Biesheim to Strasbourg, 4 ship locks – 1 city lock - – 69km                                                  

The windscreen wipers worked! But we broke the broom handle!

From the Grand canal d Alsace we entered the Rhine

We awoke in Biesheim yacht marina on the Grand canal de Alsace to cloudy sky and the first forecast day of rain on the whole trip from Palma in the Mediterranean. We had forgotten that it rained! It was Sunday and the next hop was only four locks so a lie in seemed appropriate, we left by ten, took a turn in the basin and got a great photo of the Capitanery building in its curved elegance at the head of the small yacht marina.

Back out onto the Grand Canal d Alsace. Showing as much as eight meters under the boat, more than a hundred meters wide, we ran the MAN engines at nine thousand revs for ten knots of boat speed and Ray the Autopilot steered a steady line in the river that would rename to the Rhine at Strasbourg. We had four locks set for this leg to Strasbourg. Side by side double locks, a ship size lock one side, a small lock the other, don’t take breath, the small lock was huge, a dozen meters wide and over 180 meters long. That’s double our width plus some and nine times the length of our boat. That’s parking a car in a football pitch by lock standards.

The first of the mighty locks was Marckolsheim, its all downhill, 14.5 m downhill here. Each lock on its own VHF radio channel, we call and wait, commercial barges getting priority. We tied into a giant steel floating cleat, very similar to the Rhone. All these locks have hydroelectric dams and appear to be run by EDF. EDF logos on the towers. Rhianu lock follows, two barges passed coming the opposite way in this reach, the commercial traffic was a steady stream for Sunday.

From Rhianu we had the shock of our lives as the damp grey sky turned proper rain, this was the first real rain of the whole trip, we will still in Med spec, top sun covers, all the sides of the canopy stored away. Life was getting damp. Time for change, we got the side quarters out and fastened them in. Stretched them as far as we could to get them to fit. One part of the boat deal from Sunseeker was as this boat had been in the Med, Sunseeker would put new canvas canopies on the boat back in the UK. We stretched and heaved the blue sun scorched old canopy over every popper and stood we could. As it got wet the stretch helped and the sides made a waterproof job. We left the upper zippers free and that gave us a half inch spare to get the tent like shape in good form. Next job in the rain, we mixed a bucket of cleaning fluid with river water, dowsed it over the decks and scrubbed with the broom handled stiff brush, getting over excited with the shampoo and rain rinse we broke the broom handle!

Next lock was Gerstheim, almost straight in without waiting, starboard side for the small lock. Joy of joy but the rain was building. From Gerstheim the rain was proper, life was getting very damp, lets go wild. We zipped in the front screen, halfway across, fitted well and life became dry for all but the helm steering position. From the lock and hydro station here, three runs of parallel electricity pylons crossed the Alsace, giant silver golf balls hung on the cables, it was quiet a sight of cable and pylon in the grey rain swept sky above us.

Approaching Strasbourg lock we changed sides of the dam to enter the small lock on the port left side. We were asked to hold outside. Far end of the lock lies the falling gate and it was up, something was still going in. these mighty gates move vertically, the entry gate, on our side, upstream is a conventional swing gate. Twenty minutes later a huge tourist barge, you may say a small ship rose up above the gate as the water flooded the lock. Wow, silver grey and a perfect matching photo for boat coats.

We followed in and had formally arrived Strasbourg, port of Kehl, the commercial strings of docks, barge traffic parked on every wall. Three central bridges, footbridge, railway bridge and road bridge. No sign of the city of Strasbourg, this was commercial land. This was also known formal named the Rhine. Five kilometres to a blue bridge. The distance marker PK 295 showed us the entry to the Remparts Basin, we could not see an entry, then a giant commercial barge emerged from a gap in a small tree line. Wow toothpaste and tube as this giant black aggregate loader barge moved gently out into the mainstream of the Rhine. Port left turn, all about and we were in the basin. A string of commercial port lines, we made a short right hop into the north basin, VHF ten and called entry request to the inner-city lock. Four thirty please. Came the reply from the central lock keeper. This was a far cry from the mighty commercial locks of the Alsace and Rhine. This was Thames style Teddington country, we felt at home to slip in too the small city canal lock, a most unusual side moving gate dragged across on an upper cable and pulley.

One more blue bridge, hard left port side, a small canal line, the sides overrun with commercial barges turned live aboard boats, everyone clinging to the side of the canal as homes for the City. Pontoons ahead and a small basin, we were welcome to Europe trading Marina, pontoon C. A small river boat pulled in ahead of us and took the magic space we were heading for. The capitanary came running out, ‘that’s reserved’ he moved the river boat across to a smaller space. For the first time in a long while we had twenty meters of pontoon to tie alongside. Wow, a home within twenty minutes’ walk of the old town area of Strasbourg. We had almost forgotten the rain, we sat down to realise just how wet we had become, half a day in the boat togs, thick coats over shorts, but a half day later it was certainly chilly, life back in the real world of Derbyshire weather. Time to string up some straps, form washing lines and hang the damp kit.

Strasbourg city lock

Strasbourg city marina 48:34.42N 07:46.53W