Floods!

Well, we have again had a "flood experience".

The Nivernais is a canal in the upper reaches but lower down, it is part canal and part river with locks set in short canal sections and barrages across the river. France experienced a very dry winter and we have had a dry (and very pleasant) start to the barging season. Due to lack of snow melt, some have been describing it as drought conditions.

We had a pleasant stay at Chitry les Mines and met Ted Johnson who is based there and has been supplying our engine needs plus other bits and pieces over the past six years. Ted (with a French partner) was the first person to introduce hire boats to France in 1959. This was in the Marne region. Later, he introduced them to the Nivernais Canal. So, he is quite a celebrity in the boating world. He was also the agent for the engines such as used in Anja and has encyclopaedic knowledge as well as a building full of spare parts plus contacts all over the world. So, it was good to put a face to the person on the other end of emails and telephone calls over the years.

We turned around at Chitry les Mines and stopped the first night near Chevroches, a few kilometres from Clamecy. It started raining 10 minutes after we stopped and continued, sometimes heavily, for the following 36hrs.

The next morning we planned to stop in Clamecy and reprovision. We had organised this with the head lock-keeper the night before. However, when we met the lock-keeper the next morning, he told us that the canal was to be closed further down at midday and that we had no time to shop unless we wanted to stop earlier. The problem was a point further down where the Yonne River actually flows across the canal- just downstream of a lock. This is a so-called "Level Crossing"; these are very rare. Going upstream, in drier conditions, we had been influenced by the strong sideways current from the river as we crossed it to enter the lock. Now, the river level had risen and the cross current was becoming dangerous.

The lock-keepers worked well as a team to get us through the critical spot in time. When we arrived, there was a hotel-barge in front and it took it a long time to get through. The lock-keepers persevered into their lunch times to get us through. Firstly, they lowered the lock and opened the lock gates. Then, one of the other lock-keepers raised the barrage on the Yonne River to slow the river flow somewhat. When we were given the signal, we gave the boat a lot of throttle and roared across the cross current, keeping well to the right to prevent being swept down to the barrage. All went well and we were relieved to be the last boat through before the river and canal closed at that point.

We tied up for the night, some hours later and started to relax. However, relaxation was short lived. A lock-keeper arrived and said that the section of river where we were was expected to become dangerous and we must move. He took us downstream another 6km and several locks where we could finally be safe.

The next morning, we set off for the next lock as arranged. The first problem became evident on the way. Our flag pendant at the bow is a fixed height above the water and we use it to ensure we will fit under bridges. Unfortunately, it showed we would miss and tear several centimetres from the roof. Stopping was not an option so we simply "put the foot down". This had the effect of sucking lots of extra water from under the rear half of the boat, causing the aft end to sit lower in the water. Penny looked and we made it by 2 centimetres! This is what the professional captains sometimes do but we had never tried it ourselves. Wow!

The lock was ready and we arrived in it and a rental boat followed us. No lock-keepers. Three of them arrived about 45mins later and explained that they had been lowering the manual barrages and that the river below the lock was now closed as were several other ports upstream of us. We could not return as the water level had risen further under the bridge behind so we were stuck in the lock, which was really not too bad as it was full and we were quite comfortable.

Later, after lunch, they told us that we could go if we wanted but that rental boats could not. Fortunately, we had checked the downstream bridge heights and found that one further down was way too low for us at the river levels so we stayed where we were.

We were able to leave the following day and safely negotiate the final low bridge.

The flood caused problems for rental boaters with tight deadlines and also two 39metre hotel barges. One of these barges was very comfortable for the passengers but not the skipper. You can see him huddling under the umbrella (held in one hand) and steering the boat with the other hand!

Hard work for the Captain- in the rain with umbrellaOnly two people live in this huge Chateau

We have now returned to Migennes, at the start of the Burgundy Canal where we will buy some more provisions and also wait out May Day which is a major holiday with locks, rivers, canals and shops closed.

Regards,
Dave and Penny

Ancient wooden lift bridge on the NivernaisPush or pull- ancient lock gates on the Nivernais CanalNear the summit of the Nivernais CanalA very unusual cafe at one of the lock keeper's cottages