Sunday 14th September 2014 abv Houx to Givet FRANCE. 27.7kms 5 locks

Spot the Brent geese!

9.1°C Grey, overcast and chilly. Misty start. Boats coming downriver arrived at 10.20 am so we got ready and left ten minutes later. No signs of life on the big cruiser. Four cruisers and two DBs went down Houx lock, followed by two more cruisers and two DBs, one of which was Iron Lady from London, who went past us heading downriver as we went past the Ile d’Al Galette. The campsite downriver of Dinant seemed full of tents and caravans. Lady Night with its attached DB (came up Houx yesterday) was now moored on

Wavy rock strata

the weir side of the lock approach wall at Dinant. Two more DBs, Anthonie and Vrijheid, both Dutch flagged, came down the lock and we went up. Couldn’t see any signs of the work they’d been doing the past couple of days on the lock and no signs of a keeper up in his high cabin. We rose 1.8m. Three loaded péniches were moored on the lock guide wall on the left above the lock, Ch’ti, VD and Euro. A 67m long former commercial had been turned into a houseboat and was moored on the right as we

Loaded peniches waiting above Dinant lock

went into the town. At Mike’s suggestion, I took the laptop out on the stern and connected to the Internet to try chatting with Yvonne on Skype, expecting to get 3G as we went through the town, but we only got EDGE, ie 2G. We spoke briefly before the connection dropped out, it reconnected several times but we weren’t able to have a conversation as it was too noisy – and there was a constant stream of motorbikes going past on the road on our right. I transferred to the bows and it was just as bad, so we

Climbers on Freyr rocks

called it a day and I said we’d e-mail as soon as we get set up in France. DBs Aurigny and Cinclus plus a couple of cruisers were moored in town by the Casino. 3.8kms to the next lock at Anseremme, which was ready for us. Up another 2.23m. On the left bank the cruising club moorings stretched out some distance through the town of Anseremme. A longer reach of 7.2kms to the next lock. A small open speedboat went past heading downriver at a very sedate speed. The air started

Climbers on Freyr rocks

feeling damp, not quite raining. As we came up to the Château de Freyr with its amazing gardens, there were literally hundreds of Canada geese on the bank and swimming in the river – with them were two Brent geese. Opposite the Château are the rochers de Freyr and today the climbers were out in force. We took loads of photos, pity the sun wasn’t out. A trip boat from Dinant, Le Sax, overtook us by the Hastière Boat Club moorings. It was milling about below Waulsort lock, presumably we’d caught up

Climbers on Freyr rocks

with other uphill traffic and it was having to wait for the lock to empty. We followed it into the lock, it took the right hand wall (we went on the left as it didn’t leave enough room behind it for us) and it sat with one fore end line on and its prop turning, which caused a swirling of the water that kept our stern end well off the wall. Mike shouted across to the keeper (who was leaning out of his cabin window) to ask the skipper of the trip boat to stop his prop turning. He did, and the steerer came down to the stern and added a rope then

Tripper Le Sax

stopped his prop turning. Up another 2.23m. The lock keeper indicated that we should go out first as the tripper would wind above and come back down the lock. OK. We wondered why he bothered coming up the lock if he was going to turn round right above it. Almost 5kms to the next. Above the lock they’d converted an old mill building into houses and now 28 new “lofts” and 4 houses were up for sale. Passing motorbikes on the right were very noisy, on a Sunday outing no doubt. Up Hastière, deeper at 2.9m, with

Lofts for sale

again no signs of a keeper in the cabin up on high. Passing another long wooded island, Ile de Androssart, we could hear radio traffic of downhill boats calling the French lock Quattre Cheminées and them replying that they were waiting for a “yacht” to come uphill – that must be us! Over the border into France, noting that the supermarket and diesel pumps (where we used to stock up when red diesel was allowed) of M. Léonard had now gone completely. A young man and a young lady came out on the lockside at Quattre Cheminées

Port of Givet

and passed a hook down for our rope, the lock is 2.7m deep and we rose slowly. When the lock was almost full I went to the office with our newly printed vignette and spoke to the young man who was now at his computer. He checked, yes we normally have a full year’s licence, no, only a month this time. He gave me a wallet for the licence and a couple of maps plus a zapper for the locks. I asked if he had any small VNF flags. No, they give them out at the beginning of the year and they’d all gone now. Never mind, I told him we would probably be back in April to dry dock in Belgium and we’d get one then. On the cana

Piles of scrap Givet Port

l section above the lock there were two boats waiting, a DB called Fregate from Antwerp and a Belgian cruiser called Henrijk. Givet had added a new length of concrete quay to their expanding commercial port. The only boat moored there was an empty called Tatiana (86m x 10m 1826T) waiting to load by the piles of coal, pig iron and scrap metal. At the end of the long lock cut there were new flood gates that were wide enough for Tatiana! On into town. The pontoons were in use, a few cruisers were tied up there and more by the

Flood gates at the end of the lock cut above Givet Port 

bridge on the section marked Port de Plaisance. We carried on to the upstream end of the long, and otherwise empty, commercial quay and winded to moor at the far end, our usual spot. It was 4.25 pm. Straight away people stopped to ask Mike the usual questions as he was tying the fore end lines round the lower timber baulks (youths here have been known to lift ropes off bollards, not nice on a flowing river just above a weir). He went to the tourist information office (open on a Sunday!) and asked where there was a bakery that would

Moored in Givet

be open tomorrow (French bakeries are often shut on Mondays) he came back with a town plan with three dots marked right by the quay. Later he went to look for the boulangeries – surprise, surprise, no signs of any bakeries, but he found a Carrefour City and that will have bread. We went out for a short drive in the car around 9.30 pm, back for 10.30 pm just for tootle up and down a few hills as it’s nice to be out of the flatlands.

Saturday 13th September 2014 Anhée to abv Houx. 1.05kms 1 lock

Moored above the lock at Houx

10.5°C Grey and overcast until mid-afternoon. We set off at 9.15 am after Mike had called the lock keeper at Houx, which was just around the corner. Winded and continued upriver, passing the long wooded island in the river leading up to the lock. When the lock was full, another 2m lift, the keeper leaned out of his cabin window and said that the next lock, Dinant, was still “en panne” after the repair gang had been working on it all night. I asked what had happed and he said the gate was broken. Could we

Moored above the lock at Houx

stay on his waiting quay, yes, no problem. The big Dutch cruiser Marinus was moored at the lock end of the concrete lock approach wall. We moored in front of it, dodging the goose crap to tie up. The keeper had told us there was an Intermarché supermarket about ten minutes’ walk away, so Mike went to get some fresh bread. He said there was a big notice on the lock cabin forbidding the feeding of foreign birds such as Canada geese and Egyptian geese which are alien to Belgium and are

Commercial towing a Dutch Barge alongside in Houx lock

taking over to the detriment of the indigenous wild life. The Dutch cruiser set off upriver, so we moved the boat back down the quay to the corner as there was a shadow of one of the tall lamp posts cast across the solar panel. I finished the chores and tried the Internet - it was blue, we got 3G. I got up to date with the blog. Lunch. An empty 67m boat called Lady Night came up the lock towing a DB tjalk, with no name on it, strapped on its port side. A small Swedish yacht was behind it. They went on upriver. Around 3 pm the big cruiser came back (probably

Lady Night towing a Dutch Barge alongside 

nowhere to moor up by Dinant lock). It moored behind us on the angled bit of the quay. Not long after the skipper went off on his bike, he was back again ten minutes later. They moved the boat again, in front of us this time. 

Friday 12th September 2014 Namur to Anhée. 21.1kms 4 locks

Flood markers (brass plates) on La Plante lock cabin

8.1°C Foggy first thing, sun out around 9.45am. While we were waiting for the mist to clear Mike went online and bought a month’s vignette online from VNF to start tomorrow, but had problems with the e-mail they sent that was supposed to have an attachment with a PDF file to download and print the vignette, there was no attachment so he tried e-mailing to request one. It came back with a change to the e-mail address he’d sent it to, so he sent it again. We’ll have to see later if it has sent one later. We set off at 10.10am, winded

First of the Meuse rocky cliffs

and headed upriver to La Plante lock, which was ready with gates open and green lights. I threaded our centre rope through a recessed vertical bar in the wall (new ones set just above the water line) and we rose about 1.5m. Mike did rope duty while I made a cuppa. Once we’d past the Ile Va t’y Frotte the river became wider and very deep (5m) with houses on both banks as we wound through Jambes and Wépion, with forested hills

View back downriver of Wepion

beyond. There were some modern blocks of flats among smart houses and small chateaux. The rock cliffs started on the left and I took some photos of the views back downriver towards Wépion as we reached the Ile de Dave. Mike called the next lock (so he thought) the keeper replied to say that he was waiting for a loaded boat to come down then we could go up. When we arrived at Tailfer the lock was empty with gates open and green lights. Hmm. Maybe we heard him wrong (we thought we’d spoken to Tailfer lock and

Marga loading near Lustin

had a reply from him) so we waited thinking there must be something coming upriver. Nothing appeared so after about half an hour we went into the lock. The keeper called us forward as two more boats were coming, a hotel boat called Hippoptamo and the big Dutch cruiser, called Marinus, that was behind us on the quay in Namur overnight. The lock filled gently rising another 2.22m; we’d put fore and aft ropes on as we were about 4m from the top end gates and these river locks fill with gate paddles. It was 12.10 pm when

Quarry near Lustin

the gates opened; we went out first but the other two overtook and were soon out of sight. Then we saw a loaded boat coming downstream, Aly-son (67m 8.20m 610T) plus Mike had spotted that the VNF channel number for Tailfer had been 18 and we’d got 22 in our book and realised we’d called 22 and Riviére had answered us not Tailfer! Not having a good day so far. Above the lock another 67m boat, Marga from Zwijndrecht, was loading fine aggregate at the quarry near Lustin. I took photos looking back downriver of the rocks and quarry. On along the 5.4kms winding river reach to Riviére. The other two boats were

Ile d'Yvoir and its chain ferry (red boat by the white house)

through the lock by the time we arrived. The keeper dropped the lock off and we rose another 2m. Above the lock empty péniche Noumea was moored next to the sloping concrete bank having a washing day with a rotary drier on the bows spinning round in the strong breeze. At the big bend near Grand Godine we passed another loaded boat heading downriver, DC Mosa 1 (86m x 8.2m 1174T) a Dutchman from Breskens carrying more aggregates. Mike called Hun, the keeper said he would prepare the lock for us and it

Moored at Anhee

was ready when we arrived. The deepest yet at 2.8m and I couldn’t reach the new inset bars they were up too high for me, so the keeper took my rope and put the loop round a bollard on the lockside for me. He told us that the lock at Dinant was out of action until 6 am tomorrow. That’s OK we’re not going that far. He told us there was a stopping place for us at Yvoir. OK but we’re not going there! As we passed the Ile d’Yvoir a speedboat set off from a house on the island and went upstream a bit then turned and ran downriver at

Opposite the mooring at Anhee, rocks and castle at Houx

high speed (we were in a ski zone) passing us on the wrong side. Shortly after a jet-ski came past heading downriver turned around us to go back upstream then set off again back downriver at high speed, making less wash than when he was going slower. A solitary house martin was chasing flies up and down the river. Under the railway bridge at Anhée and we winded and moored next to a quay that is just a little higher than our roof. There was a ladder by our bows so we could get on and off easily. It was 3.00 pm. Set the TV up and I gave Mike a hand to get all his stuff ready and, at 4.00 pm, he went to move the car from Namur to Givet and come back on the moped. He was back at 6.45pm having a much easier route along the Meuse than the Sambre.  

Thursday 11th September 2014 abv Auvelais to Namur. 26.8kms 4 locks

Hotel ship Victor Hugo leaving Auvelais lock

8.4°C Cold and grey again with a chilly north wind. A few very brief sunny spells later. The hotel ship Victor Hugo came up the lock and a little later a loaded péniche. Mike loaded the bike back on the roof and then went in the car to get the diesel containers for the boat refilled. It was 9.40 am when we winded and waited a short while above Auvelais lock as loaded boat Flipper (67m long and about 700T) was coming up in the lock. He cleared and we went down, still just us, we’d seen no other private boats (and didn’t see any until we reached the Meuse at Namur). A loaded péniche called Loma was waiting below and another big boat was above the lock (almost on the top end gates) waiting to come down.

Hotel ship Victor Hugo leaving Auvelais lock

Antarctica, from Maasbracht (80m x 8.20m 1190T) was loading aggregates (fine gravel) with a big shovel digger at Surmont just before the big Solvay works. The river was flowing faster than normal with around a 2 kph flow - we were flying along. A big empty went upriver running hard and making a big wash, we bounced around for some time and later I hung the mat off the front deck over the top plank to drip dry. Mike called on VHF and Mornimont lock was ready for us when we got there, straight in and down. An 80m loaded

Rebuilding work at Auvelais lock

boat called Raypa was moored on the quiet mooring quay above the lock. An 80m loaded with soil called Audac went past heading upriver. Mike called again and Florifoux lock was ready with gates open and green lights. The long guard wall between the lock and the weir was full of Canada geese, the first we’d seen this year. Going well, we were in, down and out again in around ten minutes. I took a photo of the lock cabin, weir and middle gate as all of these things are being replaced on these river locks. A Dutch tanker from Druten called Natrona (85m x 9.5m 1149T) went past heading

Loaded peniche Loma below Auvelais

upriver. Just below the lock was a huge recycling plant with a boat-unloading facility under cover; lots of dustbin lorries were driving in and out of the plant. More Canada geese, little gulls and mallard were congregated downstream of the recycling plant. A pair of Egyptian geese were standing on the top of the sloping concrete bank a bit further downriver. Then we saw some more beautiful foreign ducks, two male mandarins, which must have escaped from some park or zoo. The sun came out

Antarctica loading aggregate

as we passed the big bus depot on the outskirts of Namur. Mike called again for the lock and Salzinnes was ready. It was 2 pm. I took photos of the new weir. Still just us, we’d seen no other pleasure craft since we left Strepy. The river is narrow through Namur and the waterfront houses have for the most part been renovated over the past few years. All the restaurant boats that used to moor in the last few hundred metres of the river before the junction with the Meuse have long disappeared due to the size of the working boats that now use the Sambre. Thankfully we didn’t have to squeeze past any of them today in the

Old style lock cabin, weir and central sliding gate - soon to be no more 

narrow bit, nothing was moving but us. We turned right by the statue of King Albert on his horse and motored upriver on the Meuse to moor by the Casino at 2.45 pm with a couple of cruisers and DB Stella Maris. Moorings are 7€ if your boat is less than 13m long then add 1€ for every metre up to 20m long – anything over 20m pays 14€. Electricity and water were available and tokens from the Capitainerie on the far side of the river to pay for it. Tokens are 50c and one will buy one kilowatt/hour of electric or 100 litres of water. The signs said

New weir control cabin at Salzinnes

they come to collect the money between 6pm and 7pm. Gave Mike a hand to unload the bike and he went to get the car around 4.30 pm, he was back at 6.45 pm and no one had been for the mooring fees – Mike spotted there was a sign further back on the quay that said no mooring after 1^st Sept – did this apply to us or commercials, difficult to say? Another cruiser arrived later and moored upriver of us.

Moored in Namur by the Casino looking upriver

Wednesday 10th September 2014 La Louviére to abv Auvelais. 54.6kms 6 locks

Dependant overtaking below Viesville

10.2°C overnight. Grey and damp with only brief glimpses of sun. Coats on as it was only 12°C when we set off, early at 7 am to clear Charleroi. Pins in to do washing as it was 20kms across the summit level before the first lock down. Samarinda, the empty péniche we shared a lock with yesterday was moored on the last quay nearest the junction with the main Brussels-Charleroi canal, waiting to load. We hadn’t been going long before Saona loaded with soil overtook us. Dutch boat Antarctica from Maasbracht (80m x 8.20m 1190T) was unloading a cargo of sand into lorries at Familliereux. At Seneffe a loaded boat called Brabo from Wijngem (79.17m x 8.18m 1140T) went past. The washing was finished so we paused in mid canal with the engine off while Mike extracted the coupling from the

Suction dredger at Luttre

generator. A cruiser set off from Seneffe’s other moorings in the branch de Bellecourt and, just after we set off again, a tug called Infinity pushing an empty pan called Infinity II went past. Into another deep cutting with sloping grassy banks. A tractor was mowing the grass along the edge of the towpath near Espinette and as we passed it the flail arm went over the top of a set of concrete steps and the rear roller came undone, bounced and rolled down the bank into the canal. No more mowing today until he gets that fixed! We passed through Pont à Celles at 9.45 am, the sun appeared briefly as a loaded Dutch péniche from Terneuzen called Keiko went past, crew waving in the wheelhouse. Swimming along with a

Art work on wall at back of unloading quays Marcinelle

large group of mallard was a female ruddy shelduck, an escape from a collection according to my bird book, as they live in SE Europe not here. Under a railway bridge and a tug called Cat pushing an empty pan called Namur went past making a lot of wash. An empty called Dependant (80m x 9m 1438T) was fast catching us up, it and the tug and pan passed each other under the railway bridge. Not long after that the empty square fronted barge overtook us as we went under the footbridge at Luttre. Two big bouncing boxer dogs were running up and down its gunwales woofing at us as it went past. Took a photo of an interesting looking green painted suction dredger that was moored by the footbridge. Bad

Steel works chimneys at Marcinelle

luck for us that the boat that had just overtaken was a big one as we couldn’t get in Viesville lock 3 with it as the lock is only 87m long, so no need to rush to keep up with it. A boat that had just come up the lock went past us on the last bend before the lock, Lincy from Schoten (80m 8.8m 1120T) loaded with coils of wire. The countryside was pleasant with wooded hills on our left and a railway track on the right. We arrived at the lock at 10.40 am and moored in the area reserved for plaisanciers opposite Dependant, who was also waiting for the lock. Loaded boat Redoubtable (80m x 8,20m 1204T) came up Viesville, then Dependant went down. I got on with the chores. An empty called Clacit 9 came up and then it was our turn to go down. Just us, at 11.40 am – we’d been waiting just an hour.

Steel works at Marcinelle

Waiting below was an empty called Revenge (80m x 8.20m 1099T) from Brugge. Twenty minutes to the next lock no 2 Gosselies. A boat loaded with scrap metal called Will-Tier was moored by the scrapyard above the lock. Loaded péniche Picaro came up the lock then we went down, still just us. I made some lunch while Mike held the string - the first three locks today have floaters as they are all 7m deep locks). Waiting to come up below the lock was Orca (73m x 8.20m 1041T) loaded with rocks. Another stray duck was paddling around with a bunch of mallard, this time it was a very unusual stiff tailed duck – a male white headed duck – definitely another foreigner. A Ryanair ‘plane flew over low, coming in to land at Charleroi airport. Another went over as we passed the gas-fuelled power

Boat graffiti abv Marcinelles lock

station above lock 1 Marchiennes-au-Pont. We had a short wait while a loaded boat called Welland came up, then we went down. It was 1.30 pm as we left the bottom. Passing the long quays full of recycled material,  a huge pile of busted car windscreens, more glass in small pieces called cullet, then big piles of scrap in various stages of sorting, a long sand quay then a concrete works backed by a wall full of graffiti in panels, proper art work not tagging. A sharp turn right and left on to the Sambre, so Mike put out a call on VHF announcing our presence. No reply, so we carried on to the lock at

Montignies lock

Marcinelles. There was a queue of boats for the scrap berth by the lock. Two empties then Missouri unloading (looked about 105m long but had no dimensions on its coamings) and Infinity III behind it, waiting to unload. Odra (81.27 x 9.50 1370T) came up the lock, then we went down. Risky from Brugge loaded with soil (80m x 9.50m) was hovering around the first bend in the concrete trough through Charleroi and loaded péniche Aude which was sitting by the right hand wall. We kept left (as the signs indicated) passing lots of people walking along the top of the high concrete walls, people living in the flats were out on their balconies – they waved. Loads of cars were crossing the numerous bridges over the river, the noise reverberated along the deep river channel. Out into more industrial surroundings as we ran down to Montignies lock. The lock filled and we went down. Two men came out from the lock cabin up on high and waved as we left. It was

Steel works railway engines nr Pont de Loup

3.30 pm. We met the next boat uphill just before Pont de Loup, a pusher pair called Stradivarius (28.5m x 5.5m) and Largo (about 55m). A steel works occupied the left bank for a considerable distance. An unusual engine pulled a long train of steel coils on flat wagons. At Van Kerkhoven's yard here were two péniches on the dry dock and more boats moored by the old trip boat, Discovery 76m and a smartly painted péniche called Ingona. Nothing was on the big slipway. Beyond the yard there was a long quay filled with cubes of compressed steel scrap. At the new Port Autonome de Charleroi there was a loaded boat called Cutty Sark (61m x 7.24m 698T) moored next to a mountain of sand.

Piles of soil or dredgings near Tamines

We had a short wait above Roselies lock while loaded péniche Zambesi came up, then we went down. I made a cuppa while Mike took charge of the rope. Below the lock we were at last free of industry for a short while, there were green grassy banks and rolling wooded hills. At the first bend we passed another scrap boat Amore (67m x 8.20m) – the keeper had just shut the gate behind us, there was a lot of shouting on VHF. At the next bridge there was the revolting pong of the piles of rubbish waiting to be recycled. Then back to rural smells. Past Carrefour Market at Tamines on its high high quay wall and into the town. The main road bridge had all the EU member flags flying and we puzzled over some of them, needless to say the Union Jack was flying upside down. The sun was out at last, but the wind was still cold as we ran down the last leg of the river to Auvelais. We met the next uphill loaded boat by the disused railway bridge in Sambreville, Equitable (79.5m x 8.5m) loaded with more soil. An empty was catching up, so Mike slowed off so it could

Roselies lock

overtake us on a straight section. Antarctica came past, (we’d seen it first thing this morning being unloaded) now empty it was hurrying back towards the Meuse. Mike called him on Channel ten to tell him we weren't going down the next lock so not to wait for us. Yo! Said the Dutch skipper from Maasbracht. More sandpipers. A man walking a large brown dog was overtaken by a lycra-clad cyclist, the dog started chasing the man on the bike who started pedalling like fury and the dog owner ran after the dog shouting at him as he tried to catch the bike!  An empty Dutch boat called Statenstad was mooring up, well beyond the lock, with props at both ends still turning. We winded and moored by the armco at the end of the lock waiting area. It was 6.40 pm. We set the TV up and got the bike off. Another Dutch boat arrived at 7.10 pm, Bastimo loaded with scrap, it moored between us and the empty. It was 7.25 pm when Mike left to collect the car. Mike sent a text at 9.30 pm to say he’d just loaded the bike in the car and would be about 45 minutes. He was back around 10.15 pm and decided to leave the bike in the car rather than try and struggle with it in the dark. 

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Pommeroeul to La Louviére. 38.1kms 2 locks 1 lift

After a month at Pommeroeul we finally restart the journey back to France.

The pier at Pommeroeul -Snail, a Dutch boat and DB Albertine  

9.8°C Warm and sunny. Clear blue skies to start, then wispy hazy streaks of clouds, turning into a Simpson’s sky later. Breezy. An empty commercial went past on the main canal, heading the same way as us. We said our au voirs to Anne and Oll, they said they’d be back in the UK November so we’d meet up somewhere. Said bye to Andy and Clare as we were all taking photos. It was 10.10 am as we turned on to the Kanaal Nimy-Blaton-Peronnes heading uphill towards Mons, noting that the quay on the corner where several large

Wandering Snail at Pommeroeul

commercials had moored for several days at a time during the past month had a large “No Mooring” sign and an arrow pointing along the quay “for 110m” ie the length of the quay. A large bird of prey picked a fish out of the canal and flew off with it, my guess would be that it was a fish-scavenging black kite. The pink flowers of marsh-mallow were blooming all along the canal banks. A loaded Czech boat was moored in the darse at Villerot, Magrit from Decin, (80m x 9.0m) at the chemical works of Yara. A nearly empty tanker called Vira

Loaded boat Satanas overtaking

(77m x 8.20m 1082T) from Rotterdam was finishing unloading. I missed a good photo of a house by the road bridge in Baudor that had a long line of at least a dozen big, tall banana palms along the towpath. Remarkable plants that grow new trees each year from the previous year’s roots. Sandpipers flew yodelling across the canal, they are a definite feature of this canal, there were several pairs of them at the basin at Pommeroeul. A loaded Dutch péniche called Rimar from

Empty Samarinda overtaking Satanas 

Moorhoek was moored at the end of the long quays at Ghlin. A container crane was using chains to load some steel coils into a lorry. There were no moored boats, just a a long series of quays full of concrete pipes, containers, steel coils and coal besides whatever was stored in the warehouses. We could see a loaded boat in the distance behind that was fast catching us up. Bright yellow button flowers of strong-smelling tansy were growing along the canal banks in between big banks of Japanese knotweed. The loaded boat went past us just before the flood lock at Ghlin, Satanas from Visé (51m x 6.6m 668T) and

Satanas by the old boat lift at Thieu

we got caught on his stern wash and had to do a hard reverse to get off it. A DB had just left the moorings at Mons, followed by a cruiser. Mike spotted a narrowboat on the moorings called Mabel Rose. He put the revs up to try and keep up with the three boats in front of us. When we arrived below Obourg lock the commercial was going in and the cruiser and DB were hovering just outside the lock. The DB, called Pendragon, took the right hand wall and we followed the cruiser (Fair Lady, German flagged with Roermond on its stern, R.Maas

The old boat lift and new lock at Thieu

in NL) on the left wall. He stopped short and the keeper tried to get him to move forward, but he either was ignoring him or didn’t speak French as he didn’t move. There was just enough room for us to get in and I slung a centre line around a bollard. Mike moved the rope up the six bollards from the roof while I made some lunch. The commercial set off followed by the DB but the cruiser was slow to move and hadn’t taken his ropes off when we moved over and followed Pendragon out of the lock with the German skipper shouting the odds at Mike as he went past him. Needless to say he soon overtook us.

Below the new Strepy-Thieu boat lift

We followed the queue to Havre with the cruiser right up behind the commercial. A Dutch tanker called Voja (81.3m x 9.60m) had just left the chamber, but something else was going up in the lock so we had to wait, hovering in the middle of the canal with the other three boats. There was a covered conveyor belt running along the left hand bank and it was covered in graffiti, we wondered what it was carrying that needed a cover. The lock emptied and Satanas got green lights and so we followed the others into the lock chamber – this one, Havre, is bigger than the last lock at 124m long and has floaters, while Obourg was only 96m long. Satanas went up to the top end, the cruiser went forward and attached to a floater opposite the commercial and the keeper called everyone forward as another boat was coming in, an empty péniche called Samarinda. We had troubles getting to the left hand floaters so the skipper of Satanas invited us to hang on to his side bollards. We had a long natter (in French) as the lock

View from Strepy lift of the boats waiting below the lift

filled. The skipper and his wife liked our boat, they said they wanted to sell their boat and retire, but they said that the Belgians wanted more for a cruiser than they were selling their 51m boat for! They asked how much to buy a narrowboat, so we told them roughly the price of new ones and second hand. They seemed impressed and said they might buy one! They agreed with what Helen had said about the wheat harvest being bad this year so there wasn’t much work about (although they said the Dutch undercut the Belgians by 1,50€

Strepy lift - Bounty (commercial in front end of caisson)
German cruiser, Pendragon and Temujin 

a tonne, how they didn’t know as they have to pay the same out for diesel, etc) They had a cargo of industrial soil that had been cleaned to remove heavy metals, etc (he rolled the cover back to show us) which he was taking to Liège as the Arabs were buying it up. We laughed and said is that true, no joking, - yes it’s true; so we asked what they were buying it for, he didn’t know but there were lots of boats were carrying this cargo of treated soil. Whatever next!? We followed the cruiser out of the lock at 2.55 pm. The others soon overtook us, all heading for Strépy. A loaded Belgian boat called Njord (447T) went past heading downhill, followed by a loaded French

Moored above the old boat lifts at La Louviere

péniche called Jewel and 670T Espoir (55m x 7.25m). The empty péniche we’d locked with wound up the power to overtake Satanas as we were going past the long quay at Villers-sur-Haine. It was 3 pm. Shortly after we went past the long quay below the new lock and the bottom old lift no 4 at Thieu which was full of fishermen and their parked cars. Into the deep cutting that the new canal follows to the big new lift. There was a queue below the lift. The cruiser had moored on the left below the right hand caisson and the queue of commercials started with Bounty an 85m empty, then Oceanic a big Dutch tanker, then Samarinda the empty péniche from Marchiennes and Satanas had tagged on the end. When Conbar from Sherringham (British newbuild DB last seen in Mons a month ago) came out of the caisson we followed Bounty and the cruiser in and took the right hand wall, DB Pendragon came alongside us and we chatted with the crew as we rose 73m in ten minutes. We were last out – the others shot off into the distance and we resumed normal pace as we no longer needed to keep up with the commercial. After a few kilometres we turned right on to the historic canal - which is still closed to through traffic and provides us with a nice quiet mooring above the top lift no 1 Houdeng-Goegnies. It was 5.30 pm when we tied up.