Wed 26th June Floating bollard lock panic

We waited for Nick and Pam who fell in behind with us both hoping to get some kms under our belts today. I managed to get Smeds new Starter on order before departure and prayed it was the right one. The 7 locks to the canal summit were attained by 1pm and we moor canal side to munch cheese salad baguette and a beer.

Avalon looking very posh in matching black fenders

 

 

At last we were on the descent, easy locks! Locks are generally closely spaced near summits and 8 in 4kms would see us at St Julien sur Dheune and more good news after the first lock is that these 5m locks had floating bollards. A cross boats joke with Nick and Pam that we can cleat off and make a cup of tea in the next lock with floaters. We enter the second lock and Collette cleats off on the floater. We drop surprisingly quickly and suddenly Collette lets out a shriek. "Its stopped its stopped"
I leap salmon like down from the poop already aware of the craking of the tension on the cleat. Unbelievably the floating bollard does not go down as far as the water level. I scream cut the rope, Collette is frozen, wheres your knife, its in my pocket, well get it out, i grab it off her and roughly push her clear of the screaming cleat. If it gives, god knows? I slash at the straining rope. The knife goes through it like butter and Doucette slumps down into the still emptying lock. Thank god I had splashed out on an expensive knife, it had paid for itself in that one second.
It had been a very close escape and a real wake up call. With over a 1500 locks experience, we had got complacent and the lock gave us a proper kick up the backside. Our lucky day!
What made it even more lucky had been the fact that Collette who hates having such a sharp knife in her pocket had forgotten to pick it up after lunch but the first lock wall had a split in it and she had retrieved it from the wheelhouse fearing the rope getting caught in the split. She had then gone and changed her shorts as she felt chilly and had remembered only as she came back up from the cabin that she had left the knife in the shorts. It really could have been disastrous darling!

With huge relief we continue thankfully incident free through 10 more locks arriving at the gorgeous basin and quay at St Julien sur Dheune. It has a lovely feel about it, a classic auberge lines the far quay, a pretty church tower signals the village center and the quay provides stone picnik tables and chairs which we take advantage of under the arbour of a tree enjoying tea and biscuits.

 

At 5.15 Nick and Pam join us on the poop and the gordons is under attack.The assault is a great success and they return to avalon a few hours later and a tad merry.
Steak on the magma which is back to usual chewy leathery dissappointment. Sat out late feeling a tad shredded supping a red before joining my comotose crew who had retired early influenced by 5 havanna clubs and coke. ah bliss!