Luciole Blog

End of the season – cruise to the shipyard

Again, an enormous thank you to all our Luciole passengers and crew for the memorable days, weeks, and months this past season in beautiful Burgundy on the glorious Nivernais Canal. 2024 seems to have gone by in a flash.

We waved off our final passengers of the season on Saturday morning. It's always strange to see Vincent, our wonderful tour guide, heading for Paris at the end of the last cruise, knowing he won’t be returning with new passengers the next day.

After our goodbyes, the remaining crew threw themselves into a busy day of winterizing the boat. We were preparing the Luciole for the cruise to a shipyard in Paris for the five-year inspection required for our boat certificate. The deck, chairs, tables, and bikes were moved to Fontenille; summer curtains were replaced with winter ones, and the linens and soft furnishings were organized and stored, ready for next season.

On Sunday morning, we woke to lovely sunshine - what a start to the journey! We were a merry band of crew which included:
Captain - William
Matelot - Cailan
Along for the cruise James (Luciole host), Tim (long-time friend of William and previous host), Ebba (Luciole host joined us in Saint Mammès)
Catering services - Penny

We cruised beneath Gustav Eiffel’s bridge at Gurgy, festooned with flowers and looking so attractive reflected in the River Yonne. By the end of the day, the light was golden, and the autumnal colours were breathtaking. We moored close to Cézy on large mooring posts (duc-d’Albe) as dusk descended.

Early Monday, Cailan and James disembarked, taking bikes to find the essential croissants and bread. They returned successful, with news that they had also found a café for coffee. We slightly delayed our departure to avoid cruising in the descending fog, but thankfully, it lifted quickly, and we continued the cruise through Sens, the city where the first Gothic-style cathedral was constructed.

The electrically operated locks on the River Yonne are four times the size of those on the Nivernais Canal, where our usual system of counting is required to enter the lock, with only inches to spare on each side of the boat. The width of these river locks means counting is not necessary; instead, close attention must be paid to the pull of the boat toward the adjacent, fast-flowing weirs as we line up and then enter the lock.

Most of the locks have the usual steep sided walls, but others present a different challenge with sloping sides. Extra vigilance is required to avoid ‘getting hung up’ by the rudder on the slopes as the water evacuates. William and Cailan took extra care in these locks; they are a pilot’s nightmare and a world apart from our cozy Nivernais.

Once again, we cruised until dusk, this time mooring in the Deviation of Courlon-sur-Yonne beneath vast grain silos. Torches were used to help William bring the boat alongside the quay and to shine light on the top of the mooring spike for Cailan to hammer into the ground. What a team! Tim of the hotel barge Randle dropped by for the night, it was nice to see him. Tim helped us as matelot on our last trip to Paris. We particularly appreciated his next morning early drive to the boulangerie!

This evening was significant, as we had nearly completed the 50 Km section between the Yonne locks of Étigny and Cannes before the waterway was closed for maintenance. The VNF (Voie Navigable de France) kindly delayed the closure by two days, allowing us to pass through before work began on a damaged weir at Villeneuve-sur-Yonne. We celebrated with a cocktail, courtesy of our host, James - better known as "the Cocktail King" - and raised a glass in thanks to Luc in Auxerre and his colleagues for enabling our passage.

On Tuesday, we cruised through Montereau, an important milestone in the navigation where the Yonne and Seine rivers converge. Naturally, we discussed how it seems that the Seine is actually joining the Yonne - and that it should be the River Yonne running through Paris! From the Luciole, the reasoning is easy to see: there are two bridge arches for the Seine and three for the Yonne. A quick check on Google confirms it the Yonne wins hands down. Perhaps we should start a campaign?

Vast barges passed us on our way to Saint Mammès, leaving us in awe and bobbing on their wake. On the Nivernais, we are the largest; on the Seine, we are very much the smaller relation on the waterway. Empty freight barges tower over us, while fully loaded ones sit so deep in the water that waves run down their side decks. They really are a sight to behold.

Arriving in Saint Mammès, the port where we planned to moor for a week, we breathed a sigh of relief - at last, we could relax, the major part of the cruise achieved. We said goodbye to Tim on Thursday, and on Friday, Cailan and James headed home for the weekend before returning the next week with Ebba for the final leg of the cruise to the shipyard.

Our stay gave us the opportunity to catch up with Robin, who lives in this famed mariner’s town. Robin captained our first barge, Secunda, back in the early 1980s, and it is always such a pleasure to see him when we are cruising to Paris. A few days later, Leigh, another hotel barge owner, also visited. He operates the massive freight barge l’Auxerois, which happened to moor opposite us for the night. Ebba is related to Leigh, adding an extra family dimension to our gathering. The chance of both barges being in the same place struck us as remarkably fortunate - particularly so, because Leigh arrived with an apple pie and crème fraîche!

We stayed in Saint Mammès for a week, departing the following Thursday morning to cruise to the shipyard at Villeneuve-le-Roi, where we arrived early in the afternoon. After a warm welcome, it was all hands-on deck as we prepared for the winch out. Inch by inch, we were pulled up the slope and out of the water. It is such a strange experience being on dry land with a 10-foot drop just outside the galley door. Thank goodness for the sturdy steel staircase, which was lowered by a huge crane and securely attached to the side deck.

On Friday, William returned to the UK by car for a few days. By chance, James, who was heading to Paris by train, crossed paths on his way to the station with Alex, a host from earlier this season, who was coming to stay for the night with his girlfriend, Eliza. On Saturday morning, it was au revoir to Cailan, Ebba, Alex, and Elisa - amazing to think that just a few years ago, they were all at university together. The Luciole certainly felt a bit quiet once they had all gone; it has been truly wonderful to share this adventure with so many lovely crew members, both past and present.

With various inspections behind us, we’re settled in at the shipyard for a while as modifications and improvements to the Luciole begin. Living on a slope beneath the Orly Airport flight path poses a slight challenge to the senses, but it’s interesting how quickly one adapts. All part of life’s rich tapestry - barge life, we call it.