter that was interested in women on their boats and why they had stayed in Castelnaudary. A couple days later a nice story appeared, complete with photos.

Chores complete and visiting accomplished, Saturday morning we were off. From here on it would be long days and many kilometers traveled until we reached Saint Jean de Losne in Burgundy.

Toulouse, Aug. 23-27

 It’s a two day trip from Castelsarrasin to Toulouse. When Tanya and I visited Toulouse last May before our departures (mine back to the US, hers north to Saint Jean de Losne) we had dined at Fogos, a restaurant she had visited on an earlier visit and really enjoyed. We were determined to eat there again. We arrived late Friday afternoon but as the restaurant is only open Monday through Friday (ah, the French) we would have to wait until Monday evening for our return visit.

In earlier visits to the city I had seen the modern art museum and the Airbus center but Tanya introduced me to La Machine, a theater troop that specializes in fantastic machines and exotic musical instruments in their productions. I’m going to post some pictures of the Minotaur and the spiders that are at the center but I urge you to visit the website (especially “Long Ma” and “Les Mécaniques Savantes” in the “Productions” section) and see some of these fantastic creations and other performances that are featured all over the world. It’s really amazing stuff.

On Sundays, a meal is served with much mechanical help. It really is a performance.

More on the website.

There are regular rides aboard the Minotaur around the facility.

One of the two spiders here.

The machines are all hydraulically controlled

 and there are 10-15 people aboard each one 

to manipulate the legs and other body parts.

The main driver sits right under the head.

Those four seats are for the performers that manipulate the legs on this side as the spider “walks”, one seat for each leg.

More about a performance on the streets of Toulouse.

Meanwhile, on the way to Toulouse we had discovered that the engines alternator had died, no longer charging Oldtimer’s batteries when we were underway. Luckily the nearby auto parts store had a replacement;  that was Monday’s chore. Task completed and a very satisfying dinner consumed, Tuesday morning we were off to our next stop, Castelnaudary, another two days east on the Canal du Midi.

Return to Oldtimer

 When last I wrote, I had just completed an attempt at some maintenance in late fall of 2023. The weather didn’t cooperate so I really didn’t get much done in the three weeks I was in Castelsarrasin but, as I wrote at the time, I did get to eat some great bread and sample more great wines.

It had been five years since the last time Oldtimer was out of the water and the insurance company was requiring a bottom thickness survey to renew the policy. Plus, it was time for new bottom paint so I had made preliminary inquiries with the local boatyard about a haulout in the spring of 2024. Sebastian, the yard manager, said he would be able to lift Oldtimer out of the water even though it was a little over the capacity of the crane. I would have to make sure the water tank was empty.

I returned to France in mid April with big plans for maintenance but again, the weather did not cooperate. It was cold and raining off and on most of the five weeks but luckily turned decent for the week Oldtimer was out of the water. I rented and Air BNB in Castelsarrasin so I wouldn’t have to live aboard while up on the hard and got a good coat of paint on the bottom although it was pouring rain the day Oldtimer went back in the water on April 29.

With plans to return to the US on May 17, I tried to squeeze in some paint and varnish between rain showers when fate intervened. A Dutch cruiser with an American flag pulled in just down the quay. Being the chivalrous person that I am, I went to give a hand with the lines and met the owner, Tanya Binford. She turned out to be a very experienced boater having completed the Great Loop in the US ten years ago singlehanded and writing a book about it. She had moved to France three years before, living aboard in Saint Jean de Losne and had travelled south in late 2023, spending that winter in Castlenaudary on the Canal du Midi in her 11 meter Dream Catcher. We struck up a close friendship and when I mentioned I wanted to move Oldtimer back up to Burgundy, she offered to accompany me on the trip.

We made plans to reunite in Castelsarrasin in mid August to begin the trip and I returned to the US May 17.

I was only home for a week, though, as a friend had offered me a spot on a charter trip from Anacortes, Washington to Ketchican, Alaska during the month of June. (At some point I’ll post some pictures from the Voyage of the Ellie K.)

So Tanya and I reunited in Castelsarrasin August 16 and made preparations to head north. This would be basically be a delivery trip with not a bunch of time for sightseeing as visa requirements would not allow me to remain in France past early November and heading north on the Rhone against the current could be a challenge. Preparations complete, August 22 we set off in the direction of Toulouse. Burgundy here we come!

That’s About It, Folks. October 24-Nov. 14

 I’ve returned to France to do some maintenance and winterize the boat as I didn’t have time for that in July. Plus it gave me an excuse to come back and enjoy more of those delicious baguettes. I’ll be here for three weeks.

I’m not going to make a map this year as it was just backing and forthing on the Canal de Garonne with side trips to Montauban and up the Baise.

But there are numbers-

694 kilometers

240 locks

142 hours underway 

41 travel days

I also think I’m going to put the blog to bed. The boat is for sale and I’m afraid my heart just isn’t in it. I don’t think I’ll be doing again what I did this year. While I did have a good time, it’s just not the kind of cruising I want to do. Barging is a wonderful life and I would dearly love to continue but I’m afraid it’s just not in the cards.

I want to thank you all for following along and your kind and generous comments.

If you know anybody who wants a very nice, comfortable Dutch barge on the French canals…..

Don

Return to Castelsarrasin, July 11-16

 My sister, Melissa (Missy) had been in Paris for several days and was taking the TGV from Paris to Bordeaux. I took the train from Agen and we met up in the train station. Since we only had a couple of hours, there really wouldn’t be time for much sightseeing so we mostly just wandered around the streets near the train station.

The ornate Bordeaux train station and city tram

We did take a stroll through the Basilique St. Michel whose construction started in 1350 and took about 200 years to complete. The church steeple is dwarfed by the nearby Fléche St. Michel, at 375 feet the tallest tower in southern France. Too bad about the scaffolding.

By late afternoon we were back on board, preparing to get underway.

Wednesday we were heading back to Valence d’Agen and after about 5 hours and 3 locks we were tied up in time to take a little stroll through town. It was a rather harrowing trip as there was still alot of debris in the canal, much of it just under water and invisible, so there was a pretty constant banging as branches struck the hull. No damage was done but it sounded like someone striking a drum when we hit something! Valence was very familiar to me now, but it was a beautiful day and the flowers were putting on quite a show. 

Thursday morning it was off to Moissac. I had contacted Anthony, the capitaine, a few days before to make sure there would be a spot for us as it was now high season, the weekend and, with the canal reopened, boats were starting to move around. We were tied up just after lunch so there was plenty of time to revisit the cathedral and cloister, the third time I’d been there this year.

My sister climbs out of the crypt in the church.

We were in no particular hurry as we didn’t need to be in Castelsarrasin until Sunday so we spent Friday just hanging around town, visiting the market and taking in the sights.

Saturday we set off around 11 am. Since it was just 6 k to Castelsarrasin, we motored past and stopped for the night at San Porquier, just 7 k further up the canal. I hadn’t stopped here before but we found a very attractive small village just a short distance away. Since we were tied up by about 3 pm there was plenty of time for a visit.

The church and city hall

A very attractive house that had obviously had some recent maintenance.

Since it was still early in the summer the sunflowers were in full bloom.

It was just a short trip and only two locks back to Castelsarrasin so Sunday morning we set off at the ungodly hour of 11 am and were tied up in Oldtimer’s resting place for the winter about 1 pm.

The flowers in Castelsarrasin were looking pretty nice, too.

Missy was off back to California Monday morning and I really didn’t have any time to mess around as I would be leaving the boat on Wednesday for my flight home Thursday. There was just time to get the laundry done and get things cleaned up before I headed to the train station for the return to Toulouse where Air France would whisk me home.

The plan was to return at the end of October to do a little maintenance and complete the winterization.