Moss and a Mausoleum. Plus a hoard of plums.

Although it is too early for walnuts and too late for cherries, it is just approaching plum season.  I'm always on the lookout for an overhanging branch of a plum tree (that is not overlooked by any windows) or better still one beside a road with no apparent owner.  We found such a tree beside the railway crossing at Rolamport this morning and picked enough to make jam.

More about this later

Before getting to the Moss and the Mausoleum, here are some photos of our evening walk yesterday to the Pont Romaine.  You are not even allowed to walk on it!  Julian swam and I went in up to my torso. I will spare you the photo!

Pont Romaine near Rolomport.

No vehicles or pedestrians

Julian seen through one of the arches

Julian taking a dip

Julian being very brave

Relaxing under the trees after visiting the Pont Romaine - they have Ash dieback

Today, another stiflingly hot one, we set off on our bikes just before lunchtime to see La Tufiere, which is a spring and limestone deposit and a lot of moss.  A beautiful spot with information boards, but even with the English translation I did not quite get whether it was about the build up of moss or stone or whether the moss turned into stone.

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Retracing our steps somewhat we returned to the sign in the centre of Rolamport pointing to the Gallo Romaine Mausoeleum. Thinking that sounded interesting we set off.  7km later we reached a small house that was a museum with a 3.5 euro per person entry charge.

We still had not got to the actual mausoleum.  Anyhow we duely paid to get in, mainly because it was hot and it seemed cool inside.  We are so glad we did as we had a personal guided tour of the relics - in English - that had been rescued from the mausoleum.

When we actually got to the Mausoleum site, a further 2 km, it was very uninspiring.  So glad the little museum with the actual relics and a reconstruction was open.

Our final voyage - Quercy for sale *AVAILABLE OCTOBER 2018* SOLD

Quercy - Piper 55 for Sale - October 2018 SOLD

I love cruising on Quercy, gliding along at 6 km down a tree lined waterway, I enjoy the locks and relish the often tight manoeuvring into a crowded mooring. So why am I now putting Quercy up for sale?

Well, we have enjoyed four years of cruising although our commitments mean that in any one year I have been lucky to manage two month's on the water. During the four years we have accumulated a number of grandchildren and feel ourselves pulled in their direction. Rather than maintain Quercy for possibly just a few weeks in any year we will focus for the next few seasons on family.

My hope is that somewhere down the road I will be allowed to get  back into boating.

Quercy floor plan.

Description

Quercy is fitted to full year-round luxury live-aboard spec with top of the range equipment.

The rear sundeck is fitted with a custom made awning and dodgers and this is easily

and conveniently accessed through the hardwood wheelhouse.  

Wheelhouse and Sundeck

The interior layout consists of a spacious saloon with galley area, two double cabins

and two shower/toilets. The wheelhouse has a table and seating for 4 people, which

converts into a further double bed.

Saloon and Galley with steps to Wheelhouse

Certificated to Category C, the boat is fitted with all the necessary equipment to meet

this specification and is ideal for river and canal navigation, whilst also being licenced

to cross the channel. Sold fully equipped and ready to cruise.

Saloon with corridor to cabins 

Quercy’s striking colours and beautiful lines are much admired along the waterways.  

With a length of just under 17 meters she is small enough to find overnight accommodation

in almost any marina on the French canal system, whilst being large enough to

accommodate 6 people in comfort should the need arise. The boat has been well maintained by two
careful owners and has suffered little wear and tear - she really does look younger than her 9 years!

Built by Piper Boats in the UK and completed in November 2009.

She was delivered by road to Saint-Jean-de-Losne, in France, and has never been in salt water.

Hull and Superstructure: Steel with Wheelhouse in hardwood

Propulsion: Beta Marine 120hp 6-cylinder diesel with PRM hydraulic gearbox

Bow Thruster: Hydraulic - driven from engine gearbox.

Electrical System: Fully integrated Mastervolt system backed up by solar panels.

Specification

Length: 16.97m

Beam: 3.82m

Air Draught:

1. with the wheelhouse folded: 2.10m

2. with the wheelhouse in place: 2.80m

3. With the awning in place: 3.07m

Draught: 0.70m

Engine power: 120hp

Bow-thruster: 10hp hydraulic

Engine fuel tank: 1200 litres

Heating fuel tank: 300 litres

Drinking water tank: 1440 litres

Black water tank: 1000 litres with evacuation pump.

Technical

The following specification exceeds the standard Piper offering.

Propulsion:

Beta Marine 120 hp 6 cylinder engine with PRM gearbox.

Hercules 10hp  hydraulic bow-thruster powered from a gearbox take-off.
Electrical

Fully integrated 24 volt Mastervolt system comprising:
12x580 Ah 2 volt gel batteries, replaced in 2014
Whisper Ultra 6kVa generator with fully silenced exhaust and remote operating panel in cabin;
150 amp engine-driven alternator;
Mass Combi 4kW inverter charger;
Mass GI 3.5 shore-power isolation panel;
MasterView Easy integrated monitoring system with readouts at helm position and in cabin;
Battery charger.
100 watt solar panels for battery charging when boat is unoccupied.

Cabin lighting throughout by energy saving leds.

Separate engine starter batteries, replaced in 2014.

Separate generator starter battery, replaced in 2016.

Navigation
Raymarine A50 chart plotter with GPS incorporated;

Raymarine Ray 218E marine VHF radio with loudhailer and intercom to front deck;
Raymarine ST60 depth gauge;
Raymarine ST60 rudder position indicator

Other equipment

Harworth ‘Bubble’ marine oil-fired boiler, upgraded in 2016 with a new enhanced burner.
Jabsco deluxe electric flush toilets;
Seagull IV water purification system;
Challenge laptop sized safe in engine compartment;
Lofrans mechanical windlass with anchor and chain;
Sony radio/CD player at helm position.
General

Quercy is fully insulated and double-glazed throughout. Heating is provided by

Harworth oil-fired boiler with radiators throughout including the wheelhouse

and shower rooms. Hot water is provided by the oil-fired boiler, electric immersion

heater or from the engine.

The galley is equipped with: a 4 ring gas cooker with grill and oven; a large marine-spec

fridge/freezer; a microwave; sink and drainer with an additional filtered drinking-water tap;

top of the range Miele washer/dryer with extremely low water and power consumption;

an extractor cooker hood; a good amount of storage.

There is also a gas detector and safety cut-out. Gauges are provided to show all tank levels

and there is a generator control panel and an electrical system monitoring screen.

Bathroom facilities consist of:

A main washroom with a separate shower cubicle, a washbasin and an electric macerator toilet.
compartment can be integrated with the guest cabin as an en suite.

A wet-room with a shower, washbasin and electric macerator toilet which is en-suite with the

main sleeping cabin.

The wheelhouse is double-glazed and heated for comfort in colder months and the entire

front windscreen panel is easily folded forward in hot weather.

Access to the engine room is by a hatch and stairway concealed beneath one of the seats.

The upper part of the wheelhouse can be lowered in the unlikely event of this being necessary.

Quercy has cruised most of the smaller canals without needing to even lower the awning.
Other

Quercy will be offered for sale with everything needed to start cruising and this includes:

Ample ropes, hoses, life-jackets, fire extinguishers, binoculars, charts for just about

everywhere in France.

Two fold away bicycles in the engine room.

All furniture, crockery, pots pans and kitchen utensils, vacuum cleaner.

A small collection of useful spares and engine room equipment.

Outside folding deck furniture.

Note: We are enjoying our last cruise and the boat will not be available until

sometime in October. Viewing can be anytime, we are currently heading North

on the Champagne canal.

Sundeck through to Wheelhouse and steps to Saloon

Langres - Fortified hill town, Haute Marne and nearby the source of the River Marne.

Here we are next to another Piper barge Kokoro at Langres, well below Langres in fact; its quite a hike up to the town and consequently this area is a little haven of peace with only boats and camper vans. The quay soon gets filled up with boats looking for a mooring.  Ports have been few and far between up until now on this canal and since we left the River Saone - not helped by three unoccupied boats moored here permanently.  Two of which look so neglected that I doubt they will ever be used again. Shame they are taking up space that other touring boats who pay their cruising fees would appreciate. 

Outer walls Langres

Leaving Langres another barge (Tjalk) is turning in a winding hole as Langres was their turning back point.

We have lovely neighbours on Koroko with beautiful dog Emma.  So altogether a relaxing few days near an interesting busy town.  The weather has cooled to the low 20's so I have taken the opportunity to paint the top deck with non slip paint.  As always the prep is the hard bit, but all washed, dry and taped up and I've painted down one side.

Diderot son of Langres.  He invented and wrote the first Encyclopedia

In Langres there was a redundant tram that used to serve passengers arriving by rail.  Unfortunately almost no one arrives by rail any more so it remains an unused relic and a reminder of the days before everyone went everywhere by car.

The town has monumental fortifications dating for the most part from the 1800's.  1851 springs to mind above one doorway.  There are a few vestiges of Roman and later medieval walls and gateways, but most of these were swept aside during the Napoleonic era.

Here are some photos of the tunnel to the south of Langres

Approaching the tunnel before we arrived in Langres.  All proceeded smoothly through the tunnel as I would expect from Julian's impeccable and confident steering.

We decided to find the Source of the Marne river.  The longest tributary in France, flowing into the Seine East of Paris. It flows out of the ground in the area above the tunnel.  It is quite well signposted and was about 10km from the boat.

It was a very pleasant ride through a watery landscape on a hot day.  Shaded by trees in country lanes.  The Haute Marne is sparsely populated.  There are many golden fields or barley in the mid summer sun.

An old sign marked a cave where a Gaulish soldier who claimed to be the grandchild of Julius Caeser hid, with his wife and child for 7 years.  Unfortunately the Roman army eventually discovered his hiding place.

There are number of large lakes near here that have clean beaches and good swimming facilities ie sandy bottoms!

Just made up some plant boxes for the boat.  They dont show up very well here and as we are in July there wasn;t much choice in the Garden Centres.  There are Pinks and Ivy.  Hopefully both will survive a 3 day absence soon.

Going through locks on the Bourgogne Champagne Canal

I haven't taken many photos of us going through a lock recently.  It is a lovely sunny day with a breeze, so I decided to walk beside the canal with the boating hook and assist from above.  That way I could also take photos of the whole boat.

Entering the lock

The locks are automatic and we have a remote control to open them in advance.

In the lock gated closing

Lock keepers cottage now a private house

Leaving the lock taken from the other side

Leaving the lock and I'm off to the next one just 900 metres ahead.

Sometimes when you think you have got into a good routine with the locking procedure,you get a bit complacent.  Just one thing that is unexpected or different from all the rest and the whole thing can go pear shaped, unless you are always alert for hazards.

Here is a case in point.  As I had decided to walk along the canal side, Julian was doing all the ropes and controlling the boat from the wheelhouse, and was alone on board.  My only job was to take the boat hook and hook the rope up and on the lockside bollard at each lock. We were going up so we approached the locks from the downstream position and these locks were deep, up to 5 metres deep.

So he decided to secure the rope to the front bollards leaving as much rope as he needed for me to reach down and hook up the rope, loop end, and drop it over the the lock bollard next to me from my position above.  All worked fine until the position of the bollard on the lock changed.  The rope was then far too long and we only realised this as the gates were closing.  We almost got squeezed in the huge lock gates.  Moral of the story is never set the lock gates to closed until you are properly moored up inside safely.

Too close for comfort

Nice old ironwork

Golden Morning in Haute Marne

This morning is one of those golden mornings, the only sounds are birdsong and the occasional cough from one of our neighbours in the small mooring area.  A port would be too grand a name as is is just a collection of about five boats of various shapes and sized moored alongside one another in an area where the canal widens just before a winding hole followed by a bridge and lock.

There is a small orchard and cherry and apple trees are also dotted within the picnic and camper van area alongside the canal.  Too late for cherries and too early for apples unfortunately!  We must wait for autumn and the bounty of free walnuts and fruit. Two camper vans currently keep company with our boats.

As we moored here yesterday at 4pm, we nodded to an American couple in a wide beam boat next to us (named Ce Que Sera Sera) and asked if they minded us squeezing in beside them on the end.  They did not.  Two men, one French and one German I think, appearedd from no where to take front and back ropes and to bang in a stake for us - there were no mooring bollards.  Along with the beauty of the canal you have to accept that there is little attempt to cater for boats and few opportunities to buy provisions.  You see past attempts in the form of old electric points and water facitities, but you are lucky if you find these working. Having some flour and yeast left over from last time we were cruising I have just started making a loaf of bread and currently waiting for it to rise.

We are at Dommarian on the Champagne and Marne Canal.  This is a deeply rural area of France, the Haute Marne.  The villages are unspoilt by rashes of modern lego block houses, although there is the odd shockingly bad conversion of former house or barn to modern living accommodation. In the main the existing fabric of the village dwellings has remained in a comfortable, more or less crumbling state of repair, and occasionally you see where real money has been lavished on one or two old manoires restoring them to former glories, only to shut them up for most of the year.  Back to earn the money to pay for it I guess.  For the majority of the village houses, shutters need a coat of paint, a wall here or there has collapsed, but the old openings for horse and cart or in some cases carriage have been retained and sympathetically incorporated within the current living space. The church bells chime the hours, the churchyards incorporate former military burials but in such a pictureque and poignant fashion, alongside their relatives with ceramic flowers, photos and ornate tombs.

We notice that there is a plant nursery in the this village so we will take our bikes and panniers over there this morning.  Later we will take a longer 40km bike ride to some open gardens and a castle.

We will stay here for two nights, so one full day before continuing on through a 3km tunnel to Langres.  A walled town on a hill.  Mooring is at the bottom - of course!