Month: June 2018

Upon leaving Mailly-la-Ville, I headed for Mailly-la-Chateau.  We had passed this village two years prior, with its impressive cliff top Chateau overlooking the bend in the Canal du Nivernais.  My previous research had also found the restaurant at the top had once been featured in a BBC show on canals.  It was a spot I had wanted to explore, but we didn’t have time then.  I did now.

The mooring was, once again, a grassy banked indentation off the canal.  And again, it offered free power and water.

While the village above provided an incredible view, regrettably

it had little else to offer.  The restaurant was closed and posted for sale.  The boulangerie had a sign on the door informing visitors that it was closed for two months of vacation.  The local Tabac appeared to have been closed for

some time.  Even the old church was closed tightly, offering tourists no glimpse of what lay inside.

The “silver lining” to my stay here was meeting the couple that owned the Euroship ROWAN, named after a granddaughter.  Upon learning I had failed to plan ahead regarding my bread for the day, they returned from an extended bike trip back toMailly-le-Ville with an extra baguette for me.  They subsequently emailed me the picture of Desormais that graces the top of these pages.  While our conversations were relatively brief, I very much look forward to crossing paths again.

The next stop was Chatel-Censoir, a town that had been a stop for us on our prior trip.  Capped by a walled area containing a church atop the hill towering over the canal and mooring basin, this town had a number of services and a restaurant that had wowed us on the earlier trip.  It quickly

became clear there was a new Captainiere in charge of the port, and the mooring fee charged seemed to reflect his sense of self-importance.  Even dinner at the restaurant seemed to be less impressive.  Overall, a good stop for groceries and the boulangerie, but not what I remembered.

The final stop before heading into Clamcey was Pousseau, a rural mooring with no services, but quiet and pleasant.  Mooring again to agrassy bank, where a close grove of trees offered shaded tables that were decidedly cooler than the sunshine.  While resting there, three elderly folks came along,

asking me if that was our boat, which I acknowledged. They then asked if I minded if they took pictures and, with my blessings, took turns posing in front of Desormais.

A late afternoon exploratory bike ride took me to nearby Surgy, where a small auberge provided an opportunity for a cold beer or two, after touring the town, the one church, and the Marie.  The evening brought a very peaceful and restful stay, before departing for Clamcey the next morning.

 

 

Leaving Vincelles June 21st, my goal was Cravant, a short distance away.  We had stopped here for lunch, not knowing what to expect (there was no information in the guide provided by Le Boat).  To our surprise, we had an excellent 4 course lunch and then walked about this walled city.  The mooring is really just a grass banked indentation off the canal, but I was able to shoehorn Desormais into one of the few places where power was accessible.  The small cobblestone streets wind through the village, with its small fountains in squares, an old washhouse (laverie), even a prison tower!

 

I made for a free mooring in the pretty little town of Mailly-la-Ville, but with a lunchtime stop in Pregilbert.

Pregilbert is a small town, with really no services available.  My reason for stopping had nothing to do with the town, but the area across the river from the town.  There lay the remaining vestiges of what was once one of the more powerful Abbeys in France.  It was where knights headed to the Crusades dropped off their wives for safe-keeping, and so became well connected over time with many of the leading families in France.

The Abbey raised various crops to make money for upkeep, and one enterprising Abbess decided they would raise trout, taking advantage of the cold, clear water running in the Yonne.

Little remains of the Abbey.  On private land, out of sight, there is evidently a remnant of the original building, and along the roadside, a remarkable entranceway.  Surprisingly, though, there is also a fish farm (Pisciculture de Crisenon) that continues the tradition of raising trout.

I arrived before noon, wandered in, marveling at the many pools of various types of trout and other fish.  I ultimately noticed the sign and bell, instructing me to ring for service.  In response, a pleasant woman emerged from a nearby home and, after some brief conversation, scooped a trout from a pool, bopped it on the head, then cleaned it.  I was off to the boat, with my exceptionally fresh trout dinner in hand!

Mainly-la-Ville is a lovely village, sitting on both sides of the canal.  I has floating pontoons for mooring, with free power and water available.  Initially, I was confused about the mooring options (still learning to read the DBA guide!), and initially moored to a bankside bollard, a move that proved quite tricky single handed, given a breeze that was blowing the boat away from shore.  When operating alone, I had already learned I would have to step off the boat at times to moor, but this proved a bit daunting, and gave me some valuable insights.  I finally realized I could move upstream a bit and take full advantage of the floating docks, and promptly did so.

I relaxed in Mailly-la-Ville for two nights, both to do some work on the boat and to travel back down the canal one day for lunch.

At virtually every lock, a lockkeepers house was built.  These are numbered and carry the name of the lock.  On the way to Mailly-la-Ville, just above Pregilbert, I had passed through a lock called Ecluse des Damas,  There, the house had been turned into a small restaurant, catering to locals, canal boaters, and those bicycling along the canal.

I decided a bike ride down the canal was in order, and arrived just before lunch.  The restaurant had taken the time (presumably with VNF permission) to paint the lock fences and gear in their colors.  They didn’t serve lunch until noon, so I had a cold beverage, wandered around, and sat in the shade.  Lunch ended up being a delightful meal of escargot and other area goodies!  Well worth the bike trip….

I think it’s the light…  Sitting in Vincelles, France, watching the evening come on, I still don’t fully understand what took us onto this path.  Roughly 22 months after taking a hire boat trip down the Canal du Nivernais, we’ve returned to it, this time in our own boat, Desormais.

For those that know boats, you know your boat is never just yours.  Each comes with a legacy of its own, contributed by prior owners and their journeys.  We are grateful that Sandra and Neville, the most recent owners of Desormais entrusted  Desormais to us.  I must confess, I don’t fully understand yet the drive and appeal that brought us to this point myself.

In search of something to do with much of our year where I can be actively engaged in something that allows me to move slowly, absorb history, and

experience different regions and/or cultures, all while Suzanne has the opportunity to relax, read, and take things in as she wishes, we landed on a strange new path.  Suzanne’s several bouts of seasickness ruled out an open water activities, such as the Great Loop in the US. The search then took us to a family hire boat outing in the fall of 2016 on the Nivernais, followed by two weeks elsewhere in France.  I was hooked.  Suzanne was convinced I was simply delusional.

The clichéd path followed; join the Dutch Barge Association, prowl the websites offering boats, trips to Europe to look at boats; read books on barging, canals, buying boats, etc.; and, finally, making an offer.  The target of our affections was Desormais, a replica Dutch Barge built by Sagar, having an aft en suite cabin, wheelhouse, kitchen and living area, and forward bathroom and cabin.  Built in the UK in 2005, the boat is 54 feet long and 12.5 feet wide, drawing less than 3 feet of water and with a low (and demountable) wheelhouse.

In late May 2018 we took our courses at Bisham Abby in the UK for CEVNI, ICC, and VHF, all required for operating a boat.  That was followed by accepting the boat in Long Eaton, having it trucked to Migennes, France, and having it lowered into the water for our first journeys.

Over the first few days, we experience our trials.  An outing down the Canal de Burgogne (notorious for its weeds) taught us a lot, including the purpose for a weed hatch.  Quickly reversing course and abandoning the Burgogne, we chose the L’Yonne, and learned to trust out of the way moorings such as the one Suzanne got us to in Joigny.  Two nights later, we were moored in Auxerre for an extended stay in a city that is a jewel in every way when seen from the water.

In Auxerre, Suzanne departed to fulfill important commitments she’s made to an organization in the US, so I’m now single handing my way up the Nivernais.  Due to rail strikes and the rental car required to overcome that, we had the opportunity for a side drive to Vezelay on Saturday.  After some time getting ready, I departed Wednesday 6/20 for my first day handling the boat alone and, so far, no injuries or serious crises.

Now, as I sit looking at the hills surrounding Vincelles, I come back to the light.  While both my parents were trained as artists, that gene had always seemed to skip me in every regard.

But the higher latitudes of France make for bright early mornings and lingering evenings.  I’ve read about famous artists and their regard for the light in France.  As I sit watching the growing shadows over recently harvested wheat fields, see the deepening shadows in the vineyard rows, and study the mirrored reflections of it all in the water around me, I think it must be the light that has touched some remote element of the artist gene passed on to me (or at least, my parents might hope!).  Perhaps.  Or the sound of the water.  Or the history, culture and adventure.  We’ll have to see.

What is clear is that we’re blessed to have this opportunity, to have met those we have along the way, and to have an opportunity to explore a new world, a different culture, a different history.  The sheer age of it all is bound to keep us feeling younger.

Perhaps the light will lead us to new adventures….

I just know that, for Sandra and Neville, and so many others I met along this path to this moment in time and this time on this boat, I’m grateful.

Given the car rental offices in Auxerre are not open on the weekend, and Suzanne didn’t need to be at the airport until mid-day Sunday, we found ourselves in Auxerre on Saturday with a rare luxury – a car!

We decided a short road trip was in order, and headed to the old hilltop village of Vezelay, home to the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (Saint Mary Magdalene).

Originally the site of a Roman villa, and after other efforts to be established as an abbey, the abbey was refounded in the 9thcentury.  Around 1050, the monks began to claim they held relics of Mary Magdalene which, over time, led to Vézelay becoming an important pilgrimage site.  It remains today one of the four locations for those setting out on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

It served as a gathering point for knights leaving on the Second and Third Crusades, and the Abbey rose to be one of the strongest and most well connected in France.  That influence began to decline in 1279 with the discovery of the body of Mary Magdaline at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in Provence.

The church slowly fell towards ruin, with a number of the abbey buildings being demolished so the stone might be reused elsewhere.

A massive and successful restoration was undertaken in several stages between 1840 and 1861, with a large amount of the original structure remaining intact and unchanged.

(a refresher on the history courtesy of Wikipedia)

Today, this is a walled town, sitting high above the French countryside.  It continues to draw both tourists and pilgrims.  The Basilica sits on the

highest point, with the cobbled streets winding up the hill through the village of stone buildings.  The abbey continues to be active, with both monks and nuns participating in the religious services.

We arrived close to noon, and wandered through the gate up into the village, ultimately finding a place for lunch.

Then it was on to the Basilica, a huge and remarkable church with many original and intricate carvings and stonework.  Outside the church, the

battlements provide a vantage point from which to look out over the hills,

valleys, vineyards and fields below.

Every time Suzanne and I visit one of these massive, historic churches, we marvel at the architecture and decorations, of course.  We are more struck, however, by the sense of reverence and peace these places convey, only made more remarkable on those occasions when organ music reverberates with the surrounding stone walls.

It was a beautiful day, and a unique way to spend Suzanne’s last day before she left for the airport and home.

Our first trip on Desormais was a tiny one…   Around the corner from Evans Marine, through one lock, and safely into the harbor at Migennes at the

north end of the Canal du Borgogne.  There we spent several days cleaning, organizing, cleaning, sorting, cleaning….

Then the big decision.  Where to first?  I felt that, once Suzanne returned home to deal with her obligations there, I would be more comfortable learning to handle the boat solo on familiar ground.  Having only been on the canals once prior, that meant returning to the Canal du Nivernais, and that meant ultimately heading to Auxerre.

But first, we had time to try other directions.  We were sitting at the junction of three systems: the Canal du Burgogne, the River L’Yonne, and (upriver)

the Canal du Nivernais.  Aware that there were a number of significant Chateaus located along the Burgundy Canal, for our first real journey, we headed south on the Burgundy for Saint-Florentin.

Now, it helps to understand our trip if you also know the Canal du Bourgogne has a reputation for being quite weedy, due to an influx of non-native, invasive aquatic weeds.  It also helps to know that the diesel engine that powers Desormais is raw water cooled, meaning it takes in water around the boat, through filters, into the engine, then back overboard.

The trip to Saint-Florentin was more adventurous than anticipated.  On one of the early straight stretches, the engine alarm began to blare loudly, providing the unanticipated lesson on how to clean the raw water filters in

mid-canal (a practice that was to be repeated several times along the way!).  We tried various techniques for locking upstream on the six locks we had to pass through, with varying degrees of success.  We also learned how “bottom effect” diminishes the speed of the boat on shallower canals. We finally arrived later than anticipated at Saint-Florentin and, with the assistance of the fine manager of the port, grabbed a cab to the local hardware store to buy an electric fan, an implement that was clearly needed after a warm day!

Tired (but getting cooler), we sat that evening evaluating our first day on the canals.  Obviously it was going to take longer than anticipated to get to the chateaus, and we had an absolute need to be in Auxerre by Friday, June 15, to pick up the rental car that would allow me to get Suzanne to the airport in Paris on Sunday.  The decision was easy – head back to Migenne and try a short ride down the L’Yonne!

The following day, June 10th, we headed downstream back to Migenne, adding to our knowledge base when I learned how useful it was to have a “weed hatch” on the boat situated over the prop!  You can clear the prop of weeds without going swimming…

From Migennes, after a day of recovery from our two-day excursion, we set out for Joigny, located a short trip down the L’Yonne.  It was an easy trip on the wide river, though the locks were much larger and, therefore, required a different technique.

Joigny is a small town built on a hillside with narrow medieval streets winding through old timber frame houses.  We made our way to the top of

the hill, finding our way (in part) by listening to the organ music wafting to us from the church at the top.  There we saw the remnants of the original castle and walls, as well as a beautiful view of the river valley.

 

Having spent a peaceful night there, and without any more weed experiences while on the river, we made our way upriver the next day to a

beautiful overnight stop in Gurgy, then on to Auxerre, arriving in that jewel of a city on June 14th for a bit of an extended stay, during which Suzanne would depart for home.

Tuesday, May 29th, we landed at Heathrow and picked up a rental car.  We were there to take lessons that would provide the certificates needed to operate a boat on the European canals, take possession of a boat, and see it transported by truck to Migennes, France, where it would go back into the water.

In true Carswell style, within an hour of landing, I had Suzanne walking through a hardware store.  As the boat was a British build boat (with UK electrical plugs) that would be operating in France, we had a list of items to equip the boat we needed to gather while in the UK.  The electronics store was the second stop!

The following day, Wednesday, was a day of rest, which we used to travel a short distance from our hotel to Windsor.  We thought it would be a good day to tour Windsor Castle and the town around it, and it was.  The weather behaved and the Castle proved as remarkable as one might expect.  We had arrived not that long after the royal wedding, and there were barriers, banners and bunting still decorating the town.

Thursday and Friday were dedicated to lessons at Bisham Abby Sailing School, located on the upper River Thames not far from Henley, home of the famed Henley Royal Regatta.  There, we spent two days on their Dutch Barge, Le Coq, with our instructor, Gaius, patiently teaching us about boat

safety, boat handling, use of lines, and operating locks.  Each of got plenty of time at the helm, with the end result being the issuance of both an International Certificate of Competence (Inland Waterways) and a VHF Operators Certificate.

Happy but tired after two long days of education, we turned toward Long Eaton, near Nottingham, Friday night.  We were to meet Neville and Sandra Crook on Saturday to go over all the details of operating Desormais.

Saturday came, all went well, both Neville and Sandra were generous in sharing their knowledge, and we simply hoped we could retain most of what they shared.  Stories continued over dinner, and it was a very pleasant and informative day.  From the stories they shared of various adventures, it was clear we were sailing into a very different realm.

After spending Sunday getting some additional items, such as bedding, we were at the boat early Monday to meet the truck that was to take Desormais through the Chunnel and on to Migennes, France, where we were to meet them Thursday morning.

There were some tense moments.  The truck had shown up equipped to haul

a flat-bottomed boat, which Desormais is not.  While the haulers sorted that out, we waited for the boat yard operators to confirm full payment had been received.  Both issues were finally sorted and, with fingers crossed, we left the haulers making final adjustments and headed for the Nottingham train station.  From there, on to a day in London, followed the next day by a train from London to Paris, then Paris to Migennes.

The truck arrived as scheduled Thursday morning, Desormais was lifted into the water, and Suzanne and I set about getting the boat in order so we could begin our journey.