Underway, At Last

Tuesday morning started out with a strong wind and rain as we said our goodbyes and got ready to head up the Canal de Bourgogne. Our first destination is Dijon, capital of the Burgundy region, two days away.

Joan opening an ecluse gate our first day.

At ecluse 75 we meet our eclusier (lock keeper) for the day. Very business like and kept his distance from us as we started through the 20 ecluse between St Jean de Losne and the city of Dijon. By the time we reached the end of the day he was joking with us and even offered to watch the boat so we could go shopping at a small town he enjoyed. Once through the first ecluse we hit our stride. Motor in, tie up starboard side to (there are three bollards on that side and only two on the other). As we enter the chamber Joan lassoes the first bollard with the stern line while I am slowing Juniper. We drift slowly ahead and I walk forward to lasso the #2 bollard while Joan brings us to a complete stop with the stern line. As the chamber fills Joan steps ashore with her line as our deck becomes even with the top of the ecluse to be ready to assist our eclusier open the gates when the ecluse is full.  The locks on the Canal de Bourgonge are amongst the last of the manually operated ecluse in the French canal system. Each door has a lever-arm that is used to allow a person to easily open or close the gate.

Our first night's moorage - along the towpath at ecluse 62

The proud creator of the museum

Time ran out before we made it to Dijon so we tied above ecluse 62 which has an eclusier that has created a museum covering everything from the canals, to military aircraft, currency of the world to pop culture. We enjoyed a delightful tour through his pride and joy before fixing a tasty dinner and enjoying a bottle of wine before settling in for the night.

Part of the museum in the basement of the eclusier's house at ecluse 62

Wednesday was a cold morning and not being plugged in to shore power we had to use our heating system sparingly. When 0900 rolled around we were on the water and waiting at ecluse 61 to meet our eclusier for the day. For the second day in a row we had someone who spoke good English and enjoyed sharing information with us. We were back in stride and making good time till our engine decided not to engage the transmission to the propeller. Our last three ecluse were a bit worrisome as we had no idea if we would get power in forward gear. All worked out fine and we secured at the Dijon marina before noon. Now we have two days to sightsee and hopefully get the transmission issue corrected.