Luciole Blog

25th - 31st May 2025

In Auxerre, the last weekend of May marks the delightful ‘Fleurs de Vigne’ (Flowers of the Vine) festival. This Sunday celebration welcomes the coming wine season, as wine growers and local artisans exhibit their fare along the quay. With the Luciole inaccessible by vehicle, we arranged to meet our passengers on the Right Bank, across the Passerelle. Our cheerful friends from the Auxerre Tourist Office were on hand to assist the crew in taking passengers' suitcases across the bridge - with the spectacular view of the city. Upon arrival, guests were warmly greeted with Kir Royale and Chef Eoghan and his delicious canapés.

On Monday, we cruised out of Auxerre toward Champs-sur-Yonne, aiming to arrive at the lock in time for lunch. However, a large log, floating languidly towards us, had other plans. It became lodged in the propeller, cutting the engine and setting off a ripple of unfortunate events that brought us to a halt.

Captain Charlie and matelot Cailan swiftly moored the Luciole, and our trusted technical engineer friends leapt to our rescue. Thanks to their efforts, we were soon able to cruise into the lock at Toussac and continue into the canal section on the other side for the evening.

Meanwhile, with the Chablis visit still in mind, passengers were ferried across the River Yonne by Max and his family in a hire boat, to meet the waiting bus on the opposite bank. They then joined our passengers on the vineyard tour—a wonderful exchange of river hospitality for which we were truly grateful.

Tuesday saw further technical adjustments and it was a great relief to hear the engine roar back to life on Wednesday and we set off for the Vincelles mooring. Thankfully, breakdowns like this are rare, and we made up for the lost cruising day, with Charlie and Cailan cruised tirelessly all-day Thursday. We arrived into Châtel Censoir well past the usual 19hrs lock closure time - thanks to the kindness of lock keeper Nico.

On Friday, we cruised into Clamecy, perfectly on time and with little sign of the week’s earlier drama. As the saying goes, “It’s not what you know, but who you know” - and that couldn’t have been more true for this cruising week.