Through Paris
Ever since we first considered taking the boat through the French canals rather than going through Biscay I have been really, really excited at the prospect of going through Paris. I visited the city as a child, and our recces over the last couple of days have made the prospect even more exciting.
We were ready to set off at around 9am today (Tuesday 2nd May). It wasn't a good start for me. I got off the boat to release the bow and midship lines as they weren't under tension. This left the stern line. Normally we make all the lines into slips ie a simple loop round the cleat which just pulls off easily. The stern line was attached with a bowline knot to the cleat so I had to pull it off the cleat and jump onto the boat. It should have been simple, the boat was barely moving. I was wearing a pair of Vans rather than my usual trainers, sensible flat shoes with a grippy sole, but what I didn't realise was that this meant that my trousers were a bit too long. As I stepped on deck the fabric caught under my heel and I ended up flat on my bum. Fortunately I was in the boat (and even more fortunately nobody saw me) but it shook me up.
Thankfully the rest of the trip was a lot better. We were about 45km by river from the Ile du Cite, but before we got there we had to negotiate the lock at Suresnes. Once I'd asked the lock keeper to repeat himself a couple of times we worked out we should go to the central chamber, which we had to ourselves. Everything went well, I looped the midline rope around the lock steps and controlled the boat as we ascended. It was fine until we reached the top of the lock. I unlooped the rope from the steps and nonchalantly tossed it over a pole at the top. Oops, somehow it tied itself in a series of knots as I tried to leave. Most embarrassing. No photos of that on here (though Igor has a video which he thinks is hilarious).
All in all it took us half an hour to go through.
An hour from here, at Pont Alma, we got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! I found this extremely exciting. A round passenger helium balloon was next to it, which made it look like an illustration for a Jules Verne story.
The Eiffel Tower is such a Parisian icon. Seeing it yesterday and being able to appreciate the complexity and sheer size made this even more epic.
From here onwards the river traffic increased. There was a lot going on, turns and one way systems in the river, more and more tourist boats and water taxis plus the same number of peniches that we'd met along the way. The tourist boats were all going flat out, kicking up wakes that made us bob up and down like we were mid channel. And, while all this was going on, the sights! We saw the Statue of Liberty seemingly next to the Eiffel Tower, then passed right beside the Tower itself, gaining a perspective even better than on the ground with the crowds.
Next was the Ile du Cite. When we entered the Seine from Honfleur to start our passage upriver the kilometre markers were at 355. Pont de Tournelle on the Ile du Cite is where the countdown reaches zero. There is nothing on the riverbank to mark it but we knew, and that was enough for us. 355 km on the Seine. Wow.
The bigger wow was for Notre Dame, which dominates the Ile. Again, the view from the water is unique. Plus, the bridges become more and more elaborate, with statues of gods and bare breasted maidens. It's actually quite overwhelming. With the river traffic and the beauty surrounding us I alternated rapidly between both senses of the word 'awe'. Paris, in short, was utterly awesome.
After the Ile du Cite things calmed down a lot. We turned right at the largest Chinese restaurant in the world (reputedly) and shortly after went through Ecluse Les Anglaises. A large peniche was ahead of us on the right of the lock, so we moored close behind it on the left, then another peniche joined us so it was a bit crowded. These peniches (barges) are massive. We waited until both had exited before moving, Igor on the bank holding the stern steady against the wash from the ships' bow thrusters.
There was one more lock to negotiate, Ecluse Ablon sur Seine. At 18:40 we called the lock keeper for permission to enter. He said to proceed quickly and share the chamber on the left with the barge ahead of us. I prepared the lines on the port side. A few minutes later the radio announced, 'private vessel, vite, vite, vite!!' Igor upped the revs and we entered the lock. There was nowhere to tie up on the left hand side so I put my rope around the ladder on the right. No more messages came over the radio to tell me off so I presumed I did the right thing. We were told later that 'right' and 'left' refer to the right and left banks of the river, so as we are going upstream they are on the opposite side to what we see.
We were out by 18:55, only 15 minutes from start to finish, a record so far. I think the lock keeper must have been near the end of the shift and just wanted rid of us. I didn't mind, we'd been going for nearly 10 hours and I needed to moor and stretch my legs.
The man we'd spoken to last night at Rueil-Malmaison, Jean-Louis, called earlier saying that he'd meet us at the pontoon at Port aux Cerises in Draveil. I tried to call him to say we were on the way but no reply. When we entered the marina he was there with another guy who took our lines, most welcome when the pontoon is barely half the length of the boat.
Once we were tied up we went for a walk into town, only 5 minutes away, and got two of the best pizzas I've had for a long time. I was going to keep some for breakfast but they were just too good. Oh well, I felt I deserved it, it's been an incredible day.