I felt like an eskimo

More than two months of snow...
Everything was black and white, I've spent the last few weeks trying to keep the boat warm. I've burnt almost every peice of wood that I could find. Today the temperature climbed upto 11°C !!! Spring is here, it really is.
The last few weeks have been very frustrating. Now I can make plans about getting evrrything ship shape. I must sand down the wheel house and but some varnish on, but that will have to wait.
This week I'll be getting the engine ready to cruise. I want to move the boat up to the top of the canal near Escommes (45 locks away).
I've spoken to the lock keepers and they say that the boats can move in the next few days. Can't wait.
I drove along a road which follows the canal through the valley where I'll be heading, there are still some pounds that are iced over, but if the sun keeps up the work, it should not be a problem.
I've got a problem with a couple of my injectors on the Leyland engine (6 cyclinders in line), it has been very difficult finding spare parts over the last few years...
There is shipyard at Saint Jean De Losne, Atelier Fluvial, I'll pop down there this week to see if they can help out.

Coldest yet, but the sun is on it's way

Freezing, can't do work on the barge. I'm even heating the engine room...
As it's been so cold I decided to begin to look for work for the up and coming season on the hotel barges.
Fantastic luck, I found a vacancy on a nice looking barge.
I saw the owner last Friday and he took me on straight away. I've known him for a few years, but I've been working with his competition for the past seasons. His offer was interesting and the barge has everything to make a pilot's job worthwhile and not a constant nightmare of breakdowns.
I piloted the barge a few times before. It's only 100 ft long, good engine, hydraulic steering, some keel to keep off the wind when locking through. There is a nice remote control for steering the barrge when going through locks, which means I can look along the side as I put the boat in to the lock. Better than hitting the wall :)
The boat will be cruising in a calm and pretty part of the Burgundy canal. I'll be off to check her out in a couple of weeks. You never know what has happened during the winter season.

Icy cold day

It began to snow Sunday late afternoon, the temperature has really dropped, Monday snowed in, too risky to try drive anywhere. So pilled as much wood as possible into the stove.
The canal is now frozen over, I can almost walk across. Anyhow the towpath is very quite, very few people walking of cycling since Sunday. I've just checked the thermometer, it's now -12°c outside. The forecast said it will slowly warm up... Can't wait.

Closed for Winter

Generally the canal has closed in mid November and reopens at the end of March. Here are the main reasons.

• The water supply becomes low. During the Summer the barge traffic consume the water supply which is stocked in the main reservoirs. This water supply is accumulated during the winter period.
• There is much less boat traffic during the winter, maintaining all the lock keeprs at their posts is not very resonable.
• The locks and canal require maintenace, which often requires streches of water between locks to be emptied. Therefore navigation is closed.
  

Although the canal is very calm with regards to the lack of barges navigating during the winter, it is still very interesting to watch the locks being repaired. To have access to the lock doors, the streach of water (called "a pound" above or below the lock must be emptied. The sluice gates are simply opened to allow the water to evacute at a pre-caluated rate, just fast enough to not flood the pound below.
Generally there is enough water tleft to keep the fish alive, however the fishing guards will come along to rescure the larger fish, netting them and then transporting them to the pound below.
The canal workers can now remove the pieces of oak used as seals, replacing them with new oak which is finished on site to have an exact fit. They will also repair or maintain the sluice gates when required.
When finished, the lock doors are closed and the canal pound is refilled with water from the lock above. The whole job can be done in 48 hours.

My barge

My barge was built in the 1920's, she's called "Vieux reve" which means the "Old dream". She is a "Luxe motor", type of boat. With a length of 30 metres (thats just a bit more than a 100 feet), 5 metres wide, the keel draws 1.10 metres on the stern, and 50 cm at the bow, there is just one lower deck, a large sun deck, the original crew quaters at the stern, the barge offers much space.
There are quite a few types of barges around, from Tjalks to Freycient to Klippers and others.
I really like the the outlines of the Luxe motors, smooth curves and a proud bow.
What used to hold the cargo, is now converted into two sleeping cabins, a kitchen/galley/breakfast bar and large saloon. The stern cabin, is still in it's original state, with wood panneling, a tiny shower/sink/wc, a large double bed and a small desk.
The wheel house is also original, but with a few modern gadgets for steering and motor control.

Guess I'll say Bonjour

I think I'll start this with the intention of sharing some of my barging experience and the passion I have developed for the canals over the last 20 years.
Just to situate you, I'm in France, in the region of Burgundy, on what is called the Canal of Burgundy or in French La Canal de Bourgogne I've been living and working on a barge for quite a few years. I guess like many other people, I decided to "throw" it all away and get out of the rat race. After leaving school in the UK, going to London to find a job etc etc. I suddenly realized that this was not what I thought it was all about. So... I just left and went to France.
I had heard about barges and canals, Paris and the river Seine, so at the age of 23, I packed my one and only bag, took the train to Dover, the midnight ferry to Calais and trained to Paris. This used to be a cheap way to travel to Paris.
I basically left everything behind... with no regrets.