One Tunnel Too Many- Riqueval

Riqueval Bridge

The summit of the St Quentin canal passes through two tunnels. The first presents no problems. It is one way but controlled by traffic lights so you just wait around for the green light and then through you go. It is a couple of kilometres but there is reasonable headroom and lighting and as long as you take your time there should be no dramas.
The second tunnel is an altogether different proposition. Here you can't go under your own power. Twice a day an ancient electrically powered tug tows the boats through. The first boat (the biggest) is attached by a long cable to the tug and then any subsequent boats use their own ropes to attach themselves to the one in front. As the canal is so quiet we weren't anticipating anything untoward. In fact, for once, I hadn't given it any thought at all. I assumed we'd just hitch up to the tug and off we'd go. Rob had organised a really long rope so we could attach to another boat if necessary although as I mentioned in a previous post we had seen virtually no other boats - perhaps one cruiser a day coming the other way.
There is quite a distance between the two tunnels which is all part of the one way system. As we passed through the narrow deep cutting the sides became steeper and steeper. On a sunny day it might be an atmospheric trip. We passed under the Riqueval Bridge, the site of one of the most famous photographs of the first world war. The sides of the cutting are now covered in trees and shrubs but I can't understand how all those soldiers managed to cling to the sides of the slope - they are virtually vertical. The bridge has been rebuilt and while quite handsome one can't help but be aware of the slaughter that went on in this area. Then the sky turned black and the heavens opened. We tied up for the night with the dark hole of the tunnel yawning ahead of us. It was only about 5pm but it in the gloom of the deep cutting and beneath the thunderous sky it seemed much later.Torrential rain poured down for the rest of the afternoon and evening making a depressing place seem even more unpleasant. Then, to make matters worse, a fully laden peniche (large commercial barge) slid around the bend to join us. Just our luck.We wouldn't be making the journey through the tunnel on our own.
The tunnel crossing was to commence at the unearthly hour (for us) of 7.30am and at 7 the peniche chugged past us ready to hitch up to the tug. Rob slotted in behind him and started organising our tow rope. The bargee came out to help but didn't like our arrangement and re-did it to his satisfaction. Rob wasn't happy believing the ropes were too short but the bargee insisted it was fine and we bowed to what we believed was the professional's opinion. Big mistake.
At 7.30 on the dot the tug gave a toot toot and off we went. There were quite a few waterways employees standing around for some unexplained reason - no one had been to see us to give us any instructions or advice. However, as we passed a couple they nodded to our tow rope set up and helpfully said - they're too short. Well thanks for that. It's a bit late now. And it was.
Things went badly very quickly.The channel in the tunnel is not much wider than a 38m commercial peniche and a laden barge is so low in the water that it takes up just about all of the depth too. Eureka...
Within minutes we were being dragged along the tunnel wall and no amount of fending off was going to get us off. The tunnel trip takes 2 hours...The tug operator must have heard us shouting and screaming at each other and one of them came hurrying back to us (there's a narrow pathway along one side of the tunnel) and told us we should disconnect the ropes and start the engine which we did quick smart. Thereafter we had no problem apart from the lack of ventilation in the tunnel which is why they don't want people going through on their engines. Our professional bargee didn't have a good run either becoming firmly stuck at one point and gouging a few more bricks out of the wall whilst the tunnel filled with the stench of burning rubber as his fenders dragged along the sides. I hate to think what would have happened to us if we'd still been attached.
So that was the Riqueval Tunnel. I won't be going that way again.
The tunnel on the canal du Nord was a breeze by comparison even though it carries much more commercial traffic. Again it is quite long but it is interesting in that both end sections are one way and controlled by traffic lights and then the middle third widens out and is two way.It is a very surreal experience to meet ships and boats coming the other way in the echoey darkness.
Enough tunnels for one year.

Inside the Riqueval Tunnel - for 2 hours