PassageMaker - September 2011

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94 passagemaker.com September 2011

Le Boat Canal Cruise

Operation of these locks proved to be ingeniously simple. As we approached, I looked for the control light, which was usually red. Peggy donned a life jacket and proceeded to the bow, a safe procedure at idle speeds because of the wide side decks and the abundant handholds provided by the boatbuilder. On one bank, a pole with a cross piece extended out over the water, from which hung a large tube. Grabbing the tube and twisting it counterclockwise caused a strobe light on the control to flash, beginning the process. If the lock was filled, the floodgates would automatically open to empty it, the doors would swing wide, and we could enter slowly. If the lock was empty, the doors would open that much quicker. On one side of the lock, there was a ladder in a recess, with two pipes—one red and one blue—in a recess right next to it. One simply climbed the ladder to lead lines around the bollards along the upper edge, dropped them down to the boat, climbed back down the ladder, and lifted the blue pipe to begin the process of closing the doors and flooding the lock.

Our only difficulty was the height of the lock walls. They were too tall for Peggy to throw the long coiled line up, so I improvised. I took my line up and temporarily snubbed it, climbed down and took her line up, and dropped it back down after passing it around the bollard. Then I untied my line, passed it around the bollard, and climbed down to lift up on the blue pipe. Luckily, this worked flawlessly, and I never had to lift up on the red pipe, which halted the automatic mechanism. I got plenty of exercise using this method, but next time, I think we’ll invite friends to join us.

Above Chalon-sur-Saône, the character of the river changed, growing more narrow, changing direction more often, bringing us closer to the towns and scenic villages along the way. Soon we were passing through the locks at Gray, within sight of the Le Boat base where we would end our cruise. We spent one last night aboard after exploring the old-town portion of Gray, the Notre Dame Basilica, and the Baron Martin museum of art and archaeology. In the morning, we were transported by cab through gorgeous French countryside to Dijon, where we caught the TGV back to Charles de Gaulle Airport for our flight home.

Looking back, Peggy and I agreed it was a wonderful cruise, and would have been fun to share with another couple, not to mention easier on her throwing arm. The boat was clean and comfortable, the attention paid to details by everyone in the Le Boat organization was flawless, and the day-to-day delights of the changing countryside and towns along the way were incomparable. We must do this again.