Pictures to follow - internet too slow!
Update: moved the boat and now we have good wi-fi and I am adding the pictures.
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| 24 kms, 4 locks, 1 mobile bridge |
So – let’s start at the beginning (a
very good place to start….)
I called the lock keeper at 9.00 and
he told me he would be there “tout de suite”.
And he was. He took us through
the first mobile bridge and lock then received a call to say another boat was
waiting at the Cappy bridge to go down stream so we must wait for him at the next
lock.
This was a big British electric-powered catamaran, I……, which had arrived at the quay in Cappy yesterday evening. They were not very friendly.
This was a big British electric-powered catamaran, I……, which had arrived at the quay in Cappy yesterday evening. They were not very friendly.
Half an hour later, we set off
again in convoy.
We passed the Little Train of the
Haute Somme, a small train that does a tourist route through the valley.
All went well till the last lock
before Corbie, at Sailly-Laurette. The
lock keeper informed us beforehand that we would have to wait there while he
took his lunch hour. We were happy with
that but in retrospect, if we had not had to wait 30 minutes for I……, we could
have made it through that lock before the lock keeper’s lunch hour - or maybe not as it turned out. We stopped there at 12.20.
At 14.00 the lock keeper arrived
(long lunch hour). He opened the control box, paced up and down, spoke to people on his mobile phone,
then walked down to where we were drifting and told us that there was no
electricity to the lock. We tied up
again and walked to the lock to find out what was happening. He was trying to open the lock gates with a
manual handle. Ian watched the lock
keeper battle for a few minutes and realised that this was going to be a long and very
strenuous process. After the first half gate was open, Ian took over to open
the other half.
This is not like winding open the old fashioned manual lock gates; now you are winding a hydraulic pump.
This is not like winding open the old fashioned manual lock gates; now you are winding a hydraulic pump.
There was another boat waiting on the
other side of the lock to come upstream, Calliope.
Also British, and very friendly. We never did get to exchange names; he also offered to help but in a 3m lock with no ladders it was not possible.
The lock was empty so they could
enter as soon as the gates were open, then began the laborious process of closing the bottom gates and opening the paddles to fill the lock.
Neither the lock keeper nor Ian managed to get the second one open. Notice the cute Christmas tree shaped bollards.
It was nearly 3 pm before the lock
started filling, and it was over an hour before they could open the top lock
gates.
We entered the lock at 16.10 and then the battle to open the paddles to let the water out began. It was painstaking, and actually by this time very painful for Ian and the lock keeper who were still taking it in turns to turn the handle.
All this time, only one of the three
people on the catamaran had even bothered to get off their boat. And he made the excuse that he could not help
to open the lock because he had a bad shoulder and the other chap on board had
a bad leg. Well, maybe, but his comments
that the lock keeper “probably hadn’t done a decent day’s work for a while” and
“Good thing we are not in a hurry” were unnecessary.
When we finally got through the lock,
they didn’t thank either Ian or the lock keeper for their strenuous efforts. My feathers were ruffled! So here are some calm and peaceful shots of the canal to calm my ire!
This is where The Red Baron was shot
down, and crash landed in a field just over the hill.
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| Tranquil and surrounded by birdsong |
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| Gosliings! |
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| Extensive wetlands alongside the river/canal |
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| Extensive work to protect the river banks |
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| Our protracted "lunch"stop |
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| What a lovely family! |
We finally tied up in Corbie at
18.00. We are on a quay near the bridge
where there is a wi-fi signal, and I…… is at a smaller pontoon close to the
campsite. This evening we saw all three
of them strolling into town for dinner and back again a few hours later – no
evidence of any leg trouble for Mr Unhelpful.
It was embarrassing to be flying the same British flag as them. No
wonder the Brits have a bad reputation in France. They were arrogant,
ungrateful and unappreciative. Ian is
totally exhausted tonight and the poor lock keeper still had to reset the lock
after we left. He must be totally wiped
out.
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| Poor lock keeper - working alone. |
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