Friday 17th June 2011 Antoing - Oudenaarde. 44kms 4 locks

Pont des Trous Tournai

Grey and overcast with a strong wind, heavy rain later. We were ready to go at 8.30 a.m. but Anne said Dick had volunteered to come and help steer WS. He would be here at nine. When he arrived they went to do a car shuffle and left Dick’s car at Oudenaarde and came back in ours. As soon as they returned we set off as we had a long way to go. It was 11.25 a.m. as Dick backed WS out of the weirstream – just as a loaded péniche came round the bend heading downriver! He waited for another big boat to come past before winding to follow the péniche downriver. We followed, wishing the crew of A40 a bonne voyage and also the skipper off a new replica DB called Fowey Hill who had moored overnight next to them. Followed WS through Antoing. Our engine seemed to be working perfectly. 

Cheeky girls (and a boy) Tournai

A large commercial Deschieter 16 turned at the winding hole halfway along the long loading/unloading quay that stretches all the way to Vaulx. He used reverse and bow thrusters to do it all in one beautiful fluid motion, a result no doubt of much practice and experience. After a short wait for the traffic lights opposite the pontoon in Tournai, we followed WS through the narrows and liftbridges in the town and through the soon to be altered and widened mediaeval Pont Des Trous. Teenagers were waiting to go back into High School on the left bank and all started shouting and posing as I was taking photos of the bridges from the bows. I took one of a bunch of girls and said look for it on my blog, but bet they weren’t listening as they were too busy showing off in front of the lads. Two loaded péniches, Cari II and Tosca were moored on the quay above Kain lock. 

Gongoozlers watch as we pass under a lift bridge in Tournai

A loaded péniche called Coxswain came up the lock, then a big loaded barge called Allegro went down and another large one called Chomy went towards the lock ready for the next locking, we followed him to wait out turn. It was 12.45 p.m. Nothing came uphill so we followed smoky Chomy into the lock.  He went on the right, WS on the left and we went on the right behind the loaded barge. Hmm. There was a severe lack of mooring bollards. The circular recesses in the walls had nothing to tie to in them, so the only thing left was to put the centre rope on a ladder, which I did. When the lock emptied the barge flushed us off the wall, Mike said let go the rope, and we went all the way across the chamber to join WS! 85m loaded barge Por-Dios was waiting below to go uphill. It started to pour with rain. 

Smoky barge Chomy at Kain lock

I made some BLTs for lunch and we ate them sitting on the stern under the umbrella in the pouring rain. WS was getting away from us even though we were doing almost 9 kph. We passed many more boats, loading and unloading, then one that had just finished unloading, called Boekanier (Buccaneer in Dutch), set off in reverse behind us and was catching us up at a fair old rate - in reverse! He winded and overtook us heading for the next lock, Hérrines, located just after the Espierres canal. Three empty péniches came past heading upriver, Ch’ti, Euro and VD, and another big barge was fast catching us up. Laurmick overtook us as we approached the lock. Big barge Rian (60m x 6m) came out of the lock heading upriver, followed by péniche Roleta and four cruisers. 
We followed Laurmick, who had just loaded his car back on board, into the lock and dropped down. As we left the lock, 110m loaded barge Primair was heading for the chamber to go up. A work tug had been left on the wall below the lock, very inconveniently placed for the boats entering the lock. Cathy, another big barge, overtook us between Potts and Bossuit. WS was way off in front and ended up locking down Kerkhove with another barge. Laurmick was on the wall above waiting, so we tied behind it and I went to the lock office to buy our six months licence for 50€. Anne was just climbing the ladder below the lock to come back and buy hers. There were two male lock keepers and a lady doing the paperwork. They had a newly installed (a sign said on the 16th June) computer system so the old card we had with our last licence in 2005 was no good, good thing I’d taken a Port Form with me with all the details on it (in many languages) which she used to fill in all the info. She couldn’t find “England” in the list but managed Royaume Unis and didn’t recognise the British postcode. All filled in, I paid by card (Anne said that was new) and got my license, a new card and an invoice. I trotted back to the boat just as the uphill big barge in the lock was leaving. Laurmick was already casting off and I had to shout to Mike so he could tell me where the ladder was, as I couldn’t see it for the tall dripping wet herbage. Once I was back on the boat we followed Laurmick in. We went forward of his prop this time, alongside him on the left hand wall. It was 1.45 p.m. when we left the lock. The rain pelted down and the traffic was heavy as we ran down to our chosen overnight mooring above the lock at Oudenaarde. WS was already there tied to the roof high wall with ropes around the railings by the road above and next to "no mooring" signs. Apparently everybody ignores the signs as there is nowhere else to moor other than pay in the yachthaven (which probably has no spaces long enough for us anyway). It was ten to eight and we were exhausted, again.