Friday 29th April 2011 Vic-sur-Aisne – Longeuil. 28kms 5 locks

Vic-sur-Aisne lock in the mist

Grey, damp and misty until we stopped then the sun came out, thunderstorms later. Mike went for bread, 1,15€ each. Ab Ovo, a loaded péniche, went downhill at 9.00 a.m. We winded at 9.20 a.m. and went down to lock 12, Vic-sur-Aisne (1.13m) zapped and the gates opened. We went in the lock and I lifted the bar, nothing happened. The DB Parelion, which had been on the mooring above overnight, had winded and set off for the lock. Mike called him on Channel 10 and asked if he wanted to come into the lock with us. He said no. The lock wouldn’t work and the VNF man who was stood on the bridge over the top end gates said the man in the van was coming (he has three locks to look after). 

DB Parelon disappearing into the mist below
Vic-sur-Aisne lock

Called the DB again and after correcting their adding up - 2,10m plus 4,20m is definitely less than the width of the lock 7,80m so they came in alongside us. The van arrived and the gates closed behind us. Hallelujah, we’re getting through this lock at last! The Swiss-German crew of the DB said they would wait for us at the next, 6.6kms down river, but Mike told them not to wait as they would be faster than us. They went off first and soon disappeared from view. Below the lock péniche Anita was getting ready to load at the silo. Maeva asked if she could use my laptop and the Internet. We passed the mooring we had intended to use the previous night, a floating pontoon at Attichy. It was empty, but only just long enough for us. The mist seemed to be getting thicker as we ran down to lock 13 Couloisy (0.67m) and after searching for the sensor and couldn’t see it until we were level with it we went into the chamber in the middle and the automatics worked OK. 

Lock cabin at lock 13 Couloisy

No signs of the DB. Dropped down the shallow lock and set off on a 5.7kms reach to lock 14 Herant (1.35m). Past a large chemical works and a péniche houseboat tucked under the trees called Clairbois. We arrived at the lock just as a VNF van arrived. The lock worked perfectly and I took photos of the old and the new lock cabins. Another VNF van was parked by the house, must be lunchtime. 11.40 a.m. I fished a new tennis ball out of the river as we left lock 14. Rain, but only a short, light shower. I made sandwiches for lunch on the 7.5kms pound to the lock on the river. Maeva was working on her website for her parents theatre boat. The lock, 15 Carandeau (1.54m) was not automatic. We arrived at 12.45 p.m. and although the lock was full the gates were closed. 

Flood marks on the lock cabin at Couloisy

We tied on to a VNF tug/workboat called Sanglier and waited. Only a few minutes passed before the gates opened so we went in. A young man leaned out of the lock cabin window and asked for the telecommande (zapper) so Mike trotted up the steps with it and answered all the usual questions; where did we start from, where were we going, etc, etc. He spotted a notice that said the wearing of lifejackets was obligatory – we hadn’t and no one said anything! We left the bottom at 1 p.m. 2.5kms to the junction with the river Oise. The DB Parelion was moored on the little quay at Choisy-au-Bac. They had said they were going to Compiègne and then north. We could hear loads of commercial traffic on the Oise calling on Channel 10. Under two new bridges that were not on the chart or our newish maps. 

Old lock cabin at lock 14 Herant

Tug Ebene and an empty pan with Veolia Proprete (therefore probably a rubbish collector) written on it were moored at a loaded chute by the second bridge. Turned sharp right on the Oise (the Petit Oise according to the VHF radio traffic) heading up river. It was 1.30 p.m. It was quiet for a while as we ran upriver slowly against the flow. The first boat past was a pusher pair of péniches called Jessy and Priscilla from Douai, loaded with chipped stone, down river by the Continental tyre factory. Next came Match, a loaded péniche from Pont l’Evêque at KP102 just downstream of the island de Janville. There was a large sign for up river traffic to keep left of the island. A tug called Pegase from Rouen (long neglected by the look of it) and a load of empty pans were moored either side of the end of the island. 

Rubbish boat near junction of rivers Aisne and Oise

Beyond that were more derelicts. Cameline with no cabin, then a lived in retired péniche called Nous Deux was moored by the start of the houses on the islands. Upstream of the bridge Ma.Jo, an empty péniche was moored at the start of lots of other boats including a pusher pair called Why Me and Why Not. The locks on the Canal Latéral à l’Oise are paired, a big one (91m x 5.6m) next to a small one (péniche sized 38m x 5.6m) and as we approached lock 4, Janville (3.33m) the gates were open on the small lock and we got a green light. The keeper controlled the two locks from a cabin situated on the island between them. He indicated we could tie to the vertical bars in the lock wall. We did, with our centre rope. Within minutes the lock was full, the gates were opening and we were on our way again. Mike had already decided to find a mooring among the retired péniches in Longeuil as the passing boats go slower past them and the route we are now on is very busy up to where the Canal du Nord takes most of the traffic north at Pont l’Evêque. 

Above the paired locks at Janville. River Oise.

There were signs to say mooring was allowed for eight days maximum, but nothing was moored there on either side of the canal, which has roads and houses along both banks. Loaded péniche Diligente (ex Hydra) from Arleux went down the canal. On the right hand side the line of moored boats started, a wreck of boat then Dei-Adjuva-Nos (an empty) then a gap so we winded and moored. It was 2.50 p.m. and the sun had just decided to shine, briefly, then we had a thunderstorm and torrential rain. A dead deer went floating past. Moshulu went past uphill, loaded, followed by Rei-dia from Douai, both loaded. Maeva played on my keyboards, composing a song for Gaétan to sing and said she would record it for U-Tube. She and Mike had a disagreement over music scales, she said the notes were doh, ray, me not C, D, E, this was for children! Mike had an e-mail from John P in which he said that the VNF were going on strike on Monday and Tuesday! Waah, we have to stay put Sunday because of the Bank Holiday and now it looks like we’ll be stuck for three days! Maeva phoned her Mum. Christelle knew about Monday but not Tuesday. Change of plan for Maeva, they will pick her up next day at Abbecourt when they come to collect Mike to go back to Condé for the car. Flashes of lightening, peals of distant thunder and then heavy rain. Later Mike and Maeva watched snooker, she said she would like to learn to play.