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| Antenna farm on the lock cabin at Berry 3 |
Sunny with clouds, cold wind. Fleeces on. Mike went for bread, calling at the lock on the way back, Maeva went with him to take the rubbish. The keeper confirmed that the Oise à l’Aisne was closed until 16th May so we had to go round. The boulangerie had no 400gm loaves at 9.15 a.m. so Mike bought three baguettes. The lady at the lock house asked Mike if he wanted any asparagus at 7€/kg; he said I was the chef where food was concerned and declined. Ab Ovo was coming up in Berry 3 as we got ready to move. Before we’d untied a large yacht with yellow hull and long masts overhanging each end of the boat arrived and hovered almost in the lock mouth. The empty Ab Ovo winded and backed into Berry 1, very slowly and carefully as he still had his wheelhouse up and there was very little clearance. We waited for the peniche to clear our turning space and of course the yacht pinched the lock, the gates closed behind him leaving us to wait above. In minutes the keeper turned the lock round and gave us a zapper. We were away on the 20kms pound on the Latéral à l’Aisne just after ten.
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| Writing out the accident reports |
I went inside to get the domestic chores done as Mike had started off with the pins in to drive the Markon. Maeva was busy doing her homework. At KP22 we passed My Way running empty towards Berry, following it at KP24 was Jaël, also empty. Mike disconnected the drive and I steered the boat while the engine was switched off, keeping a lookout for boats. As we rounded the next bend at KP27 we came across loaded péniches Poulbot and Poulbote moored with sterns to the bank on the left and the bows blown over to the right hand side with the yacht (who had stolen our lock) lashed alongside them and a VNF van on the bank. Mike asked Maeva to find out what was happening and she picked her way through the overgrown herbage on the left bank to ask.
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| Church at Presles-et-Boves |
Turned out there had been an accident and the yacht had been in a collision with both péniches. They were filling in the insurance forms. They set off and we got going again. Shortly afterwards we saw the yacht way in the distance, on a long straight section, passing another péniche – he was far too close to the bank and actually brushing through the trees. Came to the conclusion that he had may have done that earlier and his keel had run aground causing his boat to swing round and clout the péniches with his mast. We passed loaded boat Wil-Jas heading uphill at KP29. At KP 31 we passed the next loaded boat Shelendo from Hershal heading for Berry. At KP32 Nautica was moored at Maizy.
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| Old and new, radar "headlight" and notice to tell you to zap from here |
Empty dredging boat Holiday was reversing towards us at KP34 and we passed the dreging tip just through the next bridge. We wondered if they were bringing the dredgings all the way from the Aisne à la Marne to there and concluded it was more than likely. Two boats were moored opposite the silos at KP 36, Canberra was being unloaded; its cargo transferred into lorries. Coxain had already been unloaded of its cargo of cement-like grey powder. We passed Lujopa, another loaded boat, at KP37. Zapped and went into lock 4 La Cendrière (2.5m) It was 1.45 p.m. Another péniche was below heading for the lock. Loaded boat Franca from Wasserbilig in Luxemburg went past us on the start of the 6kms pound and into the lock we’d just left. At KP42 we passed the next boat, called Dorado. Empty boat Edi-Fra II from Janville came up lock 5 Cys-la-Commune (2.05m) and we went down with a side wind trying to blow the boat away from the blue rod.
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| Quiet mooring at Vailly-sur-Aisne |
Terns were screeching above us as we went down the 2.2kms pound and by the next bridge we passed Edi-Fra also empty heading uphill. Mike took photos of the impressive grey stone church at Presles-et-Boves. Beyond the village there was a field full of plastic greenhouses. A man on a bike rode past, taking his beagle dog for a walk. We met him again on the lockside at lock 6 St Audebert (2.10m). The man had crossed over to our left via the bridge at the tail end of the lock but the dog was still sniffing along the right hand side and headed back towards the top end gates, which were open as we’d just come in. He panicked as the gates started to close and backed off, then when they were shut he went across the metal mesh passarelle duck-footed just like pour old dog Rowsy used to, you could almost hear him saying “I hate this it hurts my feet but I’m crossing it ‘cos the boss is on the other side!”
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| Where to fish for what - notice board at Vailly-sur-Aisne |
4.45kms to the next lock, but we stopped half way at Vailly-sur-Aisne. We went past the wide section where a couple with two kids were fetching a boat out on to a trailer, noted there was a good mooring there and went to look at the quay by the road bridge. It had stacked piles at one end and looked as if it was well used by péniches (shiny bollards) for overnight moorings, beyond the bridge there was nothing to tie to so we winded, just as a VNF van went back up the towpath, and we went back to the wide section. The man who was packing his day boat away came to take a rope. I told him we’d seen lots of big boats and decided to leave the quay to them, as the mooring in the wide section was much nicer. Turned out it was over 5m deep and used to be the old course of the river Aisne.
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