17th October
17th October
Another keynote point…we are in the canal!!! But what an epic trip!!!
We left Pauillac to motor back to Bordeaux - this is a recommended half way halt and we had timed it to fit in with Peter returning to England. It was blowing force 5/6. Without a steadying mainsail it soon got quite unpleasant. Our neatly stowed mast began to wobble and there was a mad dash to tie on more and more lashings, but even so it just did not feel right in a short, choppy sea.
Fortunately, we flew back up the river on the flood tide. This time we planned to stay at Begles which is only accessible once the mast is down. We approached the first low bridge with pilot books all ready and open at the right pages…`go under the white painted arches’ they all said…but the paint was long since gone!! We turned the boat downstream to give us some thinking time. The flood tide was still running so hard that at 2000r.p.m. we could barely inch forward. Eventually we decided which arch was the least grey and uneasily went under it. The only problem was with two delightful characters who decided to throw stones and spit at us as we passed underneath.
Not long after tying up at Begles, the tide turned. The current and speed of this water has to be seen to be believed! The boat was constantly being pulled and pushed, despite numerous springs, as the tide surged and boiled for the next 7 hours!! We were up all night - it’s so noisy, uncomfortable and plain frightening!! Then, within an instant the tide turned and was even worse! Within 20 minutes the tide rose over 1 meter as small tidal bores flooded up the river. Apparently, these bores eventually merge and further upstream build to one bore of more than a meter.
We were glad to leave...if only we knew!!! Our instructions [from Pauillac] said to leave at 6a.m. So, in the dark we headed upstream. Within the first mile we hit fog!! It was so dense that we could see neither bank and had to totally rely on the gps. The tide was too fast to go back so we had no choice but to go on! Every now and then the tide would swirl us round and trees would seem to loom from every angle. We even managed to turn 180 degrees at one point - only the sudden lack of speed made us realise what we had done. The gps was good, but even it was confused from time to time, especially as we passed under power lines. It really was a nightmare. Paul was on the helm while I leapt from side to side watching for shadows of trees and barked instructions . Then with day break, it went! Just like that!!
So now we are in the Canal Lateral de la Garonne - we have passed through two locks and have moored in Castets en Dorthe. All is intact, it is blissfully peaceful and the winter of inland waters lies ahead.
Another keynote point…we are in the canal!!! But what an epic trip!!!
We left Pauillac to motor back to Bordeaux - this is a recommended half way halt and we had timed it to fit in with Peter returning to England. It was blowing force 5/6. Without a steadying mainsail it soon got quite unpleasant. Our neatly stowed mast began to wobble and there was a mad dash to tie on more and more lashings, but even so it just did not feel right in a short, choppy sea.
Fortunately, we flew back up the river on the flood tide. This time we planned to stay at Begles which is only accessible once the mast is down. We approached the first low bridge with pilot books all ready and open at the right pages…`go under the white painted arches’ they all said…but the paint was long since gone!! We turned the boat downstream to give us some thinking time. The flood tide was still running so hard that at 2000r.p.m. we could barely inch forward. Eventually we decided which arch was the least grey and uneasily went under it. The only problem was with two delightful characters who decided to throw stones and spit at us as we passed underneath.
Not long after tying up at Begles, the tide turned. The current and speed of this water has to be seen to be believed! The boat was constantly being pulled and pushed, despite numerous springs, as the tide surged and boiled for the next 7 hours!! We were up all night - it’s so noisy, uncomfortable and plain frightening!! Then, within an instant the tide turned and was even worse! Within 20 minutes the tide rose over 1 meter as small tidal bores flooded up the river. Apparently, these bores eventually merge and further upstream build to one bore of more than a meter.
We were glad to leave...if only we knew!!! Our instructions [from Pauillac] said to leave at 6a.m. So, in the dark we headed upstream. Within the first mile we hit fog!! It was so dense that we could see neither bank and had to totally rely on the gps. The tide was too fast to go back so we had no choice but to go on! Every now and then the tide would swirl us round and trees would seem to loom from every angle. We even managed to turn 180 degrees at one point - only the sudden lack of speed made us realise what we had done. The gps was good, but even it was confused from time to time, especially as we passed under power lines. It really was a nightmare. Paul was on the helm while I leapt from side to side watching for shadows of trees and barked instructions . Then with day break, it went! Just like that!!
So now we are in the Canal Lateral de la Garonne - we have passed through two locks and have moored in Castets en Dorthe. All is intact, it is blissfully peaceful and the winter of inland waters lies ahead.
posted by Sue at 6:23 AM
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