canals,1.

6. A short cut home through the French canals (Page 1)

1.From the Canal du Midi to the Brittany canals.

	The Canal du Midi forms a major part of the waterway that links the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. One of the main entrances lies at the town of Agde, on the River Herault. Here, the river leads from the Mediterranean via a short and narrow connecting canal to the famous Round Lock with its three opening. Once through the lock the trials and tribulations of the ocean are exchanged for the calm waters of the canal only to find that one set of problems is replaced by another! At least there is no need to pay attention to the weather forecast or to the compass. And one great attraction is that you can travel as long as wish and stop pretty well where and when you want. In order to accommodate the low bridges and tunnels it was, of course, necessary to take the mast down and lash it along the deck, in itself a major operation what with the complication of the radio aerial, lights and radar, not to mention the multitude of cables, sheets and shrouds.
Above is a typical view along the Canal du Midi looking aft from Joy of Mann. Note the wooden structure for housing the mast.

	The pictures here contrast the peace and serenity of the level stretches of the canal with the roaring waters, tension and excitement of the locks. At one point we almost lost the mast as a sudden powerful surge of incoming water threw us abruptly up against the oval wall and knocked it from its housing. Above is a peaceful lunchtime stop outside the Malpas Tunnel, reputedly the earliest canal tunnel in the world. Completed in just six days during the late seventeenth century it is 165 metres long and 9 metres wide. The journey from Agde to Castets, where one emerges into the River Garonne is some 425 kilometres and requires the navigation of 135 locks. It took us just one month, journeying every day for a few hours and stopping every night by the canal bank. Shaded by hundred-year-old plane trees the canal wound its way through rich vinyards famous for producing Minervois and Corbieres wines. We stopped at many sleepy villages such as Le Somail and Trebes as well as enjoying the bigger cities of Beziers and Toulouse. And, as we travelled, so we came to admire the skills and ingenuity of Jean-Paul Riquet who built this canal, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Canal du Midi was officially opened in May 1681, just a few months after Riquet's death, but it was not until 1856 that the link to the Atlantic was completed by means of the Lateral Canal leading from Toulouse. The photograph above left shows 'Joy of Mann' berthed close to the Pont de Pierre at Bordeaux. Having emerged from the Canal Lateral into the fast flowing River Garonne some 50 kilometres up river from Bordeaux we completed the descent in three hours and twenty minutes at an unheard of speed of around ten knots! It was time to raise the mast once more and venture forth into the Atlantic.The photograph on the right (above) shows us sailing beneath the bridge connecting the Ile de Re and the mainland, close to the town of La Rochelle. Having reached this point we had completed our circumnavigation of the Iberian Peninsular.

Marina at La Roche Bernard on the Vilaine River.

The photographs above illustrate the last stages of our journey through France, this time making use of the Brittany Canals. To the left is a panoramic view of La Roche Bernard, an attractive stopping place on the River Villaine. Here we had a picture taken together on the boat.

The sketch illustrates one of the quiet resting places en route. Once again the mast has been taken down.

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