LOST IN FRANCE
PART 2
LOCKS, LUNCHES AND LAZY DAYS
Months of planning and our first two days’ cruising had taken us to Besançon, in the heart of the Jura. From here onwards we were in new territory so we planned an early start next morning with a certain thrill of anticipation.
The first problem was getting out of our cosy berth, just below the only manual lock on the river. We couldn’t operate it ourselves because there was no landing stage for access. I spoke with the friendly marina staff, who told us they start at 8am and offered to work the lock for us – problem solved!
They were as good as their word, and soon after 8am we were waving our thanks and enjoying a final view of Besançon as we motored gently upstream. Arriving at the first lock, we were pleased to get an immediate green light, telling us it was preparing to let us through. Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, it went ‘double red’ and everything stopped. With nowhere to moor, all we could do was cruise around on the river, while calling for assistance.
We never discovered what the problem was but spent a frustrating hour watching from a distance as it was fixed, a disappointing waste of
