Where is this in France ?

[Oldblueraincoat]

A beautiful building in the shadow of the Pyrenees

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[Liz]

Pau?

[Oldblueraincoat]

Bravo @Liz - Over to you

[Blaze]

@Nomoss We took a Lion Class sloop from Bordeaux to Port la Nouvelle in the early 70s. She had a draught of about 1m70 and from information received, the Canal du Midi originally had a depth of about 2m but had silted up over the years. We got through with no problems, though had to take care at one point (can't remember now where it was). It was a fantastic trip that I've always wanted to repeat .... though no doubt some things may have changed since then !

[Nomoss]

@Nomoss We took a Lion Class sloop from Bordeaux to Port la Nouvelle in the early 70s. She had a draught of about 1m70 and from information received, the Canal du Midi originally had a depth of about 2m but had silted up over the years. We got through with no problems, though had to take care at one point (can't remember now where it was). It was a fantastic trip that I've always wanted to repeat .... though no doubt some things may have changed since then !

We made the same trip in 1980 in our 8 ton Hillyard, 30 feet, bilge keels, with a draught of only 3'6".
However, the Canal de la Robine was almost out of use, and we sometimes had to force our way through silt and reeds blocking our way.
It is clearer now, as it is better maintained, although when there was regular commercial traffic the propellors of the laden barges kept the silt moving downstream, so it more or less maintained itself. When we tried to enter in 2007 a bar had formed just below the lower end, but this had been removed when we tried again with less draught.
We last came up in August 2009 from Port-la-Nouvelle to Roubia, in our 1972 (Califonian) Challenger 32, which I rebuilt in Mallorca. We made a few short trips from there, but found the canal horribly crowded for much of the year, and we were getting less nimble each year when it came to leaping on and off at locks, so finally sold the boat in 2014.

Pollux moored by our flat in Le Barcarès.

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[Blaze]

@Nomoss Nice boat. Of course our mast was stepped which cluttered up the deck
Back then the waters weren't busy, even in July. There was the odd peniche, one or two small yachts and a few bath tubs from Castelnaudary. You could tie up for the night virtually anywhere without a problem. We always had to do one side of the locks and I remember one in a tunnel in Narbonne where you had to use the boat hook to catch the "switch". Crossing the Aude was no problem, flat calm and plenty of water. I can still remember the incredibly strong smell of seaweed as we went from Narbonne to Port la Nouvelle !

[Nomoss]

@Nomoss Nice boat. Of course our mast was stepped which cluttered up the deck
Back then the waters weren't busy, even in July. There was the odd peniche, one or two small yachts and a few bath tubs from Castelnaudary. You could tie up for the night virtually anywhere without a problem. We always had to do one side of the locks and I remember one in a tunnel in Narbonne where you had to use the boat hook to catch the "switch". Crossing the Aude was no problem, flat calm and plenty of water. I can still remember the incredibly strong smell of seaweed as we went from Narbonne to Port la Nouvelle !

I think you probably UN stepped the mast (removed it from its step)
We saw/met a few yachts in 1980, but there were not anywhere near as many as now, and also quite a lot of peniches.
The lock controls varied between a switch hanging on a cable stretched above the canal, electric controls at the locks, photoelectric sensors at both ends of the lock, and manual operation.

Shopping halt at La Redorte, August 1980.

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Our last boat with mast on deck, arrived at Port-la-Nouvelle September 2008

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[Blaze]

Of course I meant unstepped (must read posting before sending !)
The boat had beautiful lines and had a wooden hull like the first one. I wouldn't recognise PlN now ...
All the locks then were manually operated except the one in Narbonne. Interesting when you get a staircase !
It's sad to part with a boat. This area is impossible to get a berth - the waiting list is years and it's very expensive ! Moorings are risky and I don't fancy trailer sailing now, too much hard work.

[Nomoss]

Another of the many reasons we left Mallorca was the cost of mooring a boat. We bought an apartment with a mooring in Le Barcarès in July 1997 for less than the cost of a mooring in Mallorca. Having the boat a day away encouraged us to make the move here as soon as we retired.

[Liz]

Not one of my own photos, as the ones I have are prints from visits in the 1980s
Where was I?

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