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These 4 days were a continuation of the days at the end of the last log.
In between the cold damp/wet weather, essential clean-up and tidying work was done, along with a bit of wandering around, and some "just sitting".
Visited on Wednesday by very old boating (now nonboating - sigh) friends. Apart from thoroughly enjoyable chats about past p4210008untidying_to_tidy_beaulon red res.jpg (149346 bytes)adventures - and lunch, they removed the several large items that I was moaning about last week. i.e. non wind tunnel fan, the bulky lanceless pressure washer, the fuel, the clothes spider, and several other bits and pieces.
Great relief - these sorts of things slowly gather and make permanent homes for themselves. The fan has sat on the end of the sofa/bed in the cabin for 3 years, and the place thankfully looks quite empty without it. The fuel has sat in a filthy bow locker for even longer.
Weather improving, but with it has come the demise of the mobile phone signal - probably unconnected - , resulting in internet work becoming a major frustration, as it "drops" the connection every 2 or 3 minutes. . One wonders if there is a break down, whether they just forgot to switch it on after last week-end, or there really is something wrong with my gadgetry.
As a matter of interest - internet connections. For the first years on the boat I used a simple mobile phone connection - straight down the mobile line at 6 bps, but 3 years ago I was shown how to do GPRS. With this scheme I pay only what I down and up-load, and it claims a speed of 115 bps, but reckon that is nonsense - about 56, same as a landline would be fairer.
At home, I use ordinary broad band, and in Australia, Thailand, and anywhere else I can get it I use wireless broadband. Regrettably haven't, so far, found any Wireless facilities on the canals!
Lovely run in cool but clear and occasionally sunny conditions.
Love this length of canal - everything looks like an old friend - even the L.K.s are mostly known to me now.
Lunch canalside just above - just above, or after Gannay.
Into Decize, and found our winter mooring "just" vacant. A large English steel cruiser had left me just 50' 6" between his stern and the wall for my 50'4".
Greeted all old friends, gossiped as is one's wont on these occasions, and tried to decide on what to do next.
Across to Intermarche for quick shop.
One problem of single handering, I find, is an inability to make clear decisions, and to stick to them. Thus, intention this year was to do big circuit - Decize, Moray sur Long, down Seine, turn right just before Paris up the Marne to Épinay and Condé, lateral to Vitry, Marne a la Saône over the top at Langres and down to St Symphorien, down the Saône to Fragnes, and up thep4240006_first_rape_nivernais.jpg (271759 bytes) Centre to Decize. BUT rather over 1000 kms, and there is a necessity for me to be back in England by 1 July for installation of a tin knee. At max 20 kms a day, the arithmetic was poor, and so put the idea on hold.
Decided to go - very slowly - up Nivernais, down Yonne, and back from Moray on "4 canals" to Decize.
After wittering around most of the morning, decided to get off up the Nivernais forthwith, stopping at the big supermarkets between the first 2 locks for fuel and stores.
River is only just open after floods, and got myself confused following a hire boat down. Thought he had probably been briefed, and when he turned hard right into town moorings, began to follow him, even though we crossed a line of red and white painted markers.
I can never remember which side is which without looking it up, so didn't, but reckoned that I knew the way well enough without that.
I Didn't.
Red and white are left to the right going down river - and having crossed the line they were now on my left.
Ouch.
Nipped quickly back, and fortunately did not cross a barbed wire fence line, or anything else, nasty - but singularly stupid, anyway.p4250007_bucolic_nivernais_red_res.jpg (131316 bytes)
Met old friend L.K. first met first trip here in 1999. He remembered - or at least he said he did - too. Seen him often and often since, of course.
Moored up on S.M. jetty, jerry cans ashore - and in for the sweat haul. Had already emptied all 4 cans into boat's tank, and now brought down a total of 6 more - 2 on a double run - more. Only just got the 2 in to the tank - slight bubble over at end so tank is now utterly full.
Also stored away 4 more full cans. Fear going down to Montchanin with lot of weed, and a bit fast, got through a lot of diesel - also at the end of last season I left topping up to be done at CBL pumps, and they charge very high, from 20 to 40 cents a litre more than the S.M. and I don't think we filled her right up.
Have said for a long time this jerrycan re-fuelling is for the birds, except in exceptional cases. This possibly was. Anyway, it is now done!
(Cost of diesel is now 1.20 something a litre. Remember filling up at StJ de L for 45 after our trip up the Doubs on our first year!.)
When finished with diesel, back up to S.M. for a few items of shopping.
Total operation took just under 3 hours.
Met L.K. as arranged and up to village of Champvert 1.5 kms up canal.
Moored up on simple grass village mooring - no facilities, but quiet and empty, and knocked off - knackered!
It got quite warm and spring like over the course of the day, although we started in gray overcast.
Cold night, but early morning sunny and misty.
Decided, after yesterday afternoon's efforts, to have an easy day.
Did.
Up to Cercy la Tour - 10 kms!
Sunny all the way, and through some of the most attractive Nivernais scenery - small fields, paddocks, now strongly green
Noticeable that spring is noticeably further on - with the green "haze" now closing in fast. Also noticed that the oil seed rape is now fluorescent yellow.
Kept passing spots we moored up over the years - quite weird.
This was a lovely run, and very glade able to do it on own at dead slow speed, stopping frequently in the middle of the canal to play with camera.
Moored up and knocked off at lunch time!
Being much hassled putting pictures into the site this year. The programme insists there should be no capital letters or gaps in any file names.
My camera labels photos with a capital P at the beginning of it's name and JPG at the end!
The programme is meant to change all capitals for lower case in the course of uploading.
It doesn't.
I now change them manually. - inaccurate. It won't let me just change the titles. insists on removal of old picture, and insertion of new. |
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