Chateau-Thierry (River Marne) to Andresy (River Seine)

  

We found a good mooring in Chateau-Thierry upstream of the main town moorings – out of the possibly contentious zone on a Friday night.  We cycled up to have a look-see if anything had changed since our last visit, and found not only a new floating pontoon with water and electricity, but also MILOU the sister ship of AMAROK which we knew well in the South.  We introduced ourselves to Keith and Marilyn and chatted for a good while before doing our shopping, then looked on line for the nearest SFR phone shop as our dongle is now well out of date.  Yes!  One of the very few in the whole area is in the centre of this very town!

So in the morning we managed to buy a ‘Web Trotter’ and took it back to the boat to install it on our computers.  Managed to cock that up and lock ourselves out of the new dongle altogether, then had to return to the SFR shop to get it unlocked and then re-read the instructions!  Another night on the mooring, but that was OK.

We arrived at Nogent l’Artaud in time for lunch, but as we approached the mooring a little fishing boat snuck onto it.  We hovered and Monsieur called out that he only needed 5 minutes while he unloaded his fishing tackle into his car.  We contemplated moving on to the lock downstream, but as he was dashing about trying to be as quick as possible, we hung around and then ferried across to the mooring.

It seemed an idyllic spot: small town, with some supplies, good strong pontoon, free water and electricity, a few cafes, a restaurant: altogether a nice quiet place.  We had lunch – and then it started!  The male swan of the nearby family of 8 decided he didn’t like our boat on his pontoon. 

He began flapping in for the attack, pecking the portholes and even getting onto the pontoon itself to have a go at that side too! 

So we went for a walk round the village for an hour or more and he was still at it when we got back.  Alex decided enough was enough and when the Sunday picnic-ers had gone, he tried to poke the swan with the barge pole every time it attacked the boat.  Eventually it got the message and headed off a kilometre up river to where the rest of its family were, for the night.

Next morning at 6am however, there it was again pecking the portholes, wrecking the fitted mozzie nets, flapping around loudly, and spoiling any chance for us of staying in bed.  So we got up, had breakfast, threatened it with the barge pole again and set off for our earliest start this year!

We reached Meaux in the early afternoon and saw that the free mooring on the wall was all taken

up with a cruiser and tripboat, so we trundled down to the Port de Plaisance, and amazingly,

there was plenty of room for us on the end pontoon.

The next day, about to set off on an explore and picnic, we met an American couple Don and Patty from barge MARIA who were intrigued by RICCALL.  We chatted for a bit before setting off into a rather gloomy day.

           

We are very interested in this area, because the Marne river is very closely followed by a totally separate canal - the l’Ourcq - all the way from Paris in the west - some 108kms in total.  It was easy to get to the Ourcq towpath and follow it until we found the first lock.  Then we followed the canal along until it was at its closest to the River Marne. 

We had our picnic, sitting on an upturned shopping trolley, as you do, but failed to find real proof of the inclined plane that once linked the Ourcq to the Marne. 

On the way back we looked at a former lock onto the Marne which led to the old route down to Lagny, and stopped for tea and more chat on MARIA, which was moored on the Ducs d’Albe further upriver from us.  We invited Don and Patty for drinks the following evening, never realising that the weather forecast was for torrential rain, so they arrived pretty well soaked!  They have been cruising in France for 14 years throughout the 6 months of summer, much of it in the early years using MARIA as a hotel barge. 

She is a lovely boat with very good lines, and Patty has done a great job decking her out with flowers on her topsides.  (Louise now wants to know why SHE is only allowed 5 small troughs of flowers!!!)

After a couple of days moored at Lagny, and with time to spare before our first visitors arrive, we decided on an explorational detour up the old, now by-passed, section of the river Marne from Chalifert Lock upstream.  The sign at the junction indicates ‘Precy 10 kms’ and we contacted the lock-keeper that we didn’t need to pass through his lock as we were going up to Précy.  He said OK and thanked us for letting him know.

The first 6 kms is used by 44m refuse container barges and the channel is well marked by buoys.  But after the container unloading port the channel isn’t marked at all.  We knew that, and so continued carefully upstream, knowing that Précy was reachable, but were disappointed that there were no moorings at all on this bit of river.  So we turned round and headed back downstream.  After a couple of kms Alex suddenly realised we had drifted off centre a bit, but before he could steer back we went hard aground.

We tried everything subsequently, wriggling RICCALL back and forth, to and fro, ferrying ropes to distant trees on shore, using block and tackle to improve advantage, all to no avail.  Luckily we did have a mobile signal, so we finally called 112 – the emergency services – we waited a while, and in due course VNF appeared.  They said, “You shouldn’t be up this bit of river, so it’s not our problem.” 

We told them about their misleading sign at the junction but to no avail. 

The police appeared and thought about the possible options (none!) but eventually suggested we contact our insurance company as they had no solution to offer to the situation!

More interested in taking their picture with us in the background!!

Haven Knox-Johnson eventually sent us an email detailing three different outfits that might be able to help and also contacted a British surveyor, Barry Morse, who was coincidentally in the area and who might also be able to help. 

Well emails shot back and forth, contractors were organised, and then were pulled out, etc etc and in the meantime we had NO idea how long this might take, a few days, a week, a month or maybe until the autumn floods come, and though power via the genny was no problem, fresh water was a big worry. So, no showers, no washing machine, definitely no dishwasher, became the order of the day and the sun shone down on us mercilessly – 35^o and more for days on end.  Finally, after a whole WEEK, and Alex having to transfer €2500 himself direct to the salvage company (because H.K-J were not able to do it swiftly enough themselves {I mean, I ask you, insurance companies!!}) three men appeared in a small boat with a length of wire hawser, a rope and a turfer.  (A turfer can pull a wire cable through itself bit by bit, by use of a long handle – this one rated at 3,200kg).

Bruno, Rudi and Patrick attached the rope to the tree a little upstream on the opposite bank (the same one we had tried), the steel cable to the rope and the turfer to Riccall.  Finally, with much effort from the guys on the handle, Riccall started to be pulled back slowly into the deep channel.  Then at last we were floating again.  Sighs of relief, thank yous all round, and ‘au revoir’.

A VERY careful cruise back down the rest of the river, eyes glued to the depth meter till we were back in the marked channel, 2kms down river, then two days of water and electricity at Lagny to recover, regroup and relax.  When we arrived there was only one other boat moored, far away at the other end of the long pontoon, and we did three trips to the shops to restock and even ate out at the sea-food restaurant in town (very good it was too).  But the next night, a Friday, the pontoon was packed, two deep in places, including a French powerboat moored on us!  Not a problem of course – nothing is a problem when the boat is back on an even keel, but this time, our new neighbours talked loudly until 1am, until Louise politely explained that our bedroom was adjacent to their open back deck and they took the hint!  However, the nearby fishermen continued their chatting until Alex finally went up to the wheelhouse to make a similar point at 2.30am, but sadly to no avail.

So, somewhat refreshed and much less tense, we motored on, towards Paris.

Paris mooring opposite the Chinese hotel and restaurant

We spent a night on the low quay where the Marne joins the Seine – one of our favourite moorings – then had an early start to cruise right through the miracle of Paris on the river: great sights, and a marvellous experience, including coming upon a historic re-enactment of a ‘log flotage’ commemorating the days when logs were floated many kilometres down river to Paris to keep the home fires burning. 

  

Suddenly it’s New York!!!

We had taken the river route this time rather than the two canals St Martin and St Denis, so had new sights to look at, including La Defense, the financial and business ‘city’ of Paris.

Couldn't resist yet another picture of the Musée D'Orsay

The lovely mooring at Rueil Malmaison is now reserved for a trip boat at weekends in the summer season until after 6pm, so we motored on and moored at Bougival which was fine, if a bit noisy from the overhead road bridge. 

We are now in early July at the only remaining pontoon at Andresy, where electricity is still amazingly available and water too, after Alex spannered his way into the bourne and turned it on again!  A great spot, but a bit busier now than 6 years ago.  As part of the re-jigging of the town centre, a one-way road system has been introduced right beside the mooring – AND some of the trees have been removed, opening up what was a lovely hideaway mooring some years ago.

So, onwards to Rouen.