Barge Date:  05-05-2019

Mulhouse to Baume-les-Dames

We have been running every day because the towns can be seen in an afternoon or because I would rather be on the move if the weather is not in my favor.

The Rhone-au-Rhin has a good number of locks.  Going west from Mulhouse, we continue to rise on the water, but from Dannemarie on, we are going downhill until we get off at the Saone.  The number of locks we do a day are high numbers for us, but until May 2 we had a lockman traveling to each lock to get it ready for us so we could make some good time. We lost the lockman on May 3 and picked up a lock remote.  This means we may have to wait for the lock to fill before we can descend so slower progress.

May 1: 22 locks, 2 bridges
May 2: 15 locks
May 3: 11 locks, 1 bridge
May 4: 12 locks, 2 bridges
May 5: 13 locks

Some of the locks were just ahead, so out of one and into the next. Other than when the weather was bad, it is just a process and not hard.

Since Mulhouse we have been traveling off and on with a Brit barge, Sabrina of London.  Owners have a lot of ocean sailing in their background, so all this on the canals must be mild medicine.

Yesterday we had simultaneous surprises towards the end of the day.  At the last lock the rain turned to wet snow which did not want to let up. Coming into L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs there was some difficulty in seeing well, and of course that is when we got the second surprise: here comes a 39-meter barge, empty, riding high, and seemingly heading right towards us. No wheelhouse on that barge, so there was a forward lookout who had not been looking out.  He was the eyes for the helmsman.  Upon seeing our boat, he ran to the stern waving his hands to announce his surprise. We were able to pass without contact, but we were close, and all this through slush and snow coming down. The deck was quite slippery from the ice.

Yesterday and today we are on and off the Doubs River.  When we are off, we are on a canal that mostly runs alongside the river.  But it is nice on the river - much wider than a canal and much better views.  Plus we are coming into some nice landscape that reminds me of the upper Meuse in Belgium. The current gives us a speed boost of 3-4 K which makes travel faster. But be careful to take the arrow off the river or the nearby drop will do you in.  See picture below.

Have made the decision to make our final stop (before returning to the US for graduation) in Auxonne.  About 125K from where we are now.  This is our winter port so leaving the boat there saves us some money.  But we will have to keep moving.

Click on the pictures to make them larger.

See the bee?

A sunny day and France was out walking, biking and having a drink in the sun.

Old Pill Box

Missed this bollard for all the dirt around it, so I dug it out.

These are always next to a lock; don't fall asleep and miss the turn.