Canal latéral à la loire, travel-report 2003: third day

This day the whether is also fine. It's a little bit fresh in the morning but it didn't take long before everybody sat outside in the lovely sun. We pass the last lock in the Canal latéral à la Loire and arrive at the branch to Decize. In this village the Canal de Nivernais begins. Decize (our boat is also called Decize), is situated at the other bank of the Loire. The village is pinched between the Loire and an old branch of the Loire: la Vieille Loire.

We have to cross the Loire, not by a canal bridge but just straight across it at a place close to a weir. We have to pass two automatic locks before reaching the Loire. At the first one, écluse de St-Maurice, a rope is hanging above the water. We have to pull it to manage the lock. Indeed after pulling the rope, the lock gets ready. When we are arrived in the lock we can manage the lock by ourselves by pulling a bar but a few moments later a lockkeeper arrives to help.

Hundred meters further another lock of the same kind is situated. We see the same kind of construction but at this one we have to turn a kind of tube. I ask the lockkeeper if it is possible to navigate on the Vieille Loire, an old branch of the Loire. The renter of the boat had advised us not to do so because the water-level was too low but I can see by the banks that the water level is as usual. The lockkeeper says that navigating on the Vieille Loire isn't a problem if we don't go too fast.

Some moments later we navigate onto the Loire. After the privacy of the canal we enjoy the wideness of the river. A mooring place is situated right behind a bridge but I see that the water-taps are disconnected. I decide to navigate on to an old branch of the Loire, the Vieille Loire. It brings us just as close to the center of the village but then from the other side. Marga is annoyed. This roundabout has diminished her time to shop in town. But it isn't far and we arrive rapidly, and without any problems, at the aimed mooring place. Alas, here also the water-taps appear to be disconnected.

We met a group of canoeists on the Vieille Loire. They have a lot of fun together and an accompanying motorboat is almost navigating one canoe upside-down. A large wave of water is flooding into it.

The old Loire-branch is also beautifully situated. It meanders through a green valley. At the shore I see an old type of sailing-boat which was used to sail on the Loire in earlier days.

We are having a long break in Decize. Marga and Pepijn are looking for the shops and my mother and Robert also go into town. When they are all back I cycle to see the old warping-tug which is situated on the bank at the beginning of the Canal du Nivernais. In earlier day this warping-tug was used to tow boats across the Loire by a chain on the bottom of the river. After lunch I play football with the boys on a football-field near the port. We push off at half past one to travel to the Canal du Nivernais.

After a while I hear a strange noise. I look behind me and see the water getting muddy. I stop the motor. We are stranded. I feel oppressed and am annoyed. I should have listened to the renter of the boat. I stick the hook around the boat to measure the depth. It is shallow indeed. I try to use the bow-propeller to turn the boat but that doesn't help either. Robert and I are going into the water and feel around which direction is the best. We manage to get the boat afloat by the two of us. Carefully we navigate on. Just before we reach the Loire we strand for the second time. Fortunately we can push the boat to deeper water again. It is a miracle we navigated all the way without problems this morning. With a sigh of relieve I navigate into the Canal du Nivernais.