On the night of 27th June, following a record breaking week long heat wave, a wind storm swept across Northern France.
A mighty bankside willow is shattered by the storm
As I write, we are waiting at Le Gard having reached the summit level of the Sambre a l'Oise canal. The VNF, 'Voies Navigables de France' have halted our onward navigation, while they try and clear swathes of trees that have fallen across the waterway. This we are told may take another week.
At Berlaimont we wait for a passage to be cleared ahead.
No way past this one
Once cleared by the VNF,
we slowly pass the same tree a few days later.
Even getting this far has been a challenge. For the past week, passages that should have taken only a couple of hours have taken all day. We have seen very few fellow cruisers on the move.
Cutting our way through branches tangled in the rudders
Not often I get to play in the dinghy
There is no longer any commercial traffic on this part of the Sambre and maintenance has become a low priority. At tick over we have been wriggling around fallen trees. At one point a sapling tree right across the canal managed to tangle between our props and rudders. My own efforts to cut it clear was helped by a VNF crew who came to our aid, and on a Sunday!
Two VNF crew turned out on a Sunday.
This stubborn liittle tree had lodged itself
between our props and the rudders.
Lack of traffic has also allowed weed to take hold
We manage to brush past most of these fallen trees
Ecluse no 1 Top lock
On the summit level at last.
I take the bike to check out the canal ahead.
I even spot this weed-eater,
working on the lower reaches
At Le Gard, we wait with other craft.
Under clear blue skies and another spell of 30+ temps.
A voice in my ear suggests that we could have taken an easier route.
