Thursday 4th June 2015 Iwuy to Valenciennes. 26.9kms 4 locks

Daevenos coming into Pont Malin lock

4.2° C Warm and sunny all day, light breeze. Having been let down again by the dock (an old side slip) that we have used for years (for the second time in two years) we managed to book the dry dock at Seneffe for the 12th, so we're on our way again with fingers tightly crossed that nothing else goes wrong! One loaded boat (Noliser) came down the canal and an empty went uphill. We set off at 9.50am and followed MR into the right hand chamber of Iwuy lock, there were two VNF men on the lock island. Mike had

Keeper's cabin at Pont Malin

problems with the raw water intake, it was blocked, so I asked the VNF if we could delay operating the lock until Mike had sorted the problem. It only took him a few minutes to extract a big wedge of compacted water weeds. I took our rubbish across the other lock chamber to the bins on the far side and asked if we could leave the car’s old aircon radiator by the bins. The VNF man took it for us. Down 2.7m and continued on down the Escaut at 10.15 am. Not far

Pusher pair Anita and Twister

until we joined the Grand Gabarit (heavy tonnage route) and so Mike called the next lock, Pont Malin, and spoke to the keeper. OK, no problems the lock would be ready for us. The loaded boat Noliser was tying up on the quay above the lock. A loaded pusher pair called Kelvi came up the lock, the keeper called us into the short section of lock at the downhill end and we thought he was going to use the small lock (the chamber has intermediate gates) but he

Below Trith lock

came down from his high cabin and took all our details then told us there was another boat coming. Loaded Dutch péniche Daevenos from Weert came into the lock behind us and the skipper came to chat. He was keen to buy a narrowboat as he was going to retire in two years’ time and his daughter lives in London. He went back to his boat down the ladder as the lock emptied – his wife was on holiday in the UK with their daughter so he was working single handed. 4.3m down and on to an 8.7 km pound. A Dutch

Pusher pair Zeltina and Crao under the A2 motorway bridge

cruiser called Utopia went past heading upriver. Mike and Graham chatted with Jos on Daevenos on channel 77. It wasn’t long before the péniche was disappearing into the distance, on his way to unload at Einhoven. Empty 55m (643T) boat Cum-Deo was on the quay at Neuville and another Dutch cruiser (Ijsvogel) went past heading uphill, followed by an empty péniche called Anex at Lourches. G called Denain lock and we listened for the answer just in case he couldn’t understand the

Moored in the weirstream in Valenciennes next to new pontoons.

keeper. OK. One going down (Daevenos) and one to come up, then we could go down with the 80m boat just about to set off from the port above the lock. The loaded 80m boat was called Waterworld and we followed him to the lock. Koala was still in the port (an empty 80m) and an empty called Beatrice (1000T) was moored on the lock approach quay. Miranda, a 46m loaded boat came up the lock and we followed Waterworld into the chamber. Mike had a floating bollard for our stern end, but the bollard level with the fore end had no counterparts lower down the wall so I had to use one long rope. Down 4.8m (watch out for that rope coming down!) and on to a 6.7km pound. The loaded boat gradually left us behind. Going through Denain we passed a loaded uphill pusher pair called Anita and Twister (with the oldest hippy in the world acting as deck hand). Mike put a call out to announce our passage on channel 10 as we approached the narrows and three bridges on a bend at Haulchin, no reply, but we kept well to the right – good job we did as loaded boat Avila went past, pushing on at a good speed, heading uphill under the second bridge. Two Dutch 1000 tonners we in the port at Prouvy, Merweland was unloading at the silo quay, while Rumandy was at the silo beyond the container quay on the left. Another boat was moored on the quay, another Dutch boat but smaller (only 503T) it was some type of tanker as it was pumping something at the silo quay. We caught up with Waterworld at Trith lock as they had had to wait for an uphill boat. An empty 80m called Las Vegas was just setting off from the quay above the lock so we went past the one we were following and tied to the lower piling to wait. A loaded 80m came up then we went down another 3.9m. Below the lock there was another empty 80m boat Will-Teir on the waiting quay. In our engine room Mike had heard a rattling noise and so he investigated and found a support for the exhaust pipe was loose, so I steered while he fixed it. As we went under the A2 motorway bridge we passed another loaded pusher pair, Zeltina and Crao. On into Valenciennes. We passed the rowing club, which still looked derelict, a cruiser moored next to it looked like it had been left there for years. Sunbathers had taken over the rowing club’s pontoons and G spotted the first female topless sunbather this year. On the way into the city there was a row of moored working boats, empty Casablanca with high pram bows, then two Dutch boats, Alyssia and Lavanda, with skippers sunbathing on the decks. A group of drunks were shouting something at us from under the bridge, but we ignored them. A Belgian boat, Ludovic was moored by the university, again the skipper was sitting out enjoying the sunshine. An empty 80m boat called Dubail went past heading upriver followed by a loaded péniche called Luxor from Gent. G turned MR at the entrance to the weirstream by the high school, to the left of Folien lock, and went astern into the arm. We tied against new pontoons and a chap off a cruiser came to tell us that the Capitanerie doesn’t open until Saturday as everything is brand new. He said that water and electricity were connected but they had no way of charging for it yet. Packed all the stuff away then Mike and Graham went to retrieve G’s car from Iwuy.