Weather in all its form is a constant and very evident factor here. It seems to us that it is more ‘in your face’ here than at home. This is perhaps just because we are not engaged in paid work to distract us - or perhaps because the boat is a confined space not unlike a tent or a mobile home. The wrong sort of weather can restrict us to this very small space for extended periods…
Our first 2 weeks here in France were extremely hot - uncomfortably so - and unusual for May the locals kept telling us. However, it did mean we could get on with the work that needed to be done on the boat straight away because we needed good weather for the work on the hull and we were able to cool off in Christian‘s pool at the end of the day. We were put in the water, quayside, went down a lock and motored into the marina and made a perfect reverse into a finger mooring. Perfect timing because five days of intermittent and spectacular thunderstorms followed. (It is always nice being tied up to pontoon when the rains come because the pontoon and boats rise together. It’s not so flash when the waters (and the boat) rise while tied to a fixed point!) The few stormy days in the marina gave us plenty of time to marvel at and enjoy the benefits of our new cockpit cover, as well as to re-acquaint ourselves with familiar persistent leaks around a couple of windows. (Some, however, do seem to have been taken care of - although a change of wind direction can show how deceptive appearances can be.)
Weather reports are usually very accurate here so, on the promise of a fine, still morning, we headed off up the Saone river on Wednesday morning and reached the lovely Auxonne by lunchtime. By afternoon, the wind was already getting up (as predicted) and could have made a later mooring tricky. We stayed for two nights, enjoyed the company of Bruce and Susan from the US mid west and who introduced J to the joys of a dirty martini. From there we spent a lovely time at Pontailler before heading to Mantoche. We arrived in sunshine on Saturday afternoon, which remained till lunchtime on Sunday then it rained till night fall.
Our plan was to pack up in the morning and go to Gray but it started to rain again and it looked as though it would continue for some time. We don’t usually navigate in the rain because C has to spend a lot of time outside when we go through locks - and besides, it just isn’t that much fun. After giving it some thought we decided to navigate the river anyway. We did not fancy being stuck in Mantoche on a mooring that could flood if the river rose and there were no locks between where we were and the Gray quayside, so we could both spend most of the time warm and dry in the boat. We arrived at the quay in Gray in pouring rain. Despite the fact that there were a lot of boats - and people - on the quay, no-one came to help with ropes, which is unusual but perhaps not surprising. We are quite capable of tying up by ourselves but an extra hand always makes it a little easier, especially in difficult weather conditions.
We were delighted to find that Gray offers free water and electricity and very soon were tucked up, warm and drying out any dampness by lunchtime. The rain abated for a couple of hours in the afternoon so we had a pleasant walk around the very pretty town and stocked up on some essentials from the supermarket near the quay. Just as we arrived back at the boat the heavens opened again and it rained heavily until dark (it’s nearly the longest day here so “until dark” means between 9:30 and 10pm). We kept a close eye on the level of the water in the river but it rose surprisingly little overnight.
We took advantage of better weather in the morning to spend a couple of hours replacing mastic around windows, which was no longer doing its job. Time and the next rain will tell if we have been successful. As we got on and off the boat, we noticed that the water level had risen quite a bit during the morning and seemed to be getting higher. Catherine made a visit to the VNF who manage French waterways and confirmed that within a couple of hours our mooring ropes could well be flooded and the boat would be bumping the steps. Not a good situation, as that sort of bumping could seriously damage more that just the new paintwork on the hull! So we had to leave our lovely free spot, travel a short distance through a lock and moor at the Le Boat (commercial hire boats) Port for10E per night. However, we would be on the favoured pontoons and under the circumstances 10E seemed quite a small price to pay for our safety and the well-being of the boat! The next challenge was to dock the boat in a finger mooring with the swollen river running at right angles to the pontoons. Suffice to say this was accomplished after a couple of failed attempts and it wasn’t a pretty sight. Once again no-one came to help, even though it wasn’t raining… unlike last year when the lovely Stanley and Wolfgang were there to help us in out in Dijon.
We moved this morning from Le Boat port, a bit further up river to moorings attached to a camping ground. The river is going down and although we are not on pontoons we will be safe. It will cost 5E for the same services we paid 10 E for last night (mooring, electricity, water and showers). It is a very hot day and Catherine has found an inside job to do. The two engine hatch covers have hinges that are lumpy to walk on and one of them is broken. (it was badly placed and so has been bent over the years) Catherine has bought and begun to learn how to use a chisel. She is ‘checking in’ the new hinges so they have a low profile. She learnt quite quickly which side of the chisel should face down! It is too hot to be outside, inside is only marginally cooler but is an example of one of the many ways weather dictates to us. Another will be our decision about when to leave here - more rain is predicted for Friday morning and that may well influence our timing for continuing up the river. It would suit us better to go on Friday because the next stop will be in a hire boat centre and Saturdays are changeover days there making it a good day to avoid for all manner of reasons!
No comments:
Post a Comment