The Mauvages Tunnel

Bar le Duc

We had just entered the Canal de Marne au Rhin Ouest (Canal joining the Marne and Rhine Rivers- West Branch) when we heard that the Meuse Canal had restricted depth and then later it closed. This was one of the canals we had intended to navigate. Then the levels began reducing in our current canal. Not a problem for us with our shallow draft but a major problem for commercial vessels, yachts and boats with a deep draft.The canal

By the time we climbed the staircase of locks to the summit, major problems were starting to emerge. We had a couple of locks break down but the VNF usually came quite quickly in response to our phone calls. We stopped overnight at the entry to the Mauvages Tunnel, which is over 4.8km in length. We have been through it a couple of times before, but now we noted that the water level was about a metre below normal! Not only that, but the canal was infested with lots of weed due to the unseasonably warm water.Weed, weed and more weed!

Anyway, we got through the tunnel okay. It was more problematic than usual because of the water depth (and weed). In a narrow channel with shallow water, because the propellor is sucking out a lot of water, the stern of the boat will be sucked to one side or the other rather than going straight down the middle. On top of that, there are wooden rubbing strips on the sides of the tunnel but these were now about a metre higher than normal and thus of little use. The local lockeeper rode with us through the tunnel on his bicycle, on the tow path, to ensure everything went okay.

On the other side of the tunnel, for the first few locks, the canal level was well below the most recently advertised 1.4metres depth and there was a notice some days later to say that it was now reduced to 1.2 metres. This forced us to travel more slowly, but we are in no hurry. Passing other boats was a cautious exercise as the sides of the canal are very shallow- down to about 30cm.Camouflage- disguising your house by custom painting!

We made our way to the pleasant town of Void, which we have visited before. It has a very jolly butcher and this time, Penelope bought special sausages filled with cheese in the middle. He said they would go "Whoosh" when cut (and displayed this with waving arms). He was correct- amazing sausages and beautiful to eat but perhaps a little damaging for cholesterol levels. This town also has an unusual market building. The pillars which support it were brought from a nearby Roman town. There are about 20 of them and they are over 2,000 years old!

Void had three beautiful bronze fountains. Above is the smallest of them.

Best Regards,
Dave and Penelope