AVIGNON

After a very calm night and a scrumptious dinner we set out really early, hoping to avoid the predicted rain showers in the afternoon. How peaceful the marina seemed, the memory of the near disaster made even more poignant.

The boat roared along at 18 kmh (considering the current was running at 10kmh) and mostly the 78 km trip was pretty uneventful. The Locks were a breeze, even though I still feel queazy every time we approach one. The deepest lock in France, Bollene, was a pushover. The boat went down 23 metres in about 7 minutes and it felt amazing.

Ultimately the rain did come and so it was on with the complete wet weather gear, rain full in the face but thankfully, NO wind.

We made it to Avignon in record time to be met by old boating friends Sue and Richard.

Avignon was a lazy stay with a short walk into the city. It was May day and so everything but tourist restaurants were shut.

Still, we made the most of it by catching up with boat maintenance and a few delightful coffees and pastries in small avant guard cafes.

Approaching 'Utopia' a rather chic bistro.

 The river current at the quay was quite challenging but the boat remained rock steady until small speed boats went by. The massive waves created were more threatening than those from large cruisers.

VIVIERS

We had many good memories of this beautiful little town, but somehow the crazy Rhone wind got in the way with spectacular results.
We left Valence early to make it to Viviers by at least midday, but, as plans are never perfect we were confronted with the unexpected.

First of all the locks.

We arrived at one, only to be held up by a huge barge that had priority, then by another that was was carrying gas (this meant we could not tuck in behind it).




As usual David took advantage of the hour to clean the boat and to try to brush off the remaining effects of wintering under a tree.


The locks are amazing. The large automated ones work like clockwork and down you go.


Looking up is awe inspiring with a slimy ladder your only escape route.










Our boat behaves beautifully. We only need to make the slightest adjustments to our ropes to keep her in line.

Once out you feel the full force of the hydro scheme as it lets the rest of the water downstream.


An hour and 2 locks later  we arrived in sight of Viviers. Then the real fun started.





Feeling fairly tired, wet, stressed and brainless, I misread the map to enter the marina. CRUNCH, the poor boat ended up on a rock unable to move with me feeling stupid. After radioing the local Sauvers Pompiers (firemen) we waited for help.

To cut a three hour long story short we waited onshore while dozens of pompiers and gendarmes milled around like M. Hulot and travelled to and from the boat in a Rib. They had no solutions. We returned to the boat to find they had tied it off to a pylon in the river.
David used the winch, tensioned and tried to tilt the boat . Eventually the winds and waves did their work and VOILA we floated free and very thankful.

The night brought 130 kmh gale force winds.

In front of the capitainerie just behind the moorings.

The thought of spending a night like that in those conditions on the top of a rock in a raging river is beyond comprehension. Below is a weather map I found for Sunday afternoon when the wind was reasonably calm.  The red arrows mean in excess of 104 km/h. We are just below the lowest, middle red arrow.

We woke after a very stormy night happy to remain in Viviers another day. We also could not refuse the roast pork tea offered by Chris and Viv in the boat next door.

Our two boats safely moored.

VALENCE

Les Roches is no place to stay: no shops within 5km, no wifi, no mobile phone and in the small village, no people.

We decided to move on to Valence and face the Demon Rhone. This time I stood at the outside helm and rodeoed our way down.  We clung to the edges of the river where depth allowed and braved the heavy stuff when we couldn't.  Anne took the helm for a while then, when I took over, we hit a really rough patch. Spray lashed across the decks and stung me with its ferocity. I was drenched in a few minutes.  Anne sat in the gangway smiling.
Nevertheless we motored on and realised that this was no worse than a day at sea given that it felt a great deal easier to be in control from the outside helm.

Dressed for the antarctic?

70km and 3 locks later, we arrived at Valence

We made good time sometimes touching 18 kmh because of the current. When we arrived at Valence, we immediately met up with Roger whom we had met and travelled with last year. They own a Smelne Vlet, a wonderful, large and modern riverboat but with a style of a Dutch fishing trawler.  We also met up with Michael and Sue Townley whom we first met in Lyon.

Early next morning we headed off for Viviers, and THAT is another story!

LES ROCHES DE CONDRIEU

Ah, the romance of boating down the Rhone
Two days ago, life was bliss, floating in the lake at the confluence, wandering over to the shops and supermarket next door, taking the metro to far off tourist sites and then- we set off down the Rhone.

The wavelets just out of Lyon didn't perturb us at all, but further down, all hell broke loose; winds to 75 kmh, waves over a metre high and less than 3 metres apart.  We were using the internal helm and it was becoming more and more difficult. Lines fell overboard and dragged behind, the solid boom vang lashings started coming loose and anything that wasn't stowed securely just fell on the floor. We fixed everything and battled on as there was nowhere safe to tie up.

We finally arrived at Les Roches de Condrieu shaken and humbled by the enormous force of the weather.  We checked the weather at the capitainerie and it looked like the next day was identical.

Video of the Saone in Lyon

Our first effort - our videos will improve!!

LYON

After another early start we set out for the last stop on the Saone, Lyon. Our ecluse skills are quite professional now (it only took us a year to realise that one rope in the middle of the boat is the right way) and we arrived at the 'Confluence de Lyon' in about 4 hours.

We occasionally used the inside helm when the icy winds were challenging, but for most of the time, sat outside marvelling at the riverside scenery.

It was very easy to imagine living in one of the ancient farmhouses that dotted the river, spending your days fishing, visiting the local boulangerie and patisserie and just generally taking it easy.

We passed so many local anglers trying their luck all along the river. If only we could have taken a photo of the huge brown trout that jumped out in front of us. Maybe that explains why they're out in the freezing weather!


So far we've passed about 4 small boats a day. Things are very quiet, although the huge cruise ships regularly go whizzing past looking very empty.

As we entered the outer suburbs of Lyon the view from the river is spectacular.













Occasionally you pass BIG mansions with acres of manicured gardens and then there are the old run-down structures covered in vines and trees.

Either side of the river are streets and streets of old mansions, residences and govt buildings.

It feels like you are stepping back into the 18th century with the exception of the odd rowers going up and down beside you

Seeing a city from the river is so different than being in a car. It's so quiet and strangely majestic.

At last the blue sky

After passing under a dozen bridges we entered the marina at 'la Confluence fluviale' and settled in with ease. We were surprised to see the whole area was complete - restaurants, patisseries and more importantly, the gigantic confluence shopping mall - 3 stories high with everything from Zara to Maccas. Apparently it only opened recently.

 

The architecture surrounding the marina is avant-garde, stunning and incorporates some fairly egalitarian social policies with over 30% allocated to single parents, first home owners and the poor. Needless to say, the remaining 70% are fairly upmarket in price!

The marina is terrific, everything very modern and secure, with only a few ripples and wobbles when the 'Vaporetto', a 'popeye' shuttle boat, goes past.

Life is very easy here, restaurants 2 minutes away, the main metro/tram 5 minutes and lawns, ducks and children everywhere.

very early Sunday morning

The marina is slowly filling up with boats from Britain and France. We've made friends easily and each night enjoy visiting other boats for drinks or inviting friends to ours for dinner.

We revisited the old quarter for an afternoon. Dashing from one cafe to another to avoid the drizzling rain was annoying although it did have a positive side - more stops for crepes!

This time we shared a hazelnut one.














The French love their desserts.

Every street has a brilliant patisserie and boulangerie although the huge lumps of  meringue had us speechless!

We were lucky to be in Lyon on Sunday - market day!
As usual their were all sorts of clothing, fake jewellery and colourful, cheap scarves. Prices were similar to the Spanish markets from last year, though some food seemed fairly expensive. Meat, in particular, was similar to Australian prices, because it was from highly prized farm-gate sellers. Local boutique cheeses and salami are very tempting and so once again we filled the cupboards.

From this wonderful city it's on to Les Roches de Condrieu, a small town downstream.

Life is good!

We have a phone number!
 It's 0881218004 
Yes it is actually an Australian number because we have to be a resident of France to get a French number.
It's a Skype number so we can only answer if we are online.  
There is a message bank that will click in after 30 seconds. 
Give us a call and see if it works

MONTMERLE

After an early, freezing start we arrived in this, my favorite town on the Saone. No-one else was at the landing, which is quite a change from last year when you were lucky to find a spot to moor. 

 The local market was on in the town square and it felt good to be back in such a delightful place where the locals greet us with smiles and lots of ‘bonjour’.

Excellent coffee was had at the small bar in the main street while our clothes washed and dried in the local ‘Laverie’. Buying a small washing machine once again seems a good idea as one very small wash cost $8.

The sun has come out and hopefully the weather will begin to improve as we head down the river.

Tonight we have booked in to the local restaurant ‘Emil Job’ for my birthday. Perhaps our ‘boat’ clothes won't be frowned upon.

After a celebratory champagne on board Chris and Viv's boat (our new English friends) everything went beautifully.

A bavarois and creme brulee - just a visual taste of the wonderful night out. 

We ambled back to the boat with moon shining on the river and needless to say slept very soundly.

the park on the esplanade

 The whole experience left us  with the best memories of the little town.
 

MACON

We decided to stop at Macon even though the Capitaine at Chalon said the main marina was closed for repairs. We arrived at the small landing, right in front of the main town and it seemed like a good idea even though we knew there was no power or water. 

Macon turned out to be quite disappointing. The local council has gone to great ends to make the town exciting, but it appeared to be very empty and rather uninviting. Perhaps the warmer weather will bring out the crowds. 

We are now very aware of the strong current and need to keep our wits about us whenever we moor – it’s so easy to be pulled either out into the mainstream or forced against the pontoon. So far, no dramas.

 We survived a night with no power although all computers were flat and so resorting to reading and sodoku came in handy.

CHALON SUR SAONE

Chalon was everything we remembered it to be; picturesque, quaint and very welcoming.

After a chilly 5 degree night in the marina we decided to venture once again into the town with new doonas high on the shopping list.

There were a lot of general maintenance jobs to be done on the boat and so it was to and fro to the local briccolage, 'Castorama' to check out screws, hose fittings and other boy boat stuff.

The Carrefours complex nearby, is, as the English lady in a neighboring boat said;  "worth coming to France just to shop for food", and so, in addition to doonas, we stocked up on amazing patisserie, local cheeses, salami and fruit. We now have to promise to eat everything we bought!

Last year we realised that enjoying the privilege of using local services such as cheap internet and banking was fairly restricted for non EU visitors and so we set about outwitting the French bureaucracy.

We now have a French mastercard, a local internet account and an address in France. Don't ask how! This will enable us to buy diesel at marina fuel depots and use a cheque account locally. Hopefully it will also cut some of the transfer costs.

We'd be quite happy to return to Chalon for a longer stay sometime and even contemplate swapping houses with the locals. ( A delightful lady  at the 'Orange' store has offered her home when she visits Australia.)

There's something to be said about the French support for the arts, even in small towns. Perhaps this could be considered for the bridge over the Torrens?

Anne Lymn

annelymn7@gmail.com

ST JEAN DE LOSNE to CHALON SUR SAONE

Returning to SJDL was somewhat nostalgic. The boat was in the water ready to go.  It was filthy. 9 months of dirt, rain, snow, atumn leaves, slime and mould covered every square centimetre.  We started cleaning up, but the boat will not be clean for many weeks.
We walked aroud the village, remembering the houses, the river, the quietness.  We had tea at a little tapas bar. It was a great mixture of savouries. We finished off with icecream which included a scoop of Basil flavour; interesting. That night we stayed on a roomy river boat, a vedette.It had a shower and real toilet.
The next day was cleaning, shopping for food and paying bills.  At 6, we moved onto the Saone so that we could make a quick getaway in the morning. We left at 7:30 and in no time we were at the lock at Seurre. In fact, the entire journey took very little time at all. We were tied up at Chalon by 1:15; we were expecting the journey to take 8 hours, but motoring with the current and taking less than 15 minutes to complete each lock meant the we were well ahead of schedule. The only issue was the weather; constant drizzle and the outside temperature never rose above 8 degrees'
Now we are sitting in Maccas blogging; free wifi and free heat. The Port  de Plaisance is next to a major shopping precinct and so it's shopping tomorrow and touring on Tuesday.
Au revoir

Enfin nous sommes en France!!!

The trip here was long but mostly uneventful. An hour to Melbourne, an hour wait, 9 hours toHong Kong, 4 hours wait (instead of 2), and then 13 hours to Paris. The food was fair and the service great. The trip to Paris was a little rough.

After a taxi ride to the bank, we spent 1 1/4 hours filling in forms; ah, the French beauracracy. We then struggled with75kg of luggage the 500 metres to the Gare de Lyon. These little trials are true tests of the strength of marriage. We finally figured out which train and platform we were on more by accident than design and struggled even more to the 13th coach on a train half a kilometre long.

Now we are relaxed, ambling our way through the hindquarters of Paris heading for Dijon. Next year no luggage and no rush, I swear.

Transit of Venus

This is what sent Captain cook sailing around the world and eventually to lay claim to Australia for the Empire.

The next transit is on June 6 this year and will never happen again in your lifetime.  Time to bone up on your astronomy. http://www.transitofvenus.org/

The poem

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

Getting Ready 21March

Just three weeks to go and so much to do that the whole plan becomes confused and then nothing gets done:

• get boat insurance with Pantaenius updated
• contact Lyon capitainerie to arrange visit and possible mail delivery
• contact Chalon and arrange mooring
• Contact Navy Service and confirm the condition of the mast
• Organise repair of spreader
• Organise for modifications to wind generator
• Confirm that our luggage is within weight. Excess is $60 kg and luggage forwarding is $340 for the minimum weight of 20kg. Cathay allows 20kg plus 3kg over for stowed luggage plus 7kg carry on plus a laptop and bag. Of course we'll try to get our load up to that but we won't take everything we would like to.

The list goes on.

Even simple things become complicated. We want a printer to use on the boat. We have to find a model that works with an ipad and then try to figure out where to buy it along our journey.
Last year we decided that we would buy a washing machine to put in the boat; a Candy Aqua 100F. It weighs 45kg and will fit through companionway.

Why a washing machine? Why not. Austral 1 is our home away from home and the laundromats we tried are often a long walk away, expensive and take a half a day out of touring.
We can only use the washer when we are in port because of electricity, but that's what we were doing anyway. One day , we might get a 2000watt inverter and then we can wash whenever we like.