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Aboard the AMAROK
September 2012 - Page 6
North on the Saône
Tournus on the Saône
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Tournus... Back in the land of Bumper Boats! After a lot of rain, we were happy to see the late-afternoon sun.
If you look closely, you can see Amarok way down at the far end - with a British cruiser, "Mon Reve" rafted along-side us.
Vendredi 28 Septembre -
11:45 AM - Dep Tournus, heading upsteam at 4.2 mph
12:45 PM - Ecluse d'Ormes, rise less than a foot due to
flooding
1:15 PM - Finnish boat ahead of us spotted a dead man
in the water! They were able to bring him into
the dock at Gigny-sur-Saône.
1:30 PM - Arr: Gigny-sur-Saône, inside old lock
Today: 7.2 mi - 1 lock - 1.7 eng hrs
Had British couple from "Mon Reve" over for dinner.
Jeudi 27 Septembre -
10:30 AM Dep Cuisery, 11:00 AM through Cuisery lock
12:00 noon - back to La Truchère (on the Seille)
12:30 PM - out of La Truchère lock and back onto the Saône,
headed north against strong current, making 5 mph at 1600 rpm
.1:30 PM - Arr: Tournus - nice floating dock next to town
Today: 12.7 mi - 2 locks - 2.6 eng hrs
This is what happens when you tie up to a concrete wall when
the water is rising! These poor people got a surprise when they
woke up to find they could no longer walk ashore. Plus, their
boat was being pulled down by lines attached to fixed bollards!
The BNP Paribas bank in downtown Tournus. We always
look for them because they have no ATM fee with a Bank
of America debit card.
Here's what greeted us on Friday morning in Tournus.
We were just happy to see the sun!
In Tournus, we came across this Laitier Automatique.
A beautiful Finnish sailboat - moving a good speed.
When the sun broke out, these guys (and girls) all
celebrated by taking their clothes off!
.
In the Ecluse d'Ormes. Because the water levels were so high, the
rise here was less than a foot! Quite a change from the Rhône locks!
Docked at Gigny-sur-Saône - inside the old lock. A very pretty spot. We had Pete & Chris
fom the Dutch cruiser Mon Reve (docked across fr us) over for dinner aboard Amarok.
In Gigny-sur-Saône, the Gendarmerie arrived in force to
examine and collect the body of a man found floating in
the river just downstream.
The free floating dock in
Samedi 29 Septembre -
11:30 AM - Dep Gigny s/Saône,
strong negative current
2:00 PM - Arr Chalon-sur-Saône
docked at City Marina
(which officially only accepts
boats under 15-m long, the
Amarok is registered as 14.99 m)
Today: 12.0 mi - 0 lks - 2.5 hrs
Good place to hang out, 10
restaurants within 10-min walk,
giant Carrefour hypermarché,
5-minute walk.
Dimanche 30 Septembre -
Stayed in Chalon-sur-Saône
Walked into old town where it's
market-day on Sunday AM. Fun.
The Port de Plaisance in Chalon-sur-Saône is situated behind an island on an arm of the Saône. As you can see,
it gets pretty full by late afternoon. It pays to come early! Can you spot Amarok? (Mouse-over for night image.)
Cuisses de Grenouilles (frogs legs) are very popular in
this part of France. We didn't try them, but we smelled
them going by to another table - a lot of garlic!
A sphere in a colorful square in downtown Chalon-sur-Saône.
I liked all these chimneys in Chalon-sur-Saône. The architecture here
is quite different from towns further to the south.
Chalon-sur-Saône is the birthplace (and home) of
Nicéphore Niépce credited with the first successful
photograph in 1827. Another Frenchman,
Daguerre based his work on Niépce's pioneering
work. We visited the Musée Niépce in Chalon.
Lundi le premier d'Octobre -
After a visit to the nearby Carrefour hypermarché...
11:30 AM - Dep Chalon-sur-Saône PdP
11:45 AM - passing jcn w Canal du Centre
2:15 PM - Arr: Verdun-sur Doubs, docked on wall
Today: 15.7 mi - 0 locks - 3.1 eng hrs
Visited the Musée du Pain et Blé - Interesting!
Mouse-over to see full moon!
Mardi 2 Octobre -
11:00 AM - (our usual early start) Dep Verdun-sur-Doubs
11:45 AM - Ecluse d'Ecuelles
1:00 PM - Arr: Seurre (Pk 187), nice floating dock
Today: 12.0 mi - 1 lock - 2.1 hrs
Another grueling day! Fair, 75°F
The very scenic town of Verdun-sur-Doubs, the junction with the Saône can be seen in the distance.
Click on the photo to see a larger image, or mouse-over to zoom in for close-up and better see Amarok.
Our color-coordinated clean-up crew in Verdun-sur-Doubs.
(This concrete wall was under water two days ago!)
Downtown Seurre - some very distinctive architecture.
The Saône port of Seurre... A place for big boats (in the
foreground), medium sized boats (where we are) and small
boats in the little harbor behind us. Very accommodating.
In the live-aboard section of the Seurre Port de Plaisance.
At least his curtains matched his boat! Plus, he had four
throwable life-rings! (Click on photo to appreciate details!)
The Ecluse de Seurre, our last lock before St-Jean-de-Losne.
Mercredi 3 Octobre -
10:30 AM - Dep Seurre, waiting for Ecluse de Seurre
Last lock before St-Jean-de-Losne!
12:30 PM - Arr: Saint-Jean-de-Losne (Pk 215)
Yeah! We made it! Tied up at city dock.
Today: 9.7 mi - 1 lock - 2.2 hrs
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