Slipped our mooring lines from around the trees at 0820 this morning. Arrived at our first lock before long. After yesterday we learned not to be near the entrance when the levels drops due to the fierce cross currents. Mayuri also jumped out before I went in with the boat so that she could go up the stairs and be at the top of the lock to catch the ropes without having to climb the slippery ladder attached to the wall inside. Everything went ok, but It takes a lot of work to keep the boat straight even when your expecting the surges from the sides. We went up about 8m and when level with the top, Mayuri jumped back in and we set off.
Half an hour later the next obstacle came into view. Because we don’t have a map, we’re still not sure whats coming up next. First we thought it was a tunnel as it looked too big to be a lock but as we got closer the black bit that we thought was the hole in the tunnel turned out to be a huge black steel gate. I pulled up and Mayuri jumped out and headed up the hill via the steps. The lights next to the gate changed to red/green (get ready) and the steel door started to go up, leaving a hole in the massive wall to go through. The currents were really strong and I virtually went through sideways, but once inside it was ok. Once inside it reminded me of the deathstar in starwars as the door slid down behind me, leaving me at the bottom of this massive concrete box about 100m long, 15 wide and 20 high. I saw Mayuri looking down from the top and shouted that I’d never be able to throw the rope up. It turned out that there were cleats in the wall that go up with the water. I pulled up next to one and tied on, then the bloke operating the lock whistled down and pointed for me to go further forward. I went along and moored up again. It took about half an hour from being outside to being level with the top. The depth sounder read 18m. It’s one of those things you have to see to understand how huge it is - 30,000 odd tonnes of water just to raise a 3 tonne boat 18m.
The next lock only went up about 3m and Mayuri didn’t even bother to get out before hand. We motored for the rest of the day through what looks like a coal mining area - it was a bit like sailing up the M18 past Doncaster, but with a few nicer villages in between. At one point we came across a fork where the two channels were the same size. I guessed the right and hoped for the best. Luckily a few minutes later there were signs showing we were on the right canal. The other went to Brussels! This canal now is the main route through to Paris and the barges are huge. They come past varying everything from gas to gravel. The biggest yet was 95 metres long by 10 wide and 1500 tonnes carrying lorry containers. They seem to be travelling a lot faster on this canal and as they come past the waves are like being on the sea again which is why when it got to 1930 we decided to turn off into a port de plaisance rather than tie up with my home made mooring stakes - that pulled out straight away yesterday - even though it cost 9euros.
