Day 10 - France to Belgium By Boat

Leaving St Jean de Losne it feels like a new adventure. It won't be long until we are traversing new waterways - new for us that is!


We spent three days at St Jean - as we left we took on 262 litres of diesel and topped up with water.


Okay, ready for day 8? Feeling refreshed and ready to go? Let's do it!

Moored on the bank at St Jean de Losne - most of the time we were in the main port (where all the work occurs) tied next to a lovely Australian barge called Highlander. A joyful evening was spent with Mary and Roger.

This was our second lock, turning right towards Auxonne. The blue tube you see hanging on the right is there to activate the lock. You turn it about 120 degrees. You can see the water emptying from the lock at the bottom of the closed doors. We hold station, many times there is a tie up while we wait, not here though.

While waiting for the lock, Noel sorts out our electricity cables. He's ready to line handle with his life jacket on.

Locking through. If you are wondering why Noel no longer has his life jacket on - well, so am I. He assures me this is a different lock and while they do not state a jacket should be worn here - it is a good idea.

Turning left into a new canal!

We have a handheld electronic activator for the automatic locks. Inside the locks you can also start them by lifting the blue pole. The red is for emergencies.

The tinge of autumn colour is starting to take hold.

Another humble abode added to my wish list - I'd turn the barn into stables....

Here's where we moored (red circle). We'd been given wonderful notes on good moorings from our buddies on the barge Muriel - Georgie and John. We're at PK215. Having done 42 kilometres and traversed just seven locks.

We're making great progress - Belgium is getting nearer!

Thanks to Eureauweb for allowing me to post photos of their map software - connected to the laptop is a small GPS, which makes tracking our position easy.