So, after a sort of false start, we are now properly on the way having spent yet another couple of weeks at St Jean de Losne. Not that I can complain about St Jean since it was there that we were able to get the car and our Cartes de Longue Sejour plus update the website and establish ourselves as French residents. But now the serious business of cruising is on us and we are on a positioning trip to Dole to pick up our first guest for the new season. We have of course had the Reeds back in February but that was almost still winter, now it is diefinitely spring.

We departed St Jean for Dole on Friday 26 April and immediately had a problem in that a commercial barge happened along as we were waiting for the lock to the Rhone au Rhine Canal to open for us off the Saone River. Since we have to give way to commercial boats, this meant a wait of what turned out to be an hour an a half. Big Bummer as we had arrived at exactly the time we had advised them. Anyway, we had an uneventful trip and were able to monitor the engine temperature range now that we have taken to limiting the water flow to the exchanger. The engine runs better and hotter and the temp gauge is remarkably accurate, as measured against the thermometer on the engine itself.

The commercial being ahead of us slowed the trip down but we arrived in plenty of time at about 6.00pm and passed through the port in order to turn Van Nelle around where the river cuts off from the canal. We managed that OK and went back to our original spot near the Pizza boat.

Next day was Gillian Ragus arrival day so we finished our final jobs preparing the room and the boat and waited for the taxi to pick us up to go to the Gare which is too far to walk with baggage. The car arrived on time and so did the train so we were back on VN shortly after 7.30 and after a bottle of welcoming Champagne, off to the restaurant (Le Bec) at about 8.30. Delightful meal and wines.

Gill had a bunch of washing to do as she had been travelling for weeks with a different place almost every night so the next am was spent doing a bit of domestic stuff before heading out to see the sights of Dole. Town sights in the morning and the musee after lunch on board. That night, prep for the departure on the morrow to St Jean de Losne.

Easy cruise the next day to St Jean with a stop for fuel on the way to the ancien ecluse where everything was just as we left it. The car was perfect and started without any probs so we were soon off for a trip into town to check out a rumour re the closing of the lock system on May Day the first - Wednesday. We planned to have a day in St Jean on Monday and two days cruise to Dijon for a day there before Gill had to leave for Switzerland and Italy. The VNF confirmed the closure so plans were altered. A one day cruise to Dijon would take place on Tuesday.

We dined at L’Amiral with Giles being his usual ebullient self and set off the next am early to hit the ecluse at St Jean right on 9.00am as we did. We were ahead of the game until lunch time when we did the right thing and stopped before the lock for lunch. We were really tee’d off when a hotel boat - Continental Waterway’s Hirondelle passed us and went into the lock. It then proceeded to meander for the next two hours holding us up and nearly costing us the entrance to Dijon since we arrived at the last lock with only 20minutes to spare. They had been getting deliveries of things from their chef along the way. Really bad manners !!!!!

Arrived at the Port Fluviale and moored up to the quai where we spent the next three days without cost - also without any services so fair enough. Time for Gill to explore the city and do a fair bit of shopping, and also some planning for the trip on to Switzerland and Italy.

Wednesday was May Day so we expected some demonstrations, marches or rallies but saw nothing. Didn’t see much of Dijon either as, despite it being a holiday, everything was closed, but everything !. Well we caught up on a few of the sights as the visitors centre was open and had a walking tour itinerary which we followed, finding some new and interesting spots along the way, including an antique shop where I saw (and subsequently bought) a couple of old champagne glasses and two chrystal wine glasses. They are both of very chunky old faceted designs and are quite pretty while being solid and functional. They probably came from a hotel and restaurant supply shop, but they look and feel good so I’m happy with them.

We had the next day to check out the at gallery which was undergoing some renovations so the big picture I wanted to photograph was not available - the retreat of Napoleon’s army from Moscow. I’ll probably discover it is in the museum in Beaune and not Dijon if I keep looking.

We also got to go up to the top of Phillipe Le Bon’s tower which offered magnificent sights of the surrounds of Dijon. We had a roast lamb on the last night of Gill’s stay and played cards and Trivial Pursuit. Seemed like a fun thing to do.

Gilly left us on Thursday night for Lausanne and then Venice and Rome, We had an early night and prepared for our departure the next day in the direction of the Pouilly tunnel, some 20 or 30km up the Canal de Bourgogne. This section of the canal is over populated with locks so a full days travel is about 12-15km with about the same or more locks. We made Fleury the first day and had an uneventful night after a pretty pleasant day cruising.

The next day we moved on to La Forge where, after a kilometre or so’s walk we discovered the Abbaye de Bussier. This is truly remarkable restored abbey with grounds that sweep down through trees and water features to the road that fronts the extensive property. Built by the Cistercian monks it was taken by the Revolutionaries but restored to the Church diocese of Dijon which now uses it for retreats and small group conferences. A group of young girls were being welcomed as we toured the grounds which are free to visit so long as no sessions are in progress.

The next day we passed on to the area just below the fortified town and chateau of Chateauneuf which we had seen on a car recce to the area months before to check out the tunnel. This si another fabulous place. Built in the 13^th 14^th century it was taken from the woman who murdered her husband and given by Louis 11 to Phillipe Pot, his courtier. The chateau contains two residences, one in ruins but originally for guests and the other in quite good condition, furnished as it might have been during the 17^th century.

Remarkable for me was the fact that the toilets are preserved, two ‘en-suite’ to bedrooms, but with very cold stone seats. Perhaps they had cushions. They are the ‘long drop’ versions, sort of just hanging out over the side of the building - a bit draughty. I think they are remarkable since toilets almost never appear in historic buildings, having been destroyed and turned into broom cupboards or whatever as if they had no need for such things hundreds of years ago. The village is very well preserved but now going through what appears to be extennsive renovations. There are a couple of pleasant 2 star hotels made from local houses - all 12^th - 14^th century but modernised inside I’m sure - and complete with WCs.

The trip to Chateauneuf is up a very steep hill. We took the bikes and walked up 3/4s of the distance - but the ride down was exhilarating. We went up twice since on our first day everything was closed -‘ferme lundi’ We should know not to trust guide books ! Anyway, it was no great effort to stay another day and repeat the climb in order to be able to roam through the buildings and streets. The Chateau has extensive furnishings and the chapel has Phillipe Pot’s crypt, a copy of the original which was made by the artisans of the Louvre so they could have the original.

Getting to Chateauneuf by canal is a delight, despite the growing number of locks evident on this hilly part of the ‘systeme fluviale’. The countryside is all rural, dominated by rolling meadows of deep green pasture, interspersed by paddocks of bright yellow crops. We have been advised that these are rape seed and also told that they are mustard. Perhaps they are both. Whatever they are, they are a surprisingly bright yellow, standing out vividly against the background of pasture’s deep greens and the nearby forests of trees in all shades of green. Though these placid fields the canal meanders, joining town to town and village to village.

Boat speed here is limited to 6kmh to ensure that the already eroded banks are not further damaged. The canals are about 15m wide but due to erosion and the subsequent collapse of the walls (once proud examples of the stonemasons art), the navigable depth of about 1.8m is only found close to the centre. For a boat of Van Nelle’s girth it is both dangerous and damaging to stray of the centre line as parts of the original rock walls can shatter propellers, and suction, caused by the large prop sucking water from ahead and abeam, can cause large waves to wash away further parts of the banks.

Suction also causes difficulty steering large boats in the canals, as it tends to drag the stern toward the nearest canal side. Countering this action causes the stern to swing toward the opposite bank and once again the suction acts to drag the stern even closer. A zig zag course can be the result of the helms-person not concentrating on keeping a central course. Another potential hazard is the approach of another large vessel, since their size requires a diversion from the centre line and their propellor also causes suction that affects your boat, as yours does to them when passing.

Imagine if you can, a long U shaped channel about the width of two and a half large barges, the sides of the channel eroded so they are very shallow and consisting of thick mud. Now introduce two barges approaching each other. Each barge’s propellor is sucking large amounts of water from the confined space below and to it’s sides and it’s bow is projecting a sizeable shock wave forward. The boats approach bow to bow, both keeping to the centre of the channel for fear of becoming stuck or hitting submerged objects. As they get within half a boat length, both turn slightly to the right so that the angle allows them to miss each other until about abeam. At that time they turn slightly left so that they head back toward the centre of the channel. As they approach each other, their shock waves tend to push the bows apart, but as they begin to pass, the suction tends to pull them together. Meanwhile, the length of each causes their sterns, and therefore propellers and rudders, to swing close to the edge of the canal and the possibility of damage. Both skippers reduce power and hold their breath, waiting and listening for the inevitable scrape of gravel down the side and the kick of the wheel that indicates the rudder going aground. Once past, each lets out a long-contained breath and fights his boat back to the centre of the channel.

We have seen two boats become hopelessly stuck while passing, coming to rest on both sides of the channel and completely blocking it. Long minutes of maximum power ahead and astern normally sucks and blows enough of the base of the canal aside in order for the boats to refloat and continue.....but not always.

We departed after lunch on Tuesday for Escommes, the large port before the Pouilly Tunnel, for which we have to take down our roof. These boats are built with the wheelhouse made up of folding panels on the sides, removable doors and roof panels. We had not had a rehearsal of this de-mounting so we wanted to have a clear morning to be able to ‘play 9 and adjust’. As it turned out, it took us just a half hour to take the three panels and their supporting aluminium sections of, take off the doors and fold down the front and back and two side panels. Everything worked very easily and fitted neatly on the front deck. The roof sections are a bit heavy but nothing that we couldn’t handle with a bit of a grunt.

Then for the Pouilly Tunnel...... This is a low, dark, cold, long tunnel. It is 3.3km long and no boat over 3.1m high at the centre and 2.2m at the sides may enter. One must have lights, fire extinguishers, floatation jackets, boat hooks and a bucket ! Exactly what you do with the bucket I’m not sure.

We started at 1100 and were through at 1200 to the port fluviale at Pouilly at the other end of the tunnel. It was cold but easier that I had expected. The tunnel was actually much bigger than I had thought and we ended up with lots of room - well about 50-70cm all round, more than the 30cm I had planned for. We had attached timber ‘scrapers’ to the rear bollards but only touched one side once through the whole trip. We were very pleased with ourselves.

The Port at Pouilly was unmanned so free an although there was not water or electricity, we had had plenty in Escommes so that we had done 5 loads of washing and topped up the water tanks - all for 3 euros. Cheep cheep. It was a shock then another day on to arrive at Port Royal where the cost was 8 euros without either water or power - we left for a spot a couple of hundred metres down the canal. But back to Pouilly.

It was a holiday the day we arrived and the shops were open only until 1230 the next day as that also was a holiday (Ascension !) so we stood in supermarket queues for hours with lots of other people as we had to stock up big for the next week or two. There is almost no shops near the canal on the stretch after Pouilly so water, food and things like milk, have to be stocked or gone without. We did a couple of big shops and carried the stuff back on the scooter.

Another boat arrived later - a Luxemotor named Fryslan - which we had seen at St Symphorien and had noticed since it was a different version of the spelling of that Dutch town where many similar boats were built. Tam and Di Murrell also have a boat named for the town - but the other spelling Friesland. We offered our power since Russel was short an alternator but he managed to get his system up and running so we offered drinks instead and spent a couple of hours chatting about things fluviale.

We left Pouilly after a couple of days and arrived at Port Royal of the expensive Halte Fluviale so left there the next am after a ride around and a beer at the café the afternoon before. The next stop was Marigny which boasts a nice harbour (which we couldn’t use since it was to be the site of the next day’s fishing competition (funny - I thought the canals were for boats), a chateau (we didn’t get to) an Epicerie (we did get bread at twice) and 11 km away, the preserved 12^th 14^th century town of Semur.

It was raining the morning we went to Semur-en-Auxois, but despite the discomfort, we took to the mountain bikes and pedalled the distance. We were met, after passing through industrialised suburbs, by cobbled streets, a 13^th century church, and tiny streets passing through impossibly narrow arches that hold buildings up, and apart. Pressing in on all sides are half timbered houses and shops with modernised facades, but in all other respects, ancient.

We arrived just at the end of the eleven o’clock church service and entered that amazing structure to hear the end of a long processional piece being played on the 17^th century organ. Choir boys came back into the church from an attached room, bearing their vestments for a mother to collect and freshen. Parishioners stood about companionably, chatting before wandering off to their Sunday lunches. We took advantage of the English version of the guided tour notes to investigate this priceless relic, which is once again undergoing renovation. The notes advised us it had been renovated by the great French architect Viollet-le-Duc in the middle of the 19^th century. While the main part of the building, and some of it’s stained glass, is over 800 years old (correct me if I’m wrong), it is in a town where Charlemagne presented it’s castle to the monks during the 7^th century ! These little snippets of longevity keep surprising me as I think about our own 200 or so years of history and especially of the time I talked about a ‘really old building in Perth’ to a French person......

We missed looking in for long at the fishing comp since it was raining and we wanted to get back to the boat and light the fire - which we did. Roast chook and veg for dinner - and perhaps a glass of wine.

After a lengthy visit to the church and it’s surroundings in Semur earlier, we had retired to a local restaurant for the Boeuf Bourguignon and some Bourgogne Passetoutgrain, a light red wine of exceptional flavour but without any of the heaviness evident in so many flavoursome Australian wines. I am constantly surprised by the light character of many of the local reds, easy to drink with few side effects. Perfect for lunches, especially with meats, pates and cheeses. We are finding many of the lighter local red wines are the traditional Pinot Noir but now blended with Merlot to lighten and freshen the flavour, something the Italians do as well.

One of the other local traditions is to mix the rich red cordial Creme de Cassis (a local product), with the astringent local white wine - Bourgogne Aligote to make Kir, or with the Cremant de Bourgogne to make Kir Royale, or with Champagne to make Kir Imperiale. These are popular aperitifs along with Marcvin, the sweet white wine blended with the fiery wine spirit, Marc de Bourgogne.

As the temperature has been increasing and as we have been worked harder on the more numerous locks in this area, we have also come to enjoy the local ciders, of which there are quite a few, with colours and flavours from very light and ‘apple-y’ to deep yellows and ambers with stronger more smoky character. All of these are only about 4% alc by vol, less than beer and very refreshing. Since we have to stop for lunch as the eclusiers take the hour from 12.00 to 13.00 off (the French operate on a 24 hour clock), cider is a good alternative to wine for lunch.

Daylight is now from about 6.30 to about 22.00 (10.00pm), which means the evening meal is later and walks afterward are a joy. The sky is still light and the canal sides are full of bird song. Just the thing to take the edge off the meal before turning in to the quiet of the country-side. Our days start at about 7.30, we get underway at 9.00, stop at 12.00 for lunch and stop at our next destination normally at about 15.00 (3.00pm). This allows us about 10-15km distance and up to 15 locks in a day’s travel, each lock taking about 15 minutes if we don’t have to wait for boats ahead.

At this rate we ought to be in Paris by mid June.