Locks galore

Sunday 19 May - Courchelles-sur-Lens to staircase-type locks
We cast off at 8am and got through the first three locks pretty painlessley.  Here we left 'La Liaison' (which actually was not as bad as the books have said) and entered the Canal du Nord.  We passed through Douai which is pretty much barge town central, followed by the villages of Arleux and Marquion where we met Catherine & Garth on 'Venture' - a lovely timber Pinnis boat (which were formerly used to ferry supplies to bigger naval ships).  They've been living aboard for 2 years and are cruising to Paris so suspect we'll be seeing more of them over the next couple of weeks or so.

Here we entered the first lock in a series of staircase locks, i.e. 6 up and 6 down - each with 2km of one another but not strictly a staircase lock which is a series of adjacent locks.  We've that pleasure to come!  We knew it would be challenging because of their proximity and once you start you're pretty much committed.   

We saw several pleasure boats en route - mainly Brits - good to see as we were beginning to think we were the only people doing this trip.  A couple of them turned off at the junction of Canal du Nord & Compiegne but we suspect we'll meet up with them later on as, like us, they're en route to Paris and Sete.

The weather wasn't great - light drizzle in the morning and heavier rain the afternoon which makes working the boat a little tricky and you have to take care on the wet decks, quaysides and anything else you have to get a line onto.

We had an idea of what to expect but it isn't until you try your lines arrangement that you discover whether they work or not!  Also, we have the added conundrum of fending the mast - fore and aft - from the locks walls and any surrounding boats so it's a 2-person job for sure.  Skipper had been considering the best strategy to get us and the boat through the locks safely.  We figured that if we could avoid going up and down ladders within the lock that would be a wise move as they're usually slippery and slimy - yuk!  Girls, no point having manicured nails as this ain't glamourous work!  We opted for two lines located amidships - one which we could run aft, the other forward so at least we could secure the middle of the boat until and if we needed to adjust anything else.  We also leave the engine on tick-over to stem the flow of the water while the lock is filling.  This is a system that bargemen (and Admiral John Foster) adopted and it works but it doesn't pay to be too set in your ways - you need to adapt to what you find so you need to be on your toes.

Up we go!
We negotiated 6 ascending locks within 8.5km of one another.  On the lock-keeper's signal (a green traffic light) off we went.  First mate was working the foreline as well as her trusty boat hook to fend off our mast; Skipper was looking after the steering and stern of the boat - and First Mate!  Ideally, you don't want to be the first boat in as the gush of water coming into the lock can be quite something and you need to keep the boat steady.  Needless to say we were first in!  These locks comprised a series of ladders and 'antlers' - little hooks you get your line around and move up to the next set of antlers as the water level rises. 

The end of our unstepped mast at the front of an ascending lock - going up!

After negotiating 5 ascending locks quite well we had to moor alongside 'She's a B' to wait for barges to clear the lock.  We spent about an hour chatting when we got the green light to enter the next lock.  We were doing really well but, because of the short delay at the lock earlier on, and the closing time of the locks on Sunday at 6.30pm, knew we'd be lucky to get through all 6 ascending locks.  We made it the last lock at 6.15pm but that was it for the night - Monsieur had signed off - so we moored up for the night on the quayside with 'She's a B' and a lovely Dutch pleasure barge which was being delivered to Paris.  We spotted a mink or polecat type creature on the grass verge.  Alan & Carol invited us aboard which was great and, after an hour or so, we set off for our much-needed bed as another early start awaits us! 

Locks today: 9 (totalling 17)

Monday 20 May - the light at the end of the tunnel ...
The crews of 'She's a B' and 'Reward' were up with the lark and into the last of the ascending locks at 06.50.  Next up was a 4.5km tunnel which is controlled by lights - you go in when you get a green light and means you're pretty sure you won't meet any oncoming traffic although there is a passing place about half way through.  It is well lit all the way through so not too claustrophobic.  'She's a B' was the leading light again and about half way down we met a big barge which we passed successfully.  It was great to see (dim) daylight at the end of the tunnel and onwards to the descending locks.

The light at the end of the Ruyaulcourt tunnel

And down again ...
Just when you get into the swing of something another challenge awaits and we were a bit nervous about the descending locks but we were assured by 'She's a B' that it was quite a quick and smooth process and they were right.  There were 4 boats in this series of locks led by a friendly bargeman who was keeping an eye on us all in case we needed help.  Next was 'Ocean Trident' of London and 'She's a B' with us at the back which, in the end, turned out to be a good arrangement for us.  The descending locks are more physically demanding as you have to pull in very long fore and aft lines but, for us, it wasn't as daunting as we thought it would be.  With the best will in the world it's so easy for lines to get caught around a bollard or railing as the lines are so taut - in this situation a lock-keeper may free it for you - alternatively you have to cut the line but fortunately we managed to avoid that.


Typical descending lock which shows how much line you need to pull in!

So, with 5 of those under our belt and the tunnel we felt we'd done a fair day's work - and it was only 1.30pm!  It wasn't made easy as it rained all day ... not as heavily as yesterday but it does take the edge off things a bit.  We had our all weather gear on so we weren't cold at all but sometimes that gear is a little tricky to manouvre in, especially after the aerobic workout that is jumping ashore with a line, taking it back on board and hauling the lines in - I've lost about 7-10lbs so far - at this rate I'll be half the woman I was when I started!
We then had about a 4km run down the Canal du Nord where we passed some lovely forest and rural countryside.  We arrived at the junction with the Canal du Somme and think we may come back that way - via Valery-sur-Somme as it's very picturesque - we'll see.  We almost missed the spur for Peronne Port du Plaissance but 'She's a B' knew exactly where she was going as Alan & Carol had stayed here before.

Peronne's Port du Plaissance is annexed to a camping site so it has most facilities, if not a little basic.  Nonetheless, we were relieved to have power and water and lost no time in getting the blower heaters on (to dry out our wet gear), taking a hot shower and getting online.  We burned quite a bit of extra diesel, too, as we had our Eberspacher heater on for the last couple of days as it was so damp - we'll have to top up tomorrow.  You learn to appreciate those taken-for-granted creature comforts of home.

Locks today: 6 (totalling 23) and a tunnel

Journey so far...
We're about 100 miles into our journey with 23 locks and a tunnel under our belt.  We are about half way to Paris and we should be there comfortably in early June. 

So that's it folks - over & out for now!