The Canal du Centre Part 1: Back to the boat!

It was lovely to arrive home but it was even better setting off again.

After about a week of flush toilets that were within our house, twenty (open) takeaways/restaurants within a five minute walk and everybody speaking the same language as us we were well and truly ready to get back to the boat.  Our son Vik and our nephew Matt were going join us to get a taste of our adventure.

This was a win-win situation all round. They have both finished gruelling stints at university and needed a break. We wanted to travel by car and ferry but didn't want to be lumbered with the car. Vik jumped at the chance to do some high speed motorway driving and Matt seemed pleased to hang out so that was all sorted out very quickly.

We set off on Monday morning around 8 am and were in Digoin by 10.30 pm, having stopped off for another look at the magnificent Briare Canal. Vik and Matt were suitably awed.

It was a long journey but Vik did nearly all the driving which was fantastic. It's been so long since I've been a passenger I'd forgotten what it was like.

Tuesday 30th was a day for sorting things out, victualling and so on. The first surprise was that it was significantly warmer here than at home in England. When we left it was in the mid teens Celsius. Here it's the mid 20s or above. We invested in an electric fan as the cabin gets pretty stuffy, especially with 4 people inside.

We checked out the Irish Bar recommended by Sheenagh and Jonathan from Sailing Options (have a look at their Sailing Options YouTube channel if you fantasise about going down canals in a mastless sailboat). The bad news was that the bar was closed. The good news is that there is a new owner. He invited us in for a coffee, and over espressos he told us that he hopes to reopen on 20th June. He has done a complete refit so go and check it out and bring your friends!

We went for a walk to to the Digoin aqueduct and lock to show the lads. A British barge, Sirius, was transiting the lock in the direction of Briare, i.e. the opposite way to us. I asked the owner about the water level in the Canal du Centre. She said that it was fine until Paray-Le -Monial but then there were some very shallow bits. Their draft is a lot less than ours so we we decided to go even more cautiously than usual. This way if we get into trouble we minimise the possibility of causing damage.

Wednesday 31st May 2023

We decided to treat ourselves to a McDonalds breakfast before we set off from Digoin.  Guess what? It was closed. Instead we went to a sandwicherie and had cold pizza. Travel broadens the mind.

Once we were back at the boat it was time for a crew briefing.  Matt hasn't spent much time on boats so Igor explained the various lines, what we need to think about when leaving a mooring and why.

We were away by 9.30. It took us just over an hour to cover the distance to lock 26 Bessons, around 7km away. The lock was automatic, it's been a while since we've seen one of these.

The mechanism on the Canal du Centre is slightly different to that on the Canal de Loing. Instead of pushing a metal bar upwards you pull a rope towards you, hard. This closes the gates and starts the cycle. Bessons was a pretty lock, with a small cottage next door. What a nice place to live.

The next lock, 25 Mont, was closer, about half an hour's travel. When we arrived I secured my rope to the bollard using the boat hook to loop around it as it was way above my head.  Igor pulled the blue rope. The gates ground into action. This is a noisy process, they squeak and grind as though they need a good spray with WD40.

I hadn't noticed but an older woman had crossed the fence to the lockside and was standing by the gate mechanism. The sound took her by surprise. She stumbled and Igor shouted that she shouldn't be there (there are signs everywhere saying to stay away from the chamber and walkways unless using the lock). She looked very confused. He worried that she might fall in. The reasons for all the fences and signs saying that access is 'interdit' became very obvious.

A lock keeper was waiting for us at 24 Quarrés He pulled the rope for us but the gates didn't respond to the first attempts. It took several tries, a pattern that happens at many of the locks.  He asked us our plans for lunch as by now it was around 11.30. The locks may be automatic but the lock keepers aren't.

We said we'd be stopping in Paray-le-Monial. He nodded sagely, suggesting this was a good idea. As we were leaving there was a strong cross breeze, which made for an interesting departure but with extra hands to fend us away from the lock bank no harm was done.

Never having been to Paray-le-Monial we had no idea whether there was anywhere to moor. The French Waterways website said there were quays and a turning basin so we decided to take our chances.  Along the way we passed a nice looking mooring a few km before arriving, but there wasn't much else there so we carried on. This was an excellent idea. There was a row of bollards next to a public loo. We moored easily. Vik is young and agile and knows his way around a boat so was able to help secure it with the minimum of fuss. The town looked pretty lively so we decided to explore.

Paray-le-Monial was a reasonable size with a lot of shops, most of them open, which was a change. There is also a basilica and a massive church. We decided to look at the basilica.

There has been a place of worship there for many centuries and a quick glance at the information boards told us that it has been added to many times over the years. It was 'renovated' in the early 19th century, stripping out a lot of the medieval stuff. The frustration at the loss of all of this was apparent. It is now fairly stark and empty, sandstone pillars leading to high ceilings with an ancient mural over the altar. The stained glass windows were beautiful.

The boys lit candles and we emerged from the cool of the church to the heat outside.

We were going to buy something for lunch from a boulangerie but couldn't find one. We had a look in a Carrefour mini supermarket but there was nothing remotely appetising. We ended up eating cheese and sausage back at the boat. There's nothing at all wrong with sitting in the sun with great company eating good, simple food.

We took about an hour and a half for lunch. It was hot and nobody was in a hurry. Just after we left, slightly further upstream, we saw another mooring place which I think is the official Halte Fluviale.  It was nearer the Basilica and had water and electricity from what I could see.

Lock 23 L'Hyron, was nothing special, nobody there, by a main road.  We passed through and pottered along for about 15 minutes. Suddenly there was a sound from the rudder. The depth was showing as 1.4m, so we hadn't grounded. There must have been an obstruction on the canal bed. Maybe this was the shallow bit the woman on Sirius warned us about?

Igor checked that the steering wasn't affected and everything appeared fine. It felt as if something big had been dumped into the canal.  I know this happens. I once watched a programme about how many bicycles are found every time a canal in the Netherlands is drained, but this was in the middle of nowhere. I suppose it's the same sort of mentality as people who fly tip in the countryside.

Once it was apparent that this incident was isolated it was time for Matt to try steering the boat. He did very well. He also looked cool while he did it, which is always the most important thing, isn't it?

We carried on to 22 Volesvres, arriving around 2.40 pm. Water was flowing over the top of the lock gates as the water level in the canal beyond was higher than them.

The gates closed and we rose up, the water levels equalising around 5 minutes later. We waited for the gates to open. Nothing happened. At 3pm we turned the engine off and called VNF. The woman who answered said (I think) that they'd send someone to sort it out. Four minutes later a VNF lock keeper arrived and more or less as soon as we turned our engine on he'd opened the gates and within 3 minutes we were out.

A different lock keeper was waiting for us at 21 Haillers. He pulled the rope for us then resumed his conversation with an older man in full lycra cycling gear, paying no attention to us.

It was a pretty place with a lovely limestone cottage. Many of the locks have a house where the lock keepers used to live. They are generally substantial buildings, many with well tended gardens. Others look as though have been converted to private houses or for tourism. Others, sadly, are run down and neglected.

20 Gravoine, about 25 minutes further along, was another lock where the water was overflowing. There were no problems with the gates this time.

It was very hot by now and Vik and Matt were feeling the heat.

We drank copious quantities of water and squash but the sun was relentless despite our sunshade. They went into the cabin, where the motion of the boat pulled air through the open hatches creating a pleasant cooling breeze.

The next lock, 19, was called Digoine, not to be confused with Digoin where we had been staying. There is an impressive chateau there, not too far from the lock. The lock keeper was waiting for us and asked how far we'd be travelling and what time we'll be starting tomorrow. We told him Génelard, though as it was gone 4.30 and stinking hot we fully intended to stop sooner if we saw anywhere suitable.  Igor and I are enjoying every minute of the experience but the boys were feeling the heat.

The French Waterways website said that there were moorings near the lock but we couldn't see any trace of them. It's a very informative website for passage planning for some information but it's somewhat out of date (which is one of the reasons why I'm writing this blog, so that if you want to do the same trip as us you can update your information).

We passed through two more locks that day. 18 Thiellay's cottage was abandoned. At our final lock of the day, 17 Montet, a heron was sitting  on the closed gates watching as we entered. Maybe he was checking up on us.

Twenty minutes later we arrived at Génelard. All of us were hot and sweaty and ready to stop and have a cold drink.  The canal widens into a basin at Génelard and there is electricity and water on the bank. The depth is good too. There was only one other boat, a big barge which was tied up on the opposite bank.

No special mooring tricks were needed and Vik is a dab hand tying bowlines, unlike me, so that sped things up considerably. Matt was useful too, he followed instructions quickly and competently which is really helpful, saving a lot of jumping on and off the boat.

We covered 32.5 km in 8.5 hours, 7 hours if you don't include our lunch break, a lot further than we expected. Most of the time the water was 1.4-1.6m deep which meant we were able to go a little faster (once we got beyond Paray le Monial and the threat of shallows).

Also, there was hardly any weed at all, we only had to clear the rudder once and then it wasn't much. Less weed meant less resistance generally, which also helped our progress. The engine could tick along at low revs and we'd easily reach around 4-5 kts, rather than having to keep stopping and reversing.

So far this canal has been one of the easier ones to cross.  In my next instalment I'll let you know if that continues.

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