Port Leucate to Narbonne (June 2012)

Arbutus is back in the water where she belongs with her mast safely and securely (fingers crossed) resting on the entire length of the deck from stern to bow and then some. A good portion (two metres) of the mast surpasses Arbutus’s bow. This could prove useful on the canals if we need to intimidate other boats. Only kidding. The quick crossing from Port Leucate to Port La Nouvelle was relaxing and enjoyable. After the semi-stressful boat launch and demasting Paul could finally relax. We were able to maneuver the boat well, the engine sounded great, there were zero knots of wind (which didn’t bother us because the mast was lying on the deck), and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The conditions were perfect. And then it started to get a little hairy as we entered the unknown. The pressure mounts as we enter Port La Nouvelle and approach the entrance of the Canal de la Robine. We intended to dock at Port La Nouvelle...but we quickly strayed from the plan when we saw how easily we could embarrass ourselves in front of the many onlookers. So forward we go! We reach the entrance of the canal and only after a few metres we stop dead in our tracks. We were stuck in the mud...but of course this is planned! We wanted to let the group of swimmers pass safely by us. I don’t know where these swimmers came from...they came out of nowhere. Arbutus boasts a retractable keel and it’s essential to have a boat with a maximum draft of a metre and a half (almost five feet) to traverse the French canals. So we raised the keel and slowly made it to our first lock. There wasn’t an obvious area to moor the boat so we choose the side where we saw some squat wooden stubby posts. As we approached the edge of the canal Paul told me to Jump! WTF...there was nowhere safe to jump and I couldn’t clear the gap between the boat and the embankment. As we were slowly passing the stubby wooden posts Paul jumped...and secured his line and I threw him my line. Show off...We spoke to the lock keeper who kindly showed us how to operate the lock and also helped us secure our lines as we entered the lock. We successfully passed our first lock unscathed. It was actually pretty fun and exhilarating. Driving through the canal was enjoyable. We just had to be alert that we didn't get too close to the sides of the canal where there wasn't a lot of depth. It was really calm and peaceful, my only complaint was the blazing hot sun. So to avoid being cooked by the intense sun rays we covered our shoulders with towels and used the rain umbrella to provide some shade. Again, when we reached the second lock it wasn't obvious where we should moor. Instead of wide stubby wooden posts we saw tall skinny wooden poles, this time on the left side of the canal. We only prepared the lines to moor on starboard side so we quickly had to untie and retie the lines on port side. Once again Paul told me to jump...and once again I looked at him in disbelief. Thankfully a kind Australian tourist who was seated on the patio of a nearby restaurant saw us and came to our aid.

At this moment I thought about Paul's mom, who will take my spot at Narbonne and help Paul through the rest of the 150 locks! It was her vacation and I wondered if she was aware that there would be some work involved on her vacation. But I'm sure they will find a less arduous method to pass each lock as they become more familiar with the process. As we neared Narbonne the lock here didn't disappoint either. I was happily taking pictures of the activity around the canal oblivious to the woman yelling at us. She was yelling “pull the cord”...but I had no clue what she meant. Thankfully Paul realized we needed to pull the rope that was suspended from the bridge overhead to open the lock's gate...unfortunately he realized this after we passed the rope. Paul quickly put Arbutus in reverse and successfully put us in a good position to reach and pull the rope.

The lock was just after this bridge and as we were passing underneath we were thankful that we followed Jean-Claude and Nicole's advice to remove the stern gantry because otherwise we could have never passed under the bridge. When we entered the third lock the water level was very low and the lock's walls rose well above our heads. So I had to climb the ladder to reach the top of the lock. I made sure we were close enough to the ladder before I “jumped”. However, as a result the tip of the mast touched the wall, but thankfully there was no damage. In Narbonne, we docked in front of a curious French couple who owned their own self drive boat. Paul quickly invited Alain on board to see Arbutus’s interior and after a long chat they decided the next day they would traverse part of the canal together. We biked into town to buy some groceries before we had to meet Paul's mom at the train station. The following morning I caught a train back to Paris to work. I only passed through the first three locks with Paul and I was really disappointed to leave and miss a unique opportunity to visit France by the canals. Also going through the locks were a lot of fun, each one was different and we didn't know what to expect. I also thoroughly enjoyed the experience because I never once felt seasick ;). I wished Paul and his mom good luck for the remaining 150 locks!!!!