Saint-Memmés to Pont-sur-Yonne

42 kms, 7 locks, 7 hours

After it cooled down yesterday evening and I found it comfortable enough to go for a walk, the little town of Saint Memmés seemed to be really delightful.  I am looking forward to going back there again on our return trip to Paris.

We left at 9.00 this morning, hoping to get as far as Pont-sur-Yonne .  
PC Navigo told us that was not possible in one day because the locks were going to close at noon, meanwhile, the voyage planner on the VNF website reckoned we could do it in one day and there was no problem with lock closures.  Sure enough, the VNF site was right and PC Navigo got it wrong  (and, yes, I do update the stoppages etc every day).

We travelled just 14 kms along the Seine before we turned off onto the Yonne River.  

A statue at the confluence of the Seine and the Yonne, his back was towards me so I didn't recognise him.  Napoleon perhaps?

No idea who this fellow is.

At the first lock, when I called in to ask for service, we were told to wait for 10 minutes because there was a commercial barge coming behind us.  We knew the next few locks had sloping sides and had already decided to ask if we could tie up alongside the barge, but that was not necessary because, as we entered the lock, the lock keeper told us to go alongside the barge.  Interestingly, these are manned locks and not completely automated.  The lock keeper has to walk to the open gates and press a button to close them, then walk to the closed gates to operate the sluices to let the water in or out, and then press a button to open the gates when the lock is ready.  And they are ever so friendly and helpful. 

The captain on the barge was also very “sympatique” (nice, in the best possible way).  For 5 locks we tried to follow as close as possible behind him although he moved a lot faster than we did and the locks were held for us to catch up.  

It was quite fun travelling in convoy with a commercial

4 of the 6 locks on the Yonne river have sloping sides and only one of those has a floating pontoon for pleasure boats.

The river is quite delightful, not nearly as wide as the Seine, heavily wooded, and we still see the odd grand house.

We made it to Pont-sur Yonne at 16.00, 7 hours after departure ( and not a day and half as PCN said).  

The "halte nautique" at Pont-sur-Yonne.  Free, no services.

It was another blisteringly hot day, so here I am writing the blog with my trusty “air-conditioner” blowing the finest vapour over me. 

Can you see it?  There is fine water vapour blowing out of the fan, not enough to make you wet.

When it gets cooler I’ll go for a walk, but it might be dark already.  Thank goodness the weather forecast is for lower temperatures for the next week or so.