August 1, 2023 – Tuesday – Santenay to Chagny
Shortest day yet! No écluses and only 5km. We were headed Chagny yesterday when we decided to stay the night in Satenay. Rain was due to start at 10h00 this morning so we departed at 09h30, had a bit of drizzle but were tied up by 10h20 or so. A bit of drizzle while underway. A couple gentlemen from a Le Boat came and grabbed our lines as it was pretty windy when we arrived in Chagny. Turns out everyone from their boat was from the US and many of them, if not all, were sailors. Nice chat on the dock before they headed to the train to go to Beune.
The rain came in. We hunkered down and put buckets under the new solar fans we had installed back in Migennes. So bummed!! Guess we know what we'll be doing when the rain stops
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| Joan and Marilyn at Charbonnaud Rum & Wine for a tasting |
Malcolm, Marilyn (the South African couple we met yesterday) and we rode a few km down the bike trail to Charbonnaud Rum & Wine de Bourgogne for a tasting. Malcolm and Marilyn had been there last time they passed through but it wasn’t open. It was closd again, when we arrived, looks like you need to call if no one is there. Lucky for us someone had done that! A family from the Netherlands had made the call and were also waiting. The young man hosting the tasting was able to present in English. Merci!! He did a bang-up job! We bought two reds and two whites, we’ll have a red with dinner on Jameela tonight. Malcolm and Marilyn are making oxtail stew! A new dish for us. J
August 2, 2023 – Wednesday – Chagny
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| On the way for morning croissants Older mansion in Chagny |
Some boats left, some came in, but not full tonight. This is the fullest harbor we’ve had yet this year.
August 3, 2023 – Thursday – Chagny
Still really windy – gusts to 39! It was a rocky, rolly night last night. No boat to port blocking the wind so we really felt it.
Sue came over around 10 after an appointment and we have a lovely visit for a couple of hours. She’s an English expat, that we had met last year, and has been living in Burgundy for something like 20 years and has led a very interesting life – still does! She runs a Facebook group English Expats Living in Burgandy and we got to hear how she handles all that, including those who aren’t so nice. She used to run a company for food and wine tours in Burgundy, had worked on hotel barges.
Still really windy, so we decided to stay another night. Invited Malcolm and Marilyn over for dinner so had to go for groceries. Too windy, with rain on/off so we had to eat inside. Kicked us into cleaning the boat a bit more. J I made Herbes de Provance Chicken, pasta and sautéed carrots. Not bad, but not as good as it could have been. We had another enjoyable evening swapping stories, pictures and laughing.
August 4, 2023 – Friday -Chagny to Fragnes
Yesterday we had scheduled with VNF to arrive at our first écluse at 09h00 this morning. It was pouring!! Around 08h45 we checked with Malcolm about holding off until 13h00, when the rain should be done and the écluse opens following lunch. Being automatic, they don’t really shut for lunch, but if you encounter a problem, you won’t get help until after the lunch hour. Caught the éclusier at 08h50 and he said no problem bumping departure to 13h00. So, a morning to read and get caught up on the journal. 10h15 and the rain has stopped. For now.
Quite a run today! Several écluses were 20' deep, or more. Rain stayed away. Wind, not so much. Much stronger than predicted, but manageable. The écluses were a challenge. We encountered a number of them not ready for us, even when another boat had just come up. They seemed to be defaulting to empty and downhill gates open. Luckily Malcolm had gotten the éclusiers phone number because we had to call him a few times. Jameela had the most challenges – they draw more water than us so they actually went aground a couple time tied to the side waiting for the locks. The water would go down enough to fill the lock and they’d hit bottom. One time, we got off the side and into the écluse, they couldn’t get off. I ran back to help push, then a young woman biking by stopped and helped as well. Rocking the boat eventually got them off, but they may have dinged their prop on underground rocks – it didn’t sound good. L
Getting to Fragnes around 5:30pm we were hoping there’d be room. Turns out there was plenty. Tied up and had a happy hour on Jameela that lasted until 9pm. Back on Juniper we had a quick dinner and hit the sack.
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