Friday 12th April 2019 abv Toul lock to below Neuviller lock 39.7kms 9 lks

View back towards Toul

Peniche Egee went past loaded with soil as we got ready to move, its skipper asking boaty questions as he passed us. Cold wind again, clear blue sky. Set off 9.15am. Photo, back towards Toul from under road bridge. At 12.30pm we passed a UK cruiser going in opposite direction at Neuves Maisons. Camera facing downstream on board with red/green lights on, not noticed that before. There was a problem with Neuves Maisons lock, they couldn’t get it to make a level and open the gates. The keeper said the

Empty loading basin at Neuves Maisons

repair team would be there in half an hour. Photos of the empty commercial basin and of the boats in the lock. Two guys went in the lock cabin, Mike says they showed her (the keeper) which button to press to open the gates and away we went at 1.50pm. (He admits that wasn’t a charitable comment, but he was feeling a bit miffed).  Lock 46 had dozens of bees flying round Mike from where the mooring bollard was, coming out of holes in the ground, taking no notice of him and he took no notice of them. Arrived at mooring by KP43 near Neuviller lock at 6.30pm and 

In Neuves Maisons lock with cruiser Le Migrateur

tied to a bollard. Mike stepped off the boat then stepped back, straight into the canal between boat and bank. The water just a bit deeper than his waist level (fortunately).  I reached the boarding ladder (that Helen had rescued and given us years ago) for him to use to climb out of the canal. We finished tying up and then he squelched on board to dry out.

Thursday 11th April 2019 Pagny-sur-Meuse to abv Toul lock 16.6kms 16 lks

Swan in the tunnel

Set off at 9.15am Sky clear blue, sunny but with a cold wind blowing. Freight wagons making a loud noise, then as we got closer to the tunnel we had jet aircraft, probably setting off from the air base at St Dizier, what a racket! Two boats left before us, a new build DB left before Mike got up, and an old DB with two men aboard left as we did but in the opposite direction. There were two swan swimming in front of us going through Foug tunnel. Took photos of the swans in

Foug tunnel

the tunnel, trying to take off, plus one of the wide at the top of the flight where lock 13 used to be. Short wait in lock 14, top lock of the Ecrouves flight, while a large white cruiser La Migrateur with Verdun on the stern end – came to join us in the lock. The lock keeper was a cheerful chatty chappie. Got the cruiser to go first so we went into lock 15 behind him and followed him all the way down the flight until he turned right into the port at Toul. Had a long chat with the lady lock keeper at lock 26 after the Port de France.  Photo of sensors for the lift bridge in Toul, the pont levant de Mansuy. Queues of cars at the very slow lift bridge,

Sensors for the liftbridge in Toul

nine cars one side and seven on the other plus a quadbike. Down lock 27, sharp right into 27bis and down on to the canal de l‘Est Sud (canalised Moselle). Waited for Toul lock, the little lock, which used to be for plaisance and péniches. The keeper came down and told us that the little lock is broken so we would have to us the commercial lock. That's different, non commercials aren't allowed up that.  We had a half hour wait for a Egee an empty peniche to come down then we went up. Tied up at 3.40pm on the waiting area above Toul lock as instructed by the lock keeper, right at the end to leave plenty of space for any big boats that might arrive late.  We used to moor in the arm that leads back to the river from the small lock by the silo. Nice quiet mooring with a bank separating us from the river – with a cycle path (well-used) at the top. A short length of 'new water'.

Wednesday 10th April 2019 Demange-aux-Eaux to Pagny-sur-Meuse 32kms 13 lks

Mauvages tunnel
  note the new safety boat - orange thing propped up against wall

3.3ºC Cold misty and wet. Mike started the engine at 8.30am to make sure it would start  - and supply electricity for breakfast (kettle, microwave and toaster) Set off at 9.20am as the lock lights were already green and the last lock 1 Tombois was ready for us, last of the filthy dirty ladders for Mike to climb. Filled the water tank and left the top lock at 9.50am. Short distance to Mauvages tunnel, 5kms long and lit like a Christmas tree plus we had a VNF man on a bike riding the very narrow towpath to keep

Old towpath traction engine

an eye on us (in times past the cyclist used to switch sections of lighting on and off for boats passing through, but as the new lighting is on all the time all the way through the tunnel we assumed his job was now on health & safety grounds only. Depth of water 3.2m. Out at 10.55am – took us just an hour and five minutes. Said Au’voir to our cyclist as he started to take off all his safety gear and load it and his bike into his VNF van. Photo of eastern end of the tunnel. Several photos of an old towpath traction engine by the first road bridge. There was a man with a van waiting for us at the top of the flight of 12 automatic locks down the

Passing loaded boat Nobis

valley to Void. Nice to be going downhill again. I lifted the rods to activate most of the locks. Lock 4’s bottom end gates stayed open after we left. Lock 5 was keeper-worked  from the cabin. Lock 6 worked without the keeper. Lock 7’s gates stayed open after we left. Left lock 12 at 2.25pm. As we passed the sensors below the last lock the lights changed from red to green – we saw no boats wanting to go uphill?? A tractor and trailer went down the road alongside the canal with two round bales of hay on the trailer, one on top of the other, rocking about quite well – wonder if he’ll get to where he’s going without them falling off? Passed a loaded péniche called Nobis heading uphill at about KP105 just after the town of Void (our man in a van had told us there was a péniche that we would pass) Arrived at Pagny at 4.30pm and moored next to the long pontoon. Two Brit boats moored at the other end. Crew off one of them told Mike that the canal to the north had been closed for the day as a car had fallen in the canal. Mike went off in the car to get a new starter battery (76Ah - the old one was 90) from Cora in Toul (79€) and a container of diesel at 1.443€/litre 

Tuesday 9th April 2019 Trévenay to Demange-aux-Eaux 9.2kms 9 locks

We left at 10.40am.

Moored at Demange

Had to use the service batteries to start the engine as the starter battery refused to start it – looks like we have a dead battery. Nine locks with pounds of only 1km between each, winding through very scenic countryside as we got closer to the summit. Arrived at Demange-aux-Eaux at 2.15pm. Mike got to work on sorting out the battery while I walked into Demange to post a birthday card at La Poste. Mike said get him some more European stamps. Sorry they stopped them on 1^st January  this year and now all post out of France has to have an International vignette stamp. He wasn’t very amused by that revelation. Looks like we do need a new battery,  we’ll have to get one when we arrive at Toul.

Monday 8th April 2019 Tronville-en-Barrois to Trévenay 17.6kms 17 locks

Bricked up lock house 18 Longeaux

Set off at 9.50am – not raining yet. Made it through lock 26 Nançois-le-Petit before the man in a VNF van went past, waving and he went on down to 27 Chessard (which we’d just come up) A little British yacht went past heading downhill, that was a surprise. Lock 23 Vileroncourt lights went to red/green as we left 24 then red then double red went off, back to red/green, double red, red/green and started to empty. It finished emptying, lights went double red, lights off, lights went double red, lights off gate light started flashing, then the gates started opening at last! (all the locks at this end of the canal are controlled by the VNF at Bar-le-Duc). Weed filled the filter on the engine cooling system so Mike had to stop in the offline basin at Ligny to empty it all out. Loads of reed stems in the pipe but he managed to clear it all out using a hook. Set off again at 12.15pm setting the next lock 22 Ligny by zapping as we reversed out back on to the canal. Surprised that the water level above lock 19 Givrauval was down by about 18” – wonder where all that water has gone? Loads of water pouring over the bottom end gates of lock 18 Longeaux – that should keep the next pound full?? The top end gates of 18 didn’t close behind us as we left. Round the bend under the railway and lock 17 Menaucort was empty with bottom gates open and green light on – all by magic,

Aqueduct and lock 17 Menaucourt

didn’t have to zap? A VNF man in a van worked 17 from the cabin and went on to do 16 Nantois too. The locks 1 – 17 used to be chained. Our man in a van suggested we didn’t stop at Naix-aux-Forge and went on up another four locks as they were having trouble with water levels. The water in the pound above lock 15 Naix was down by about 18” so we went on and moored above lock 11 Trévenay next to a sloping quay wall – sank tyres to protect the boat (they go under the bottom to prevent the edges of the bottom plate from rubbing on the sloping stones) It was 4.55pm. 

Saturday 6th April 2019 Fains to Tronville-en-Barrois 14.5kms 15 locks

Boats moored at Bar-le-Duc

Lift bridge at Bar-le-Duc

2.8ºC Cold with feeble sunshine.  Set off 9.20am, keeper in the cabin at lock 42 Fains with its attached liftbridge – which started to lift as we left the mooring. At lock 41Grand Pré, Mike zapped and when we went round the bend to the lock it was closing its gates then it filled? What was that all about? Someone not sure which way we were going? Top end gates opened – a VNF man in a van turned up as Mike was about to set off up the towpath to sort it out, he turned the lock around and worked it for us from the cabin. The halte nautique in Bar-le-Duc had more campervans than moored boats. Took a photo of the lift bridge, it was opening as we got there and the keeper worked the lock 38 Marbot. Zapper post at lock 33 Maheux had been vandalised, smashed with its electrics hanging out, obviously didn’t work, VNF in attendance – nope. The white van on the lockside belonged to a fisherman. Surprised  there was no VNF man there to activate the lock. Phone number to call didn’t work, Mike went to the lock and used the intercom to report the lock equipment bust. They worked it remotely from the control centre in Bar-le-Duc again. Lock 32 Tanois was full, most locks today and yesterday had been empty. While we were still in 32 lock, lock 31 Silmont started emptying – we were nowhere near the zapper post and the lock light was on red. Mike found a pale blue duck egg on the towpath – it was cold so he brought it on board to show me. Arrived at Tronville at 2.50pm. The car was there so we popped down to the Carrefour market in Ligny to get diesel and also some groceries.  Over a hundred Euros for each. Lots of gongoozlers passing the boat – well it is Saturday.

Friday 5th April 2019 Contrisson to Fains-les-Sources 14.3kms 14 locks

Steel coils

Sign board with local history info

-0.9ºC Cold, sunny but lots of grey clouds. Set off at 9.30am. The sky was filled with lots of con trails – jets from St Dizer no doubt. Took photos of coils of steel at the steel works. No sign of the boats so they must have all unloaded and gone back down the canal. Lock 53, Notre Dame de Grâce, wouldn’t work, Mike phoned and the VNF at Bar-le-Duc control put it right without sending the “jockey” out. All locks had been empty until 52, Petit Fraicul, and we had a short wait while it emptied – it was only three quarters full. Lock 51, Bois l’Ecuyer, was dead no electrics. A VNF engineer was doing some work. A VNF van went past. The VNF man spotted the boat and worked it from the cabin and was on the phone all the time. Mike asked what was wrong with the lock and he just said it didn’t work! Photo of sign (history of region) by lock 52, Petit Fraicul. Lock 50 was so full of weed the top end gates wouldn’t fully open, weed jammed up behind them. Lock en panne - broke. Lock 49 (Grand Fraicul) – orange lights didn’t work and the lock is hidden around a corner – VNF and their lack of maintenance! Fortunately the lock electronics had worked and the red/green lights were on. VNF had said that the liftbridge would open at 2pm. Windy, so hanging about below the lift bridge at Mussey with no tying up place was fun. The deck was in a very bad state  with a temporary deck on top of the old one and Ponts & Chaussees arrived and had to move the temporary deck before opening the bridge. With it open we could get into lock 46 Mussey. Mike booked the bridge at Fains for the following morning with the VNF guy at Mussey. Lock 44, Varney, wouldn’t work – phoned Bar-le-Duc again and they set it working remotely.  A big fat rat was walking around the lockside – and then it fell in! - we left it swimming in the lock chamber. Arrived at Fain

Temporary decking on the liftbridge at Mussey

s and tied to the piling at 4.10pm

Wednesday 3rd April 2019 Brusson to Contrisson 18.9kms 11 locks

Cold and damp. At 8.30am a loaded peniche called Dahana went past heading uphill. Mike cleaned the contacts on my bedroom wall clock and, surprisingly, it worked again. Another working boat, called Galion, went past heading uphill. Set off around 9.30am – up lock 67 Ponthion. 4.5kms to next, rain pouring, slowly up the pound as we have two loaded (therefore slow) boats in front. Lock 66 Bignicourt, short wait while it emptied. Mike was listening to the two skippers chatting on marine radio.  Nice chateau below the lock and a VNF boat Aquabus was moored in a place for tourist boats. A VNF lady was on the lockside – asking the usual questions - where we from, going to, etc. A converted péniche called Morrigan, was coming downhill as we left 66. Another péniche Feldspath, a specialised type of graveller, also downhill.  A black and white duck was lurking in the undergrowth, frantically trying to hide.  The loaded boat in front was just leaving the next lock.  Coypu or beaver swimming down the canal towards us but it disappeared into the herbage before we could see exactly what it was. Wait below lock 65 Etrépy. 2kms to the two locks at Pargny, 64 & 63. VNF were unloading dredgings from péniche Olympe on to the towpath between the locks, backfilling the piling. Pirate, loaded with what we thought was soil was moored above the locks. Mike timed the boat in front from when it went into the lock and the gates started to shut to when the lock reset for us was 14 minutes. It took us 9 minutes (we get in quicker and pull the rod) Two dead pike seen by Mike (not long dead) each about 2 feet long. Up 62 l’Ajot then 61 La Chaine. Into the little town of Sermaize-les-Bains, up lock 60 Sermaize. Round the bendy bit and up 59 Remmenecourt. Pounds just a couple of kilometres long, up 58 Chevol. Below lock 57 Contrisson VNF were clearing out the old dredging tip loading it into a péniche called Thiros (that would be what Olympe and Pirate were doing too) Up lock 57 and arrived at 5.20pm tied to the piling in Contrisson.

Tuesday 2nd April 2019 Soulanges to Brusson. 16.9kms 6 locks

Sign board Marne-au-Rhin

Rain first thing, then sunny but chilly with a cold wind. Set off at 10.30am after the rain stopped, Mike decided we may as well get going.  11.15am up the first lock no 3 Couvrot, which was empty (all the rest were full so we had to wait while each one emptied). VNF men were chopping up a large log with a chainsaw on the lockside. Short distances to the next two, fifteen minutes to lock 2 Lermite then lock 1 Vitry at midday. Through the town and on to the canal de la Marne-au-Rhin. 3kms to the first lock no 70 St Etienne (still all automatic) it was midday. 2kms to lock 69 Adecourt 1.30pm as we set off on the 3kms pound to Brusson lock 68, pushing through a great wedge of weed that had gathered at the top gates.  We moored next to the piling between the villages of Brusson and Ponthlon around 3pm. Mike had just put the dish up when there was a huge flash of lightening and a tremendously loud bang – in the field opposite the boat. The thunderstorm and heavy rain continued well into the evening. 

Monday 1st April 2019 Condé-sur-Marne to Soulanges. 39.4kms 8 locks

Old lock house at  St Germaine

Sunny and warm with a light wind blowing. Set off at 8am the sun was just rising above the trees by the VNF buildings. Fed two swans four slices of stale bread as we left. No signs of life in the port as we turned left on the Canal Latéral à la Marne. A 12km straight section, passing the villages of Aigny, Vraux, Juvigny and Recy – the first bend is at St Martin-sur-le-Pré. Up automatic lock 11 Vraux, no problems. Then the second lock of the day – 10 Juvigny wouldn’t work. Mike phoned the VNF they said they would send someone. A young lady arrived after half an hour’s wait – she apologised – she’d been sorting out another lock. Soon on our way to lock 9. Weed was the cause, jamming up the system.  Passed loaded péniche N.D.L from Arlieux that had just come down lock 9 Chalons. An empty péniche (Verdun) came down lock 9 as a large DB called Liberté turned out of the arm and set off towards Condé. Getting busy all of a sudden! Another long straight, of 10kms this time – all the way to St Germain- la-Ville. Passed empty peniche Andorra on the aqueduct in Chalons Up lock 8 Sarry, passed péniche Aroura in a bridge hole at KP23 before lock 7 St Germain, 6.5kms to lock 6 Chausee, a short pound to lock 5 Ablancourt then lock 4 Soulanges.  4pm as we tied up at the mooring in Soulanges.