Monday, April 12

Left Pinon at 9am and motored through 5 quick locks that brought us up to the summit to the Braye Tunnel. This tunnel was not lit as well as the other two, but very interesting.

After the tunnel and the summit we had 4 quiet locks (going down is much easier in the locks) and head left on the Canal Lateral de l’Aisne . We stopped in Maizy for lunch, walked the 2 blocks to the main street and found one pub open. We think we got there when he was going to close for the afternoon, but instead he fed us a wonderful, filling, hot meal. He was very kind and interested in our journey. We paid up and continued on for our day’s journey.

We discovered that our bilge was not working and so when we arrived in Berry-au-bac (our nights stop) we took it apart, cleaned and checked all the wiring. Ken will order one and bring it back with him on his next journey to USA.

After a bite to eat we took a long walk along the canal path. When you are in a boat, exercise is a difficult task so we took advantage of the early evening’s sun and nice temperatures.

When we reach Reims we will have traveled 452 Kilometers, and 71 locks 2-handed. Didn’t know if we could do it alone, but we have become quiet skilled for sure.