Rhonda's Comment: Captain Zap and Little Captain Zap.
After a pretty wonderful couple of weeks at Cambrai where we did our Cevni tests etc and met a new bunch of folks who added to the good feelings we have had so far in our travels. To Carol and John, Steve, Bob and Bobbie, Alistair and Bernard the local hotelier where we spent a few very pleasant hours indeed. Thanks for the memories and may we keep in touch and hope our paths cross again soon. The weather was really good and the berthage was top grade and by having our motor scooter to get about we saw so much of the area which was just so nice.
On Wednesday we set off to further our experiences of this great country and its people by heading upstream as they say on the canal St Quentin and faced 14 locks en route to our first nights stay at the little village of Honnecourt-s-Escaut which is purely an agricultural centre, and I can assure you this was no easy task and while only being some 23kms from Cambrai it, took us 6½ hours to get there due to the time it took to get through the locks which were so busy due to the temporary closure of the main route, Canal du Nord which normally takes the majority of large commercial traffic but which had now been diverted to the Canal St Quentin.
Once you get behind a few of these “large commercials” as they are called, it takes so much longer to get through the locks as you have to cue up or “lurk” as it is referred to. In other words, sit back from the locks shifting from forward to reverse gear, while traffic ahead or coming towards you clears and then you shuffle in and so on. Rather than taking 15 mins it can take 30 mins in such heavy traffic.
We have slowly improved our skills at getting into and out of these locks and seem to be doing less bouncing off the walls as the water inside rises or drops. It starts slowly then all of a sudden it is like being in a lift as the main bulk of water is dropped or raised and the flow of water throws the barge from side to side too. While I have had to learn so much more about the barge’s behaviour in all sorts of situations, Rhonda has had to become more agile and learn how to lassoo bollards, pulling ropes to suit the barges needs as the ebb and flow of the water shoves the boat around and to be ready to drop fenders into the gap to protect the boat as much as possible from bump damage.
ule for the 5.67 kms right through this mountain, pretty much in a dead straight line. Being the last in line is a bit more difficult due to the flow of water coming from around and under the barges ahead so there is fair bit of banging and bumping into the walls until it all settles into a smoother rhythm. However, after an hour or so I found my eyes played tricks and I started to feel as though the barge in front was moving into a corner etc so we cranked up the CD player and made the most of the 2½ hours experience of tunnel travel with just a centre row of fluorescent tubes to illuminate the whole way. Just try to put your self in this situation of being in the dark except for the flouros and I can bet your eyes would go wonky as well. Others we have spoken to who have done this trip also speak of the difficulty and were surprised we had tackled it at all being relative newbie’s but that is the way life goes. 
ion canal tunnel in the world is amazing due to its construction and with it having a walk path along one side and when you consider it was built in the 17th century, one can only imagine how many millions of travellers have used it since it was built including the hundreds of thousands of German troops who used it in the occupation of France in two world wars to move troops and equipment back and forth. When you come out there is a huge sigh of relief to be back in the sun but the joy is short lived as 3 kms down the track so to speak there is another tunnel of just over one km long which you have to drive through so its back to high concentration levels again. 
By the time we reached Saint Quentin some 5 hours later after working our way downhill through these locks (until then it had all been uphill so different procedures are required to manage these ones) we were horrified to find the marina full, however, on the far side of the little inlet there was a wharf which looked to be ok but just as we were about to tie up we were told in French in no uncertain terms that the whole area was reserved for a fishing competition and despite our protestations that we would be gone early in the morning the answer was still NO. So after muttering about bloody fishermen etc, we pulled back across the marina and rafted (doubled) up to a larger barge which was not occupied, so that was ok as we had water and power across his decks if we wanted it. At €26.50 per night, we decided to stay for a couple of nights to get back some of our balance etc.
Upon awakening round 6.30am we looked out of the windows to find the wharf where we had wanted to berth jammed with fishermen, so we were glad we didn’t push the point of wanting to berth there too much. We could not believe that so many came to fish for what we might call bait fish at best and each fisherperson seemed to have an entourage accompanying them for support. Kiwis and Aussie fisher people would have a great laugh I think.
We couldn’t get the scooter off so had to walk some 2 kms to town to shop and to see the city centre. It is amazing that the French call every town hall Hotel De Ville, so one can get quite confused if looking for accommodation. The city square which is ov
er looked by a large church or cathedral is very nice and we are told on Saturdays there is a huge market but as we wanted to get down the canal, we thought it would be quieter on a Saturday with less “commercials” coming and going but again we were wrong due to the closure of the Canal du Nord. They were all going like hell to make their trips as per schedule so it was a case of chasing or being chased by these BIG FELLOWS but also being held up at locks by them as it takes so much longer to get them through and as they have right of way sometimes we would have to wait “lurking” while the lockmaster allowed two to come through against us so that means loading the lock after the first one goes through and repeating the procedure for the second one. Annoying but that is the way it is set up.
Some beautiful houses you see along the way
On top of that we had a couple of unfriendly Germans in their plastic launch squeeze into each lock with us only to have them panic about our wash as I leave “Somewhere” in gear so as to keep her against one wall or the other so after one of the lockmasters told them to settle down we carried on regardless. The fact that it was Anzac Day for us didn’t make our feelings any better towards them but I guess that is a prejudice we should overlook.
Eventually we got to the industrial town of Chauny where we found room to tie up among the BIG BOYS and collapse after tea into bed, however, this was after Harry discovered that the grass lay-by alongside was full of rabbits, at least 20 of them ran about so you can imagine how funny he looked bouncing through the long grass after these critters.
This town while not being very attractive has a recorded history dating back to the when man first used flints, scrapers and other implements on to the Galio-Roman period so coins from the Ancient Regime, the Revolution and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Republics, the 1st and 2nd Empires can be still found and in addition, has a well structured museum of artefacts collected from the first and second World Wars, so for you students of European history, Chauny is a town to visit.
The colours of the countryside are magnificent.
We were up again early to get ahead of the commercial boys only to find that they had gone at some ungodly hour. It was amazing that we didn’t hear a sound despite their huge engines so we headed off in pursuit and had a great day toddling along through som
e beautiful countryside and as there were long straights of a kilometre or more where the canal lined alongside with huge poplar trees which looked great so Rhonda spent a lot of time at the wheel while I was able to potter about catching up on a few jobs. It was good for her as it gave her an appreciation of how the boat handles and its various funny habits so she is becoming an all-round experienced boatie. We turned off the Canal St Quentin onto a river called L,Aisne which will lead us towards (Rhonda says “ no idea”) but should put us into the Champagne area in a few days so LOOK OUT. We may never be the same again.
After the turn off we saw a mooring place with a park and mooring rings set into the bank so we turned around, scared the fishermen off the site and tied up and it is like being in boaties heaven. It is so pretty here (Choisy-au-Bac) and peaceful so we look forward to spending at least a couple of days here to see the area and catch up on the shopping from the local centre which is not too far away and as we can get the scooter off we should enjoy the opportunity.
Well next morning while unloading the scooter a young woman with small child walked by and said “hello” in English so we had a chat and it transpired that she is a school teacher and had learned to speak English in Missouri in the USA as an exchange student some years ago. She offered to take us to Compiegne which is a city some 10 kms away where there is a very large supermarket and marine chandlery. We accepted her kind offer so she returned home to get her car and drove us to this great shopping centre where we stocked up on all sorts of food and groceries and it was so helpful to have her with us acting as translator advising what some of the foods were and finding foods we had no idea what they were called in French. The same thing applied at the marine chandlery where we were able to purchase so many items that we had been looking for but to date this is the best shop we had come across as so many so called chandleries would fit in the fishing corner of the Smart Marines or Sailors Corner etc.
In the evening she returned with her husband who is also a specialist teacher and we spent the evening talking about the features of the area and about New Zealand so it was great to have this exchange of information while enjoying their company and emptying a couple of bottles of wine.
This area has a really interesting history like all of France, however, there have been some significant events like being the place where Joan of Arc was captured, leading to her eventual execution by being burned at the stake. Napoleon the 1st and Napoleon the 3rd stayed in the area for periods of time fighting some of their local wars in the forests which surround the towns so he built castles and fortresses to suit his needs and these still stand despite being on the front lines of World War I and World War II.
In the nearby forest glade is the actual site where the Armistice for WW1 was signed in October 1918 by the French along with representatives from the Allied Forces who had caused so much damage to the German forces by this time that they wanted to negotia
te a peace so a special rail carriage was set up in the forest and used as the signing site at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th Month of 1918 so as to end this terrible war which for some reason has been named the Great War. How such a name is beyond me and in part due to the crippling amounts of reparations demanded of the German people by the French and the Allies was one of the real reasons that Hitler was able to stir his people who were living almost in abject poverty, to follow his lead. He then went on to rebuild the German war machine and to develop the Nazi party so that some twenty years after the close of “The Great War” he had his troops marching into France in June 1940 and he took back this famous carriage as the French war effort collapsed and he then had it taken to Berlin just to show his superiority. Sadly at the close of this war the carriage was burned, however, another of the same build and vintage was refurbished and set up in the glade again (now kept indoors in a specially constructed exhibition hall) where you can visit and view lots of war memorabilia and actually walk on the original rails and feel the history surrounding you.
Sadly, while this area has also been famous for the really huge factories which produce everything from Michelin tyres to Colgate soaps etc to Alcan and to wheel rim manufacturers and everything in between, thus supporting very large logistics companies to get the products moved around Europe. The downturn in the economy has led to huge closures and layoffs which are really hurting the city and surrounding towns. Unemployment is expected to reach 20% later this year.
Upon that rather depressing note I will close off on a brighter side by saying that Rhonda and I went on the scooter back to Compiegne today to spend more money at the chandlery shop so using some of the items we bought, can now lift our boarding platform off the rear deck so we should be able to tie up to almost any bank along the waterways we are yet to explore and enjoy.
Rhonda's Comment: Pat White eat your heart out!!!Oily Rag - Fag or Cigarette
Oxford Scholar - Lend me a dollar
Pen and Ink - Stink
Rabbit and Pork - Talk – She can’t arf rabbit
Rosy Lea - Tea – ‘Ow about a cup of rosy
Skyrocket - Pocket – Me skies are empty
English to Cockney
Card - Bladder of Lard
Cash - Sausage and Mash
Married - Cash and Carried
Mouth - North and South
Walk - Bag of Chalk
Take care of each other and remember that “this life ain’t a dress rehearsal so if you want to do it…..do it.
Fantasic- and well done on the Blog. We're envious!
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