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.