Dole
Seascapes Travel Log
Michael Grew
Mon 30 May 2011 14:38
Abergement-la-Rance 26.05.2011
Awoke to bright sunshine but there were heavy thundery looking clouds on the horizon. Agh well we might as well risk it so a quick breakfast and then we saw off Ann and George in Ygraine. By the time we had cleared the breakfast things away the sky had turned black and it started to rain. Hey ho get the reading books out again and wait until all blows over. By 11.30hrs the sky had cleared again so we slipped our moorings and motored out into the River Saone. At 12:30hrs we arrived at the entrance lock on to the Canal du Rhone and Rhin. There we were greeted by a very grumpy Eclusier who gave us a handheld electronic device and instructed as to how to use it to open the locks. This is the new thing the VNF have introduced so that they do not have to employ so many Eclusiers. Now itâs a DIY system. The Eclusier was at great pains to remind me that he was now late for his lunch and that locks are closed between 12:30 and 14:00hrs. This guy was well over 6â00â tall and built like a rugby prop forward. So I apologised profusely and hurriedly left.(coward). This canal is very narrow and shallow (only 1.5 metres deep in the centre). We chugged carefully up to the town quay at Abergement-la-Rance arriving at 14:00hrs in pouring rain. It was a very basic quay with spaces for just three boats, no water or electricity hook up points. We had a late lunch and by the time we had cleared away the sun was back out again. We went for a walk round the town and were very disappointed, all the houses are new and similar in design as though built by one builder at a low budget. It was very clean and tidy but appeared to have no character, even the church looked new and uninteresting. What was very strange was that there was what looked like the remains of the bed of a train track running alongside the canal. Back on the boat that evening it started raining again so we turned in early. That turned out to be a waste of time since the church bell sounded the hour twice every hour all through the night and we both had a disturbed night listening to it.
Dole 28:05:2011 47:05:51N 05:29:82E
We slipped the mooring at 09:30hrs and pottered down to the first lock of the day. The electronic gizmo worked a treat and Open Sesame the lock emptied and the gates opened and in we went. What a shock we got when it filled up the water level was over the top of the lock sides and I found the boatâs bow was over the top of a bollard. A moment of panic and then I managed to get the boat straight and out of the lock without any serious mishap (phew!) We then went past a really huge chemical plant, it ran alongside the canal for 1-2kilometres and had hundreds of huge storage tanks. The handbook advises that if the warning siren goes of whilst you are passing by, to close all doors and windows and increase your speed and do not stop for any reason whatsoever. This looked to be a new installation and couple that to the new town, it looks like the houses were purpose built for the employees. There were lots of chemical hazard notices on all the tanks. (Hazchem 63-2023, must look up what the chemical is) Four locks later we stopped at a small quay outside the village of Choisey, had lunch and a quick walk round before continuing on towards the city of Dole. We touched bottom a few times as we approached the cityâs lock but nothing serious. It is supposed to be 1.5metres deep but clearly isnât. After a lot messing about outside the lock the gates finally opened to let us in. That was at 14:30hrs. Once inside we operated the mechanism that starts the sequence, but nothing happened. The gates would not shut. Maureen reluctantly climbed up the muddy ladder, off the boat and rang the VNF help line number. A long wait in the hot sun and then the gates behind us shut. Then nothing, the sluice doors remained closed and we were well and truly stuck. Maureen went back up the ladder and rang the help line again. They promised someone would come and sort the problem. 15:05hrs a young women turned up in a VNF van, ignored us completely, went into the hut and opened the sluices fully. The boat was caught in a huge maelstrom of white water and was dancing about all over the lock with us both hanging on to the mooring ropes for grim death. When the lock was full this women turned and crossly told us it was our own fault, we entered too quickly. Fortunately I was unable to understand what she was saying (and Maureen told me to be quiet and not make a fuss) otherwise I might seriously have dented Anglo-French relationships. We then entered the walled city of Dole. Wonderful. We moored up right beneath the beautiful old cathedral. Having booked ourselves in for 6 nights with the lady Capitainerie, we then went for a walk around the very busy bustling city. We stayed in the city and had a lovely meal of crepes in one of the small back streets near the cathedral. I think we will enjoy our time here. Spent the evening reading and playing cards.
Dole. 29.05.2011. 47:05:51N 05:29:82E
After breakfast walked up into the town, had a good old mooch round, finished up at the railway station and picked up train time table for Bescancon. Then walked back to the boat for lunch. I decided that it would be much more convenient to have the boat moored stern-to, as opposed to bow-on. So we warped it round (pulled it round using just the ropes) so that it was stern âto. As we were doing that a privately owned cruiser arrived and I took his ropes. The boat was displaying a British blue ensign (signifying the owner was ex Royal Navy). On our walk round Maureen spotted that a Russian male voice choir was giving a concert in the Cathedral (and it was free) at 18:30 hrs. Being neighbourly I mentioned this to the couple in the cruiser, so we arranged to meet them outside the entrance. They introduced themselves as Peter and Margaret. All four of us enjoyed the concert and as arrived back at the boats, They invited us on board for drinks. Drinks turned out to be two bottles of wine and we ordered pizzas from the boat opposite. Very good, a young lad brought them across to us, via the foot bridge, on a moped. A good evening.
Dole. 30.05.2011. 47:05:51N 05:29:82E
Awoke to a bright but windy day. After breakfast we got the bikes off the aft deck and went for a cycle ride. Going up the canal towpath to Audelange it was very easy going with the strong wind on our backs. We stopped off briefly at a Rochefort sur Nenon to look at the church with a patterned tile roof (like they have in the town of Beaune). Then on, passing some very high cliffs. When the cliffs petered out at Audelange we went passed a lot of very nice, upmarket summer houses along the side of the tow path each one having itâs own private mooring staithe. We turned round after that and went back to Rochefort to see if we could get a viewpoint from the cliff top. I found a back street that led up to a purpose built concrete platform right on the edge of the cliff. From there we had a spectacular view of the river valley and the canal. Maureen mentioned that she had noticed a chap working in a large woodwork shop. On the way back down we stopped and I was interested to see that a lot of the machinery was very agricultural, almost Heath Robinson (if you are old enough to remember his inventions). While I was being nosy (yes I know, no change there then) a elderly chap (about our age plus a little bit) came and spoke to us and showed us round. Starting off pointing out a huge family of House Martins that had built nests on the workshop beams each with several little heads poking out, demanding to be fed. The adults were continuing to zoom in and out, trying to satisfy the youngsters. Because we were showing an interest in what he was showing us and Maureen was speaking French to him, he showed us all round, into the old cellars where he had a wine store and made his own beer (and probably a bit of distilling as well). Then he invited us into his kitchen for a cold beer. What a lovely chap. He had been living in the same house for over 70 years. He was there when the Germans took over the village. When we asked what his name was he pointed to his postbox on the wall outside which had the legend:- âAndre Fouquetâ âSolitaryâ âCelibateâ, âSedentaryâ. He was a real character. The ride back along the tow path was very hard going with the wind in our faces. (it didnât help the Hay fever either). When we got back to boat our eyes were streaming and we kept sneezing). We found a post card had been left by Margaret and Peter thanking us for our company. They had decided to move on. (probably to avoid another night of binge drinking)