Wednesday13th June 2018 Montargis to Cepoy 5.82kms 3 locks.

Following a cruiser into lock 36 Buges

12.9ºC Grey overcast, brighter later, much cooler. Set off at 10am as we weren’t going very far. We hadn’t been going very long when we were overtaken by British cruiser, so Mike increased speed to follow it to 35 Langlée where we shared the lock. The lock was automatic, but not fully, so it was worked for us by a lock keeper using a large yellow hand-held control box. Mike told the cruiser’s skipper that we’d heard yesterday that the Seine was a flood and the navigation was closed. We must have passed him yesterday as he said he’d been moored in Montargis and he was on his way to Nemours. Mike asked the keeper if he knew about the floods,

The abandoned canal d'Orléans from lk 36

he didn’t and suggested that we ring the control centre. (Looked online at Vigicrues website and found that there were no floods on the Seine or the Marne, that's a relief!). 400m to the next lock, 36 Buges. A small Dutch sailing boat came up in the automatic lock, then we followed the cruiser round a sharp right hand bend into the chamber, off to our left was the start of the canal d’Orléans which is closed. Told the skipper to carry on and not to wait for us at the next lock as it was 2.2kms away. We slowed down to our usual 5 – 6kph. Took a photo of the house on the unusual angled quay where the canal changed to the Canal du Loing. The cruiser was going down in lock 1 Cépoy,

House on the angled quay

the first lock on the Canal du Loing, when we arrived. The aerials for activating the system are on the lockside cabins, Mike zapped and the lock refilled after the cruiser had cleared the lock. Down 1.8m slowly. The moorings in the small town of Cépoy were filled with live-aboards and dead boats. We moored next to the cycle path (also used frequently by cars) just beyond the last moored boat, knocking four pins in to tie to as there were no bollards and the passing traffic rarely slows down for moored craft. It was 11.50am. We had only just tied up when a VNF van went past, waving. Lunch. Mike looked to see where he could park the car. The area had been "improved" so there were new barriers and no parking signs, so he decided to leave the car at Chatillon another day and he’d

Moored by the towpath at Cepoy

probably move it on to Nemours tomorrow.