Just as there is an autoroute crossing south-west France, connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, the country is also crossed by a waterway - the Canal des deux Mers - the canal of the two seas.
The waterway begins in the Gironde estuary at Bordeaux, in south-west France, and continues up the Garonne river to about Marmande, where boats move into the Canal latéral à la Garonne to travel to Toulouse. From Toulouse travel is downstream all the way to Agde in the Mediterranean. This section is not a lateral canal built next to a river, but the historical engineering masterpiece, the Canal du Midi.
In 2011 we had a little old boat on the Midi. It was called Nicht Raider and we motored from Castelnaudry to Narbonne and return in two weeks. I hated old Nicht and swore I'd never get on a boat, especially one that went through locks, again.
Well, what can I say? We are the last boat pick up on the afternoon of an incredibly hot day and the quay here at le Mas d'Agentais faces west. The boat has been sitting in the sun here for more than a week since its last use. This is a good start!
Once we got the temperature down far enough to get on board, we turned on the fridge, unloaded our fruit and vegetables, bread, groceries and drinks, which we had purchased at the big supermarket in the last major town we came through, and had a look around.
Le Boat, our hire company offered a wifi modem that operates off the mobile phone network for AUD $75 for the week - which seemed reasonable given our excessive usage. They also offered BBQs, bicycles and all sorts of other add-ons that we didn't need.
Single beds at the rear gave us a bit more flexibility.
So with Captain Paul in charge, on the roof with his umbrella and with me sitting at the pointy end, off we went.
We motored about 3km, up to the first lock and decided that the wifi wasn't going to meet our needs, so rather than persist with it, we returned to base to get it sorted, sooner rather than later.
No replacement wifi was available but it was checked by a youngster who seemed to know what he was talking about (the electronics fixer for Le Boat) and pronounced OK, so we headed off again with the same modem but with some additional plugs and electrical strategies to try.
We are now five days into the trip and it has taken me the best part of 7 hours on this intermittent wifi to download the previous seven photos and compose the blog up to here. But we'll press on, after all there's nothing much to do on a boat.
So back up the canal we went. It's swimming weather but you can't swim here. The water looks green but seems clear, apart from leaves and water weed.
The cycle path beside the canal has just been upgraded and it is very popular, both with locals, tourists and serious travelling cyclists. The map above shows (on the yellow line) the major cycle track across France. Very popular with British, German and Dutch riders apparently, as they can get to both ends (Atlantic and mediterranean) by ferry or train. The cycle path was originally the tow path as barges were pulled by cart horses.
We quickly passed our first fellow traveller. All of the boats are bigger than us, and most, but not all have more than two people to cope with the locks. The lucky ones have a ten year old to jump off and on to moving vehicles, scamper up steps and catch ropes.
There is no escaping it, here comes our first lock. Sorry for the photo quality - I was a bit anxious! First of all, Paul has to get the boat alongside the landing jetty - not always an easy task when the steering is vague, at best. And I used to be able to jump off, but not these days, so he has to get in pretty close.
Once I'm on the ground it's up the path to the lock. This lock is on the opposite side of the canal to the tow path and has a narrow local road next to it.
The initial action to operate the lock comes from the captain of the boat who has to steer underneath, grab and turn this hanging pole.
Red, green and amber lights indicate what is happening in the lock. In our case, the last user of the lock was going in the same direction as us, so we have to wait for the lock to empty and the gates facing us to open, before we can proceed.
So up I go to the lock. All of the locks along this canal are now automated and no longer require a lock keeper to operate the gates. So the old lock keepers' houses have been put to other purposes - this one is a now restaurant. Open for lunch every day (but not for coffee and drinks unfortunately) and grows its own vegetables.
Once the lock is empty and the gates open, Paul motors in, puts the boat in neutral, moves quickly to the rear, grabs the prepared rope and throws it up to me. I hook it over the bollard while he moves to the front and throws the second rope, which I also take and secure. Then we move back to the rear rope which I pass to Paul who holds it for the duration.
Next, I need to activate the mechanism which closes the rear gates behind us, fills the lock with water and finally opens the front gates so we can leave. I push the green button and then hold the front rope while the water enters the lock and raises the boat.
The rear gates close behind us.
We hold the boat steady while the water surges into the lock and raises the boat to the level of the next section of the canal.
The front gates open, the ropes are rewound and stowed, I scramble back on board and off we go.
Doesn't sound too difficult, does it? But this was only a little lock, the ropes were dry and easy to throw and catch, the water level change was not very great, there was not much turbulence in the lock, the current was not noticeable and the drop of point prior to the lock was sturdy. Things get tougher!
After two stinking hot nights confined in the little back cabin ,we had a big thunderstorm and things cooled off a bit. Next day, in the rain, we sailed from the Canal Lateral a la Garonne into the River Baise.
Stay tuned.
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