A damp and chilly start, warmer later and sunny with hazy clouds. Mike was up at five and got the boat ready to leave at 6.10 a.m. quietly past the two empty péniches. Half an hour later we arrived at the gare d’eau and attached to the quay behind Farida, a loaded péniche that had been moored there overnight. The VNF arrived at 7.20 a.m. and took all the boat details including owner’s name and address (for the bill). Mike gave the end of one of our long mooring ropes to the skipper of Farida and he attached it to a centre dolly on his stern deck. Then he changed his mind, as we couldn’t detach that if we needed to, and he found our long green rope and doubled that around the péniche’s centre dolly so we had the two loops around our fore end stud.
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| Waiting for the tow. Riqueval tunnel |
Set off behind the rumbling clanking antiquity of a tunnel tug dragging itself along by warping on a chain that comes up off the bottom of the canal and through the tug. Immediately we started scraping along the left hand wall before we even got into the tunnel. Mike told me to take the green rope off, which I did and coiled the wet rope on our front deck lid. By this time we were trundling along on tickover behind the péniche into the tunnel. A young VNF man, wearing all the safety gear, hard hat, ear defenders (round his neck) and a life vest, came back down the tunnel towpath and told us it was interdit (forbidden) to use engines in the tunnel and we must be towed using two lines fastened as cross straps. Mike told him we only had one stud at the front end so attaching two lines to that wouldn’t work.
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| Chain drum on tunnel tug. Riqueval |
Next thing he comes back from the péniche with one of their ropes, a long one, but this time attached to their starboard side bollard. OK we’ll try it, I dropped the loop over our front stud. It seemed to work much better, especially having a long line, Mike could keep it in the middle so he cut the engine - the péniche however kept his engine running all the way through the tunnel, nearly 6kms. About half an hour later the lad came back down the towpath (minus all the protective gear now) to check we were still complying with regulations. We were. He walked quite a distance on the towpath level with the wheelhouse of Farida, chatting with the skipper. I tried taking a few flash photos, but they didn’t work very well.
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| Southern portal. Riqueval tunnel |
Made a cup of soup as it was quiet chilly in the tunnel. Emerged into sunshine just over two hours later at 9.35 a.m. detached from Farida and he coiled his rope in as we were overtaking the tunnel tug which was preparing the “râme” for the return journey - one empty péniche, a hotel boat with bikes (half of which appeared to be off over the top of the tunnel) called Fleur and a little navy hulled cruiser. Farida cranked up the power, we followed, slowly, giving it chance to get into the first lock and down before we arrived. A péniche houseboat called Jarga was moored at Vendhuile. The loaded péniche was just entering the top lock 17 Bosquet (1.50m) so we slowed right down. Sensors activated the first lock then a sign informed everyone in three languages to ask for a remote controller.
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| Temporary repairs! Bony tunnel |
I got off and pressed the intercom button, the VNF man at Crévecoeur command centre told me to take the zapper which had just slid down a hatch in the lock cabin wall and asked me the number on it. 67. OK and he wished us bonne route. I lifted the blue pole and the gates closed, then nothing else happened. Mike said hang on it might be more sophisticated than we were giving it credit for and not emptying until the péniche in front was in the next lock. Oh no. A voice on the intercom called. I got off to answer. The man said press the green button. OK. The paddles lifted fast and I couldn’t get back on – I wasn’t prepared to jump. I said I’ll get back on down the ladder it’s only 1.5m deep. The rungs were thickly coated in slimy mud so Mike said get on below or have a walk to the next. It was only just around the bend 580m so I walked. Above lock 16 Moulin Lafosse (2.20m) someone had left a large Belgian cruiser called Marie Galante tied to some Armco. It was well covered with big black fenders, never seen so many on one boat. I crossed the left hand chamber as the boat went into the right hand one. I lifted the bar and got on while the gates were closing.
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| Three boats for the return tow. Bony tunnel |
The first three locks used to be chained automatics working one after the other, that’s no longer needed now we have zappers. 1.8kms to lock 15 Honnecourt (2.50m). Mike zapped, it filled, I lifted the blue rod and we went down in two minutes, the fastest locks yet! I refilled the ‘fridge and made some tea and toast on the 2.6kms pound. Lock 14 Banteux ((2.50m) had an old café alongside it, the sort that looks like a house. Many years ago we encountered a few pubs like that in the UK in remote rural areas like the Fens. 500m to lock 13 Bantouzelle (2.30m) Below the lock there was an old arm with a 2m high silo quay on the left hand side. Noted there were lots of sandpipers flying in front of the boat all along the canal again. 2.2kms to lock 12 Vaucelles (2.10m)
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| Command post at Crevecoeur |
Farida was waiting above it so we slowed down to wait. A Dutch cruiser with a lovely highly polished smart navy blue hull came up the lock, then the péniche went down and we took our turn after. Shame to take a lovely boat like that through the tunnel to bounce it off the sides, scraping its paint and drip limy water on it from the roof. It was 12.30 p.m. when we went into the lock. 2.4kms to lock 11 Tordoir (2.40m). Again the péniche was waiting above the lock and we could see the lights on the lock below it were green, so he must have caught up with something else going down in front. As we dropped down lock 12 I went in the cabin to make some lunch. 400m to lock 10 Vinchy (2.10m) then 940m to lock 9 Crévecoeur (2.30m). Decided to see if we could get some water.
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| Filling the water tank at Crevecoeur |
I hopped off with my camera and went in the command centre. Yes, no problem, we could have water – there was a tap on the wall and the Chef fetched out a hose reel. I asked if I could take a photo of the command post as it’s very impressive. Yes, he said, very proud of his equipment. I asked if Mike could take a look as he’d never been in the office, so the Chef showed him the computer screen with the layout of all the locks this side of the tunnel all the way down to Iwuy. He could click on each to see more details, all the paddles and gates had lights to show what was working and he had cameras at the top and bottom lock. Mike asked if anything went wrong could he work the lock from there, no not at present but he could send someone to sort it out.
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| Moored at Masnieres. Glass works in background |
Wonderful and it all seems to work very well. We chatted while the tank filled. The other chamber of the twinned locks was undergoing repair and a huge pump was about to be installed in the chamber to pump it out. He said that both locks would work soon. I said we’d noted how much extra traffic there seemed to be now, far more péniche traffic than when we were last here in 2004. Said au’voir and merci for the water. Lifted the blue rod and down we went and on to the 1.34kms pound to the next.
Below the lock we could see a DB called Johanna and the couple on it came out to say hello as we went past. Nice couple, she told us she used to have a narrowboat at Stoke Prior. Two empty péniches were also moored there, La Vesle and La Vezere and another DB called Plover, also with an SSR plate (an early one, five numbers like ours). Down to lock 8 St Vaast (2.20m) which had no lock houses at all now and immediately before the lock was an aqueduct over the tiny (at this point) river Escaut, whose valley we now follow all the way into Belgium. 1.28kms to lock 7 Masniéres (2.30m) which had lots of houses on both sides of the paired locks. The water must be cleaner down here as there was a thriving colony of fresh water mussels growing in the ladder and control rod recesses in the lock walls. A short distance from the lock we moored next to a stone and brick quay with rings with a nicely planted bit of parkland where there was a memorial to the Canadian war heroes of WW1. It was 3.00 p.m
Interesting to see the photos of what you've told us about!
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