Wednesday 27th June 2018 Courcelles to Damery

Sloping sided lock, tied to a pontoon
lock 3 Vanieres

10.2ºC Sunny hot and breezy. We set off at 9.30am 12.75kms to the first lock. I left the reflectors in the cabin windows on the sunny side as it promised to be very hot again. The river wandered gently, no more big sweeping bends, just little ones, so we were travelling generally in an easterly direction. Vines covered the hillsides up to the tree line. Two fishermen were paddling around in Dormans, one in a little boat, the other in an inflatable fisherman’s chair. There was a DB, a tjalk, moored next to a stone wall and a cruiser on the pontoon. A ski zone started as we left the town and they had built a ski jump in the river. The vines came right down to the edge of the towpath. A

Below lock 3 Vanieres

large fish jumped out – after flies. There were caravans on the right, a gypsy encampment, polite kids waved and shouted bon voyage as we passed. Several cyclists went past on the towpath and there were more fishermen out than of late. The view opened up on our right with wooded hills and cornfields. A short wait while lock 3 Vanieres emptied then we went in and tied to the floating pontoon in the old sloping-sided lock. The rod to lift was also on the pontoon. Mike took photos from the bridge above the lock as we rose 1.7m. Beyond the lock the VNF were putting dead trees through a shredder which was spitting the

Shredding trees above lock 3

resultant sawdust into a lorry container – why not by boat! On upriver at midday, 9.5kms to the next lock. Past the statue on the hillside in Châtillon-sur-Marne of Urbaine II (Pope from 1088 to 1099). The statue was erected in 1887 as his name was Eudes de Châtillon. He was the Pope that instigated the first crusade to Palestine. On the other side of the river was a fine church at Mareuil-le-Port. Into Port-à-Binson, passing to the right of an island where a houseboat was

Pope Urbain II at Chatillon

moored with a cruiser alongside it. On the right there was an empty pontoon (no facilities) and another ski zone as we left the town with several moored power boats. Caravans were parked at the top of the bank and a few campervans. Under a road bridge past a silo. An empty péniche, called T’chiki-Boum went past heading downriver just before the next lock at Venteuil KP9, hooray commercial traffic at last! Strange lock 2 Damery was full and we had a short wait while it emptied, must have been set to refill to be ready for any

Empty peniche Tchiki-Boum

downstream traffic. Another sloping sided chamber with a floating pontoon to attach to. Lifted the blue rod and we rose a further 2.1m. A short canal section of 1.5kms, then we were back on the river. The VNF péniche Heracles was moored in the weirstream.  On into Damery and moored on the pontoon at 2.15pm. Just enough room for us behind a cruiser called Dolfyn (French-flagged) which had moored by us in Charly. Had to move one of the cleats to tie to. A

Damery

large group of young teenage girls arrived after we’d moored and started jumping in the river off the pontoon between our bows and the stern of the cruiser. It’s school half day Wednesday. They were noisy, screeching and running up and down the pontoon. With any luck they‘ll go home at 6pm like the fishermen. I got on with the log, etc and Mike played trains. Absolutely nothing on TV but rubbish and terrestrial French TV didn’t work (as it has done since we started trying it coming up the Marne)  The imitation Mississippi paddle

Moored on the pontoon at Damery

boat (a trip boat) from Cumières went past with the running commentary going, it must turn round  a bit further downriver as it was back not long after. Hotel boat Pivoine winded and moored behind us just off the pontoon. It had quite a list to starboard which made us think it was aground on rocks (Explanation tomorrow).