We’re on our way!

We set off onto the Canal du Roanne a Digoin on Wednesday, August 18^th. The locks on this canal are still manned by lockkeepers, who hand-crank the gates open and closed. One of us can jump off to help, it is appreciated, but its not necessary, and we're so new to the boat that staying on aboard the boat and making sure we're safe in the locks is our first priority.

July and August are the big vacation months for the French. It seems everyone takes off on holiday – entire stores, restaurants, shops, are closed for vacances (vacation ). Along this canal, the lockkeepers are on vacation, but the locks are open and manned by temporary workers – college students! What a great summer job! They remind me so much of my grand-nieces and nephews –happy, fun, enthusiastic. When they see our American flag, they try out their English on us – of course, its much better than our French, and they even have American accents.

Our first lock, out of the harbor and onto the canal, is only a .3 meter drop – a nice way to start out. All of these locks are descents for us as we make our way down to the Canal du Centre. Descending locks are a bit easier than ascending locks – we enter the lock in its full state, so lassoing the bollards is easy. We have to be careful as we descend that the lines run free and don't hang up on themselves – if they did, we would have to cut them to avoid hanging our barge out to dry as the lock empties.

Lock No. 7 is one of the deepest in the whole network of locks in France, Ecluse de Bourg-le-Comte – 7.20 meters deep. The college student part time lookkeeper throws the line to me as we reach the bottom. As we pulled out, I took a photo of him up on the bridge cranking the lock doors shut – it's a good workout!