Island in the Saone

We had thoroughly enjoyed the privacy and tranquility of anchoring on the Saone and decided that we would do more of the same en route back to our permanent mooring at Saint Jean de Losne.
Set off from Chalons on yet another perfect sun filled day and motored off into an infinite avenue of green and blue.
Passing through Gergy we searched the riverbanks and skies for the resident colony of bee eater birds and got cameras at the ready...

and were lucky to capture this beauty.

Then motored on and found a secluded bay where we dropped anchor once again. The engine was barely stopped before the boys had jumped off the deck and into the water.

Olympic divers at the ready

The afternoon was so perfect for all of us that we decided to stay put for the night. Set up camp on deck and slept under the stars and woke up early in a magical misty world through which the commercial barges creep.

It was so good that we decided to stay another day, another night and finally tore ourselves away at midday on the third day.

Sunset Saone

Back out on the river at Chalons sur Saone and both Lobelia and her crew are happy once more. Walked into town to visit the Sunday fruit and veg market which was bustling and vibrant. Purchased a tasty selection of cheese, mushrooms, fruit and a rather stylish hat (for Dan).

Got back to the boat, created a delicious lunch with all but the hat, and then decided that we needed a swim in the river, so we cast off and motored a few km north of Chalons and found a peaceful spot in which to drop anchor. Spent a splendid afternoon playing in the cool waters of the River Saone.

Motored back to our derelict mooring which is strewn with the most beautiful selection of wild flowers.

The Guillotine

Callum and Shiv at the sharp end of the lock with a view of the Saone

A working holiday

The Canal du Centre's tight bends and awkward locks had taken their toll on our poor girl Lobelia. So when we reached the last lock prior to our return onto the River Saone we decided to spend a couple of days painting.
We have a continuous painting task and there is always a project on the go. However, in the space of a couple of days we managed to prep and paint her side decks and her pretty blue go faster stripe!

View down from Canal du Centre through lock to the Saone

Shiny decks!

Lobelia's elves like to dive bomb the canal

Lobelia's little elves have discovered a new pastime -

The Canal du Centre

We had decided to retrace our steps northwards to Chalons sur Saone and today embarked on a new waterway – the Canal du Centre.

Once upon a time the French wanted to build a canal which linked the Atlantic to the River Saone which would then naturally provide an onward link to the Mediterranean. They started building their canal in Chalons sur Saone and slowly worked their way towards the Atlantic.

However, hillsides, money issues, committees and wars all got in the way and the canal suffered. In fact the designer was so frustrated that, after a particularly long night at the drawing board, he went to bed in despair. Unfortunately it was then that the shoemaking elves who lived in the designer’s house decided to get involved. They were pretty good at shoes but absolutely rubbish at canal design. And they had a bit too much Burgundy wine to drink. They drew lots of squiggles. The next morning the designer was thrilled to see the finished plans and submitted them immediately. And they were accepted!

And so poor Lobelia with poor Andy at the helm finds herself on the bendiest, wiggliest, narrowest canal ever. There are lots of low bridges and locks and they are all built on tight bends.

But it is beautiful, so top marks to the elves for finding a pretty route which does take in a decent number of vineyards.

And by the way – the canal never made it to the Atlantic.

Lobelia likes to limbo

Beautiful views across the vineyards at Santenay

A pretty stop in Fragnes

A quiet Bastille Day

Bastille Day today and time for France to light up its skies with a cocktail of colour and sound and for the French to make merry all day.  And on that basis we decided to keep Lobelia on our quiet, out-of-the-way mooring near Pont de Vaux and cycle towards the mayhem.

But Pont de Vaux was fairly restrained. The firework display had happened in the rain the night before. The parades were short and sweet. And only the fishermen were in evidence.

We enjoyed our cycle ride and found a pleasant restaurant with a sunny terrace for a convivial lunch. And then we visited the permanent exhibition linked to the Tourist Information Centre which was an all singing- all dancing interactive showcase about the River Saone as it flows through this area. Well worth a visit.

On the Saone again

Took the boys for a swim at the pool in Chalons sur Saone and then set off south down the River Saone. Lobelia is in her element on the river. She sounds happy and her crew are happy too, lapping up the kilometres of green blue ribbon weaving through the verdant Burgundy countryside.

Moored for the night at Ormes lock in peaceful surroundings. But then midnight struck and a giant grain coaster called Artemis drew alongside us and her Russian crew clambered across our decks in search of a shoreside tap so that they could replenish their water tanks. 

Artemis’ engines fired up just before 6am and woke us and then she was gone.

We stayed put and followed her south at a much more respectable hour of the morning.

Motored south through Tournus to a mooring near Pont du Vaux where we had stopped last year. The sun was shining and we broke out the paint brushes and set to work on Lobelia’s decks – just in time for the arrival of another 39 metre barge searching for a mooring. “Majo” moored alongside us for the night. Lobelia had found herself another friend.

On the move again

Summer is here and we are on the move again. Slipped our mooring in the Old Lock and realised that the Old Lock cat was still aboard! A nifty move to the side and she was returned safely to familiar mousing territory and we motored away down the River Saone.
Enjoyed a trip down to Chalons sur Saone where we moored up on the old quay beneath the rusting cranes.
Spent an enjoyable evening on the riverside where there was an open air concert.

Katrina comes to visit

Katrina has been brave enough to come back for a second helping of Lobelia life in France. This time the boat stayed on its mooring in Saint Jean de Losne and we went off in the car on excursions to Besancon and Beaune.

Hellishly heavy hail

Some of the hail that hit us. 

On the 30th of June we spent the afternoon at Genlis Rugby Club in gorgeous sunshine and after saying our farewells we returned to the boat. Within an hour the weather had changed. I was stood next to Andy out on deck and I turned to him and said, "It feels as though the end of the world is coming." Andy laughed. But within minutes that laughter subsided as we ran for cover and battened down the hatches and hid inside the boat as a bombardment of hefty golfball-sized hailstones hit Lobelia and all around. 

The hail pelted us for more than five minutes and sounded horrendous. It was as dark as night. And then suddenly the sky erupted in flashes of brilliant light and the soundtrack changed into a terrifying peal of thunder. Something very close to us took a direct hit and all the electricity tripped out. I have never heard a noise like it. It was terrifying and yet fascinating at the same time.

Lobelia seemed to survive unscathed. However lots of cars and boats were severely damaged. And, one week on, we are still waiting for our internet and telephone connections to come back online.