Berry au Bac to Reims

Set off at 0804 with nice sunshine but mist still hanging over the water. Arrived at Berry au Bac after an hour and started the first of 10 uphill locks. A German motor boat followed us nearly all day which meant we were at the front of the lock every time. After a couple of near crashes we rigged the stern line round a block to the winch which helped keep us off the lock gates when the water surged but it was still a real struggle.
After dinner we hit a patch of thick weed that stretched across the width of the canal and the engine nearly stopped. I put the motor into neutral and went onto the other which also bogged down straight away. We drifted to the side and did some forward & reversing and the props seemed to throw off whatever we had around them. Pleased I didn’t have to go in to sort it with the dead hedgehog that was floating next to us. The Germans overtook us and left but we’d finished the locks by then!
As we entered Reims, I noticed an Aldi, so we pulled up, had dinner then took turns going shopping - too much to carry in one trip. The sides of the canal that had been lined with wooden planks had rotted away leaving just rows of metal bolts sticking out which needed some careful fendering. A few hundred metres later we came across a Shell garage. We tried to moor up alongside but went aground on the rocky bottom so went across the other side. The bottom was still rocky but a fraction deeper so I ran across with the 25litre container before any barges came past and sank us with their wash. Another few hundred metres later we came across the marina we’d been hoping to spot and moored up. Although it was after 1630 we went into the town to look for a phone or simm card and found a shop with someone who spoke English and bought one. - although it doesn’t seem to work so back tomorrow! We also bumped into the Germans who’d been following us all day in the same shop. The marina office was open when we got back, so we paid our 10 euros for the night and plugged in to the electric ready for some hot showers.