Tuesday 28th June 2016. Courcy to Vaudemanges. 36.3kms 7 locks 1 tunnel

Boats moored at PUM Reims

12.3° C. Grey and chilly start, white clouds and sunny spells - one very light shower of rain later. We set off at 8.20am on the 12.5kms long pound. Jackets on again. A large nameless Dutch cruiser went past just before the cutting and the smelly rubbish at a recycling plant at the La Neuville end. Franca from Wasserbilig (Luxembourg) went past empty (he’d gone past loaded the day before) the skipper had his wheelhouse down. Our partner on dry dock, péniche Vage, was moored at

Palais de Congres Reims

PUM steel works at the end of the moorings nearest the supermarket, with several other empties, Ancilla, Péningue, Galion, Drakaar. The skipper and his daughter came out to say hello as we went past. Beyond PUM’s factory there was another line of moored empty boats, Alizarine from St Serin – a 34m Luxemotor, beyond it was Infinity from Gent, St Joseph (Paris), and Cindy – the last three didn’t look like they’d moved in a

Freedom of expression wall. Reims

while as they had weed growth around the waterline. Heading further into Reims, there was a DB moored right at the far end of the darse Port Colbert and a little bateau-ecole boat was doing some sort of training around a floating mooring buoy. Just beyond the port a goods train went over what Mike thought was a disused line. A cruiser with an American flag went past by the old warehouse building of Magasins Generaux de Reims. A bit further on was a main line railway bridge (electrified) and

Boats moored in the port at Reims

a long line of goods wagons was going over that as we went under the bridge and it was LOUD.  An Australian flagged cruiser was moored beyond the bridge just before the Centre de Congres. Never seen anyone stop there before. At the official port-de-plaisance mooring there was a DB moored along the edge and four cruisers on the finger pontoons. Three péniches were moored abreast among the houseboats, Taifun, Interlude and Ander. The row of moored boats continued beyond the road bridge.

Above lock 11 Chateau d'Eau

Cabourg, a very nicely painted péniche (probably retired) was among the wrecks and restaurant boats. The lime trees were flowering and the air was heavy with their sweet perfume as we turned the pole and went into lock 10 Fléchambault, the first of three linked locks in the city. Its lock house was empty and both house and lock were fenced off from the towpath which was heavily used by walkers, joggers and cyclists. Up 2.9m and on to a short pound of 750m, passing the

Below lock 12 Huon. Our audience of clapping schoolkids.

new flats built where there used to be silos and on into lock 11 Château d’Eau which had set itself ready for us after we left lock 10. Workmen were on the lock sides inside the green fencing as they had a crane on the towpath under the road bridge doing some work underneath it. Had a short wait below lock 12 Huon as loaded boat Chrismi was coming down, then we went up another 2.4m. A crowd of schoolkids aged about seven or eight (with teachers) were clapping as we

Rescued from a hot cup of coffee!
(Sorry he's a bit fuzzy)

went in the lock – what was that for? Football? – Brexit?? No idea. The lockhouse by the top lock was as smart as ever. A loaded boat called Samorinda from Marchiennes was waiting to go down the lock. Beyond the lock there was a British flagged DB called Serenity, which looked to me like a hotel boat, but Mike said it was moored there last time we came through Reims, must check the log. A tiny cricket hopped into my coffee – I fished him out quickly and he survived the experience although the coffee was quite hot. Took his photo and identified him as a short-winged conehead, a type of bush cricket. 7.6kms to the next lock at Sillery, passing warehouses, silos and factories as we left the city behind heading southeast. Empty Shelendu from Herstel was pumping out water ballast at the first silos, while Utopia-XL was loading grain under the chute. Halfway to Sillery a Dutch

Shelendu emptying ballast water and Utopia-XL loading grain. Reims

cruiser went past, we rocked about in his wash for quite some distance. A lorry was being loaded with grain at the silos in Sillery and a big digger was loading the drier alongside with grass (must be making cattle pellets). Sillery lock 13 is the deepest on this cut at 3.50m. Noticed that a cruiser had arrived below the lock as we left it. The port was almost full, just a few places left on the pontoons. Surprised they allow some very large heavy barges to use the pontoons, they must surely be over the weight limit

A poppy field alongside the canal

for them. 2.2kms to the next, passing through Béghin Say’s sugar processing plant, which I was glad to say was not boiling sugar beet today as I hate the smell. Up 14 L’Espérance (2.6m) and loaded boat Poulebot from Nancy was waiting to go down. Horseflies were hatching out, so on went the repellent and out came the fly swatters. Up another 2.8m in lock 15 Beaumont. This must be the next candidate for new concrete lock walls as its stone blocks were eroding badly. Just 1.15kms to the top lock, 16 Wez, up 2.5m and we were on the summit. I like the view from just beyond the lock over the

Southern portal of Mont-de-Billy tunnel

fields, currently of ripe barley, to the wooded hills of La Montagne de Reims, it is lovely view and makes a great mooring, but today Mike wanted to push on through the tunnel. Lunch on the move. It started getting warm as the sun came out. 6kms to the tunnel, passing the feed from the river Vesle, which was flowing in nicely. Mike called the keeper at Mont-de-Billy and we got a green light. I did chores as we went through the 2302m long tunnel, lights all the way through are activated by

Moored at Vaudemanges

sensors at either end. We moored beyond the layby at Vaudemanges at 3.45pm. Empty péniche Destin went past at 4.40pm. DB Alizarine moored behind us later. I’d taken a photo of lock opening times and found it strange that the locks open early at 7am but close early too at 6pm. Last thing, as we were shutting canvases, etc, I noticed ants on the gunwale – then spotted some in the cabin - on the sink and walking down the front of the sink unit. Mike went outside with a can of spray antkiller – they were all over the roof! Fortunately just little black ones, not the huge black ones we’d been seeing lots of lately or the vicious biting red ants. Fingers crossed they hadn’t made it into the bedroom. Sprayed the ones outside and a few inside, then went to bed.