Nederlandse versieFinal days: the Yonne

We are the first ones again this morning at the lock. After this lock a section as straight as an arrow of six kilometers follows after which we arrive in Laroche-Migennes, an industrial city situated at the end of the Canal de Bourgogne with an extended railway yard. As we navigate through Laroche we see a enormous rush near the canal. There are people and parked cars everywhere.  It appears to be a great market. We stop for a while to take a look at it. 

 

At eleven we navigate on. At lock 114-115, a former double at the end of the canal, the lockkeeper takes notes and gets some information about us (where we go to, where we come from, with how much people we are, which nationality). Then we sink in the deep lock and travel on. 

After a hundred meters we arrive at the Yonne. Though our final destination is in the other direction we navigate upstream. We have enough time left to navigate this afternoon in the direction of Auxerre. The boys like to go to Auxerre. In Auxerre is a football club they know by name. According tot the lockkeeper it is impossible to reach Auxerre this afternoon.

We are navigating on a wide river. After the intimate atmosphere of the Canal de Bourgogne we have to get used to it. I see no towpath.

After three large bridges we arrive at the first lock. It is lock La Gravière. Next to the lock is  a weir which has been repaired temporary with sand bags. It is the weir which messed up our original plans to navigate on the Canal de Nivernais this year. Because of the trouble with the weir there was a shortage of water in a section of the Yonne. We simply could not pass . Now that I see the damaged weir I understand.  

The lock of the Yonne are gigantic in relation to the lock we know from the Canal de Bourgogne: 93 meters long and 8,30 meters wide. We have to wait a little while because the lockkeeper says another boat is arriving. The locking passes very slowly. We rise just a little bit.

The water level after La Gravière is still very low despite of the temporary reparation. I can see that by the strip of mud alongside the banks. I suppose the water level is still half a meter lower then usual.

We navigate on and moor for lunch at a floating landing-stage near a camping site in Basson. The French behind us navigate on and moor in the opened lock somewhat further.

After lunch we want to join the French in the lock before half past one but after a view meters we hit the ground at the bottom of the river. It is very shallow. We come loose by looking very well where it is somewhat deeper and by turning the boat on the force of the stream. We moor at the front side of the lock but we move to the back on instructions of the lockkeeper. When the sluices are opened the water at the front side of the lock is an agitation. In the back of the lock the boats are rolling.

At the next lock a bypass of a few kilometers. The first lock is called Raveuse. Our boat is called after this lock. We pass the French as the crew  is dawdling to come on board. They wander about the water level. When we have passed them, Pepijn even sees them navigating against the shore.

We moor in Gurgy and decide to stay there. The river is very wide here and we have a wonderful view over the water. We probably just could reach Auxerre this afternoon, but we still have to pass five locks and have to go back again tomorrow. We abandon this idea because the locking on the Yonne takes a lot of time. When the children are still curious about Auxerre I go with them to this city by bike. It 's about ten kilometers.

At the beginning of our trip it is easy to follow the river by bike. Later on we cycle through large industrial areas. The center of Auxerre is dominated by three churches from which the Saint-Pierre is the largest. Unfortunately the shops appear to be closed again. It is Ascension day. Even finding something to eat isn't simple. Maarten likes to have some chips but has to be satisfied with a prefabricated  sandwich.  

At the end of the afternoon we cycle back. Halfway the clouds become very dark and threatening. We hurry home. We arrive at the boat just before the thunder-storm begins.

We navigate in the opposite direction the other day. The locking goes very slowly. Between the moment that he gates are closing behind us and the moment the gates in front of us are open again, fifteen minutes pass. And because the locks are all opened from the wrong side we spend half an hour extra at each lock.

We manage to pass the lock La Gravière with the damaged weir just before noon. We pass the entrance to the Canal de Bourgogne and moor in Laroche-St-Cydroine. We have lunch there and fill our water supply. It isn't easy because it is a tap without screw-connection and we have to push a button instantly. We just need water for about half a day.

We pass by a beautiful section of the Yonne. It is very wide here and we navigate along a water-ski track. Somewhat later we pass by some rests of an old weir in the Yonne. It looks like a kind of summer-house standing in the water.  

We survey the city of Joigny . It is special because of its half-timbered houses with a wood-carved shells. A funeral is taking place in the church with a lot of ceremony and flowers.

In the evening the boys help us clean the outside of the boat. On bare foots and in their rain jackets they scrub and scour the boat. In the meantime I see a rainbow above the city in the evening light. This year's trip has finished. It was a beautiful trip.