September 1, Reneve to the Saone
We actually awoke to sun shining in our windows this morning! This is the end of the canal Marne-a-la-Saone for us! The lock houses have changed today – they have gone from being two rooms wide and one deep to one wide and two deep. The first one we encountered today was built in 1882, the last in 1881, so they must have started to build them from the Saone to the Marne on this side which makes perfect sense. The tunnel on this canal was built from both ends going to meet in the center and when the workers excavating the tunnel with pickaxes and shovels (4840km), got to the middle they were only 10cm different.
The locks have been very gentle since the tunnel – after the dreaded anticipation of 5+meter down locks – and in the rain, they have been pretty much a piece of cake. Except for a few that were manually operated and the boat slid forward to the point where Dave had to put the boat into a bit of reverse, we basically just floated down. The lines were simple to handle and I had plenty of time to adjust them along the way. However, the emergency switches and life rings at every lock remind me that there is always a potential for danger. Marion and Simon saw a plaque in one of the locks that was a memorial to four people who died there but we did not see it. For me they have been a few minutes of quiet to daydream a bit.
We reached the end of the canal a little before noon and were greeted by a boat coming out of the first lock on the Saone by the Clampetts! It appears to be a rental boat with all their laundry strung out across the front of the boat, 7 people and bicycles aboard a small boat. We went through the lock – a huge 1.98m, and onto the Saone River. This is the first river we have been on and the difference is amazing. It initially reminds me of the Sassafrass River in Maryland.
We tied up alongside of a long quay.