covered only 21km – about half of what you can do on the river in the same time .
We had time to stroll around the town , to take in the view across the valley from the castle ruins and visit the embroidery museum commemorating Fontenoy as the birth place of that skill . A visiting pizza oven provided our on board supper .
A sunny and warm morning greeted us on day 8 and we pushed on eager to leave the river .
It was less than a kilometre to the first lock on the Canal des Vosges which , as its name implies , runs North / South for 122 km along the western edge of the Vosges Mountains following the valley of the River Coney .
Our route was to cover almost its whole length up to the Embranchement de Nancy ( the short connecting canal to the Canal de la Marne au Rhin , Ouest ).
At the lock we were given a remote control to trigger the operation of the locks at receiving points some 200m or so before each lock although this can vary greatly and I ’ m sure is designed to catch out the unwary .
This system is preferable to system on the Saone whereby you have to twist a long flexible pole suspended from a cable across the river . Twelve locks and a manually operated turning bridge lay between us and Fontenoy-le-Chateau .
We made good progress , climbing steadily by about three metres per lock and moored at 14.20 . To illustrate the difference with canal travel we had a five hour running time but
Re-fuelling opportunities are few and far between ( unless you are prepared to struggle with cans back and forth to a supermarket – we have seen this done – it ’ s a non- starter for us ) so the rule is that you take on fuel wherever it is available .
A hire boat base at Fontenoy provided such an opportunity and we filled up as we departed . Another warm and dry day which is always welcome when the canopy has to be down in case of low bridges ; clearance heights are not marked as they are in Holland so if the bimini is up every bridge becomes a challenge of judgement . Didn ’ t you see that pipe mounted under the bridge – whoops ?!
We lunched at a pretty picnic area with cut grass , mooring bollards and tables – very civilised . A hiccup at one lock saw the crew go ashore and call up but it was quickly sorted . In another the engine note changed – no cooling water - and your skipper dived down below to clear the filter . It was not blocked so minor panic .
Engine restarted to exit the lock and all was fine so it was probably the proverbial plastic bag or similar sucked onto the intake . Relief all round . Fourteen locks , 5½ hours running time and only 15km covered – the “ gradient ” was increasing .
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