Sunday 22nd June 2008 St Jory lk to abv Fenouillet

Hot and sunny again. We set off for the lock at 8.45 a.m. As we passed them the crew of yacht Albert was also casting off. They said they didn’t like being at the front of the lock and Mike told them we couldn’t go up the front either as our boat weighed 18 tonnes and would be bashed about by the water coming in. They said they would come up after us. I stepped off while St Jory lock 6 was emptying to get some bread from the boulangerie in St Jory village. There was evidence of the party that went on the night before with crash barriers piled up and rubbish on the streets, empty coke cups and food wrappers. I bought a flute and went back to the boat. The yacht was up front in the chamber (they’d screwed past Mike to get in front as he was being pushed sideways by the weir right below the lock) and the gates were only just closing behind Rosy and Temujin as I got back. The next lock was 1.9 kms distant and the yacht went first at a great rate of knots. We followed, but they went in the lock and closed the gates behind them when we were only about 50m from the lock. Well, we somehow expected it, but they could have said they were going to do that - Mike was quite upset by their rudeness. If they were in such a hurry they should have said so and we'd have let them past. I stepped off to press the button on the lock side at lock 5, Bordeneuve. The yacht was at the next lock before our top end gates were open. At 9.55 a.m. we were on our way to lock 4 Lepinasse, another 1.9 kms distant. Mike climbed the muddy ladder to press the button when we got in the chamber. There were crowds of walkers and cyclists on the towpath and they gathered to watch us lock through. 3.8 kms to the last lock, N° 3 Fenouillet. Mike went up the ladder again. We moored just above the lock on the towpath side at 11.20 a.m. about three feet out from the bank - on the bottom again. I put the window shields in and set the canvases to give shade but allow the breeze in as the sun was shining directly from the front. Lunch then Mike set the gennie up for the first time this year to run the TV, etc, while he watched the Grand Prix from Magny Court (the last one to be held there, after a run of sixteen years).