L'Avenir - cruising Europe's inland waterways

Here we are once more; the end of summer. Time to tie up, clean up, pack up, pay up and say goodbye to l'Avenir for 2014. I've made my phone call to order the taxi for tomorrow which hopefully will turn up without any misunderstanding. If nothing else I have gained confidence this year in calling people on the phone and the VHF radio. The past couple of weeks have been everything that cruising should be. Having rushed south from the Somme we found we had more time than we expected at the end enabling us to have a very leisurely trip down the canal de Briare. The weather over the past couple of weeks has been perfect;often a misty start but clearing to sunny, warm days. It is most definitely autumn now - the leaves are beginning to fall and as we waited for locks we collected walnuts and hazelnuts to add to our breakfast muesli. Canal de Briare Ouzouer Geese 'having a gander' as we go through a lock Baguette for breakfast (a coypu) The cruising se...

Our recent cruise through Paris was rather more exciting than I would have liked. This was to be the second time we'd sailed beneath those famous bridges this year and the third time in total so we were feeling pretty relaxed and looking forward to the experience. I should know better by this time. The Seine approaching Paris that afternoon was fairly busy with commercial ships. I am always surprised at just how many ships and barges load and discharge along the city's quays. Paris is still a thriving working port which is good to see. We shared a couple of the huge Seine locks with some large vessels but that was no problem. They are just in a hurry to be on their way and our rule of thumb on commercial waterways is to keep out of the way. The nearer you get to the city centre the more narrow and congested the river becomes and if you can't keep out of the way you have to try to keep up. Things start to become interesting at the Eiffel Tower which is where the many Bate...

There are lots of Chatillons in France - a medieval castle once stood in each.  The Donjon dating from 1190 still stands in Chatillon Coligny and many medieval buildings remain in the narrow winding streets within the walls of this ancient fortified town. The town could not be more welcoming to boaters providing great moorings with electricity, water, showers, toilets and wifi and all for free! We always try to give back to any community that provides a mooring by spending some money in the local shops. Chatillon Coligny's facilities are so good that they merited a bit more than the normal day to day shopping and so we decided to go out for dinner at the upmarket restaurant. It was still light when we left the boat. Even although it was Saturday night these small country towns close down fairly early. There were a few people and some traffic around but the shops were shut and the bar owners were busy washing down their floors and stacking the tables and chairs. The restaurant ...

Le Martin Pecheur (Kingfisher), Nargis, France I am no great believer in coincidences but what are the odds of this? Late yesterday afternoon, we were looking for a place to moor for the night. There seemed to be nowhere. No villages, no picnic areas, nothing to tie to except trees (not really allowed). Just at that beginning to be fed up point we rounded a bend and saw a bar/restaurant ahead which, unlike many canalside businesses, was still open. Even more surprisingly, hanging from a flagpole was a Saltire (Scottish flag). Seeing our Saltire on the boat a man on the terrace called out in the question that everyone in Scotland is answering today 'How are you voting?' Like this Scottish owner of the bar we don't have a vote but we do have an opinion or two so we tied up to the convenient rail and joined him to discuss them. What a great evening in a Scottish bar, filled with Scottish memorabilia, drinking McEwans Export and discussing the Referendum! Great t...

The dubious thrill of speeding downstream has been replaced by a slow slog against the current. The Canal du Somme terminates at the sea port of Saint Valery and as we weren’t about to brave a Channel crossing to England we turned around in order to retrace our watersteps. Doubling back is not as boring as you might imagine. You know what to expect and where to stop which relieves some uncertainty (oh it is such a worry filled life we lead), you get a second chance to visit the places you missed on the way down and invariably the weather is quite different which completely changes the character of the trip. So, our journey back was slower, stress free and best of all, sunny. As regards filling the gaps on places we missed, Rob cycled from Cappy up to the village of Villers Bretoneux in order to visit the Franco-Australian museum which was apparently well worth the hard slog up 2 long hills. A week previously torrential rain had forced us to give up at the Australian Memorial...

It’s been wet on the Somme. Who’d have expected that?   According to the local paper this has been the rainiest August since 2001. Our policy of not moving in the wet has had to be abandoned for fear we’d be stuck here for weeks- and we only have weeks left. Our return flights to Australia are now only one page flip away on the calendar and we have to be a long way from here by the end of September. Torrential rain and rivers are not a good combination. All that water has to go somewhere and that is downstream at high speed towards the sea. The current has been running at speeds of around 6 or 7km an hour which might not seem fast to those of you speeding in your cars but believe me on a narrow winding river with oncoming boats, weirs, bridges and locks it can be quite exciting. The speed limit on canals is normally around 6kph but as you need to keep up some engine speed in order not to lose all steering you end up going at a faster lick than is comfortable – for me anyway. ...

Villers Bretonneaux Now that the tunnel trauma is out of the way it’s time to move on up the canal to Cambrai. We initially intended spending only a couple of days here but the port captain suggested we stay for the ‘fete’ over the long weekend – not having any other pressing plans (any plans at all) we agreed. There was a religious aspect to the celebrations invovlving a relic from the cathedral processing around the town but that was to become rather lost amidst the bright flashing lights, loud music and screaming crowds being whirled, twirled and hurled in all directions at the biggest carnival I have ever seen. Not only the main square but every other square and street in the town was crammed full of rides and sideshows. The carnival was actually in town for not just the weekend but the whole week forcing cars taking people to and from work to patiently squeeze through strolling crowds intent on winning a cuddly toy at a rifle range or hooking a plastic duck in a pond – w...

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 ...

La plage - Saint Quentin On a whim we turned our backs on the canal du Nord and headed up the Oise and then onto the canal St Quentin. The canal du Nord is the main waterway to/from the north and carries a lot of commercial traffic. This gives it a slightly fearsome reputation which, I have to say, having travelled the more circuitous route – ignore! Whilst the canal du Nord may have large ships and few interesting places to stop it is a fast (in boating terms) and easy trip. There is a tunnel, of course, but there is also one on the St Quentin. Having traversed both tunnels give me the canal du Nord one any day. More on that later. Before the opening of the Canal du Nord in 1960s the St Quentin canal was the main freight waterway and in the late 1800s up to 110 barges crossed the summit daily (through that tunnel... I cannot begin to imagine that!). Nowadays, after leaving the Oise and joining the St Quentin proper, there is very little traffic at all. Some days we met...