Tuesday 15th July 2008 Lacourt-St-Pierre to Moissac Canal de Garonne.

 Sunny and hot again; nice cool breezy start to the day. We set off at 9.30 a.m. winded and ran back down the arm towards Montech. The campsite by the junction was almost empty, just a few campervans and tents. Turned right and ran into Montech lock 11, which was full with the gates open. We’d only been there a couple of minutes when a guy on a moped arrived with a big box under his arm - surveys - he gave us one to fill in and hand back to the VNF, or post back to Toulouse. He emptied the lock and, as was becoming normal on keeper operated locks here, we sat for five minutes with the gates “cracked” before he pressed the button to open them. On down the short pound to lock 12 Peyrets, filling in the questionnaire. The man on a moped worked the lock for us. A very young lady worked Pellaborle 13 and rode down to 14 Escudiès on her bike. The old chap came down on his moped to help as the gate wasn’t shutting properly and she kept opening and shutting it. He went on down to the bottom lock and back while we were dropping down Escudiès. Into the last lock, 15, Pommiès, and another young girl worked the lock for us. We left the bottom at 11.05 a.m. the five locks having taken just an hour. 2.7 kms to Escatalens 16, the first of three automated locks. Mike had noticed first thing that the alternator drive belt was falling to bits, several of the “teeth” had fallen off, so he had to change it. We moored above lock 16 while he did it, meanwhile I cleaned the ventilator fans and cooked some bacon for lunch. Péniche hotel boat Zambezi went past heading downhill and a little later a British (and Dutch) flagged cruiser also went downhill. We let them clear the lock then followed on down Escatalens at 12.50 p.m. The cruiser had moored just below the lock and a hire boat (a Nautic from Agde) was moored a further 200m down the canal, but pointing uphill. We carried on down to lock 17, St Martin, then 3.4 kms to lock 18, Prades. A Locaboat came up, we went down and into Castelsarrasin. A large cruiser was being hoisted by his bows by the crane at the boatyard. Zambezi was moored alongside several cruisers before the port, which was half empty. A large Connoisseur hire boat from Castelmoron on the Lot, flying an Austrian flag, appeared from nowhere and went into lock 19, Castelsarrasin, and we followed it. A young man pressed the buttons to work the lock. The lad cycled down to lock 20 St Jean-des-Vignes to work it for us. Lock 21 Verriès was full with gates open, the keeper returned on his bike as we arrived - an older guy in his 20s - he had to get the hire boat to move further down the lock chamber so we could get in (and miss the cill when he emptied the lock). They didn’t seem to be very keen on going further forward, but there was plenty of space in front of them and another bollard for their bow rope. A short pound to lock 22 Artel and the same keeper cycled down to work the lock for us. The bollards were better spaced again so we didn’t have to move the hire boat. 2.4 kms down into Moissac. We crossed the aqueduct over the Tarn and into lock 23 Cacor. Another very young lady worked the lock and kept opening and shutting the gates and trying to force the gates together before opening the bottom end paddles - Mike told her the water would fully close them! We have seen people in Britain crossing back and forth across the lock several times in order to try to get both gates fully closed. As the one gate shuts it opens the other a little so over to the other side to close the one that’s just opened and so on! The girl cycled down to lock 24 Gregonne and we followed the hire boat into the lock. The last of the manned locks was 25 Moissac. Another old chap was on the lock side with another box full of survey forms; thanks, but we had already got one from Montech! Another little girl worked the lock. A hire boat was waiting below to go up the lock so we had to wait until she’d locked him uphill before she cycled through the town to open the swing bridge for us. We waited in the shade under the main road bridge, the Austrians sat in the full sun between the baking hot high brick walls that enclose the canal through Moissac. We were surprised that they hadn’t tied up in the port de plaisance. The mooring I said I had seen alongside the road was just beyond a cement works next to the road. We stopped at 5.00 p.m. and the hire boat carried on. Perhaps they were carrying on to Valence, we thought. There were three blokes on the seats at the top of the bank by the road, but they looked harmless enough and there were no bottles of booze in sight. It was deep enough, we only had to knock a peg in for the bows as there was a bollard for the stern and then cut down some long strands of briar. The three men who had been sitting on the benches under the trees at the top of the bank went away around 6.30 p.m.