Le Boat - 6 Persons in a leaky boat on the lovely Charente

Le Boat on La Charente

Our troop of four intrepid lost kiwis was expanded further  with the addition of Jane and daughter Emily, friends of G&C who were in the area, more kiwis  in a state of confused travel and what better way to calm things down than take a river cruise.

Opening up for our entry

Bill helping Jane & Emily with Lock

The Le Boat reception lady had the "good English" and made us very welcome helping G & I to correctly fill in the hire details etc and showed us to the boat where she told us a  man would be sent to explain the boats workings etc. He was fluent in French but not much else which made for an interesting 30 minute briefing with a lot of raised eyebrows, quizzical glances, and interpretations of what he may or may not have been trying to tell us!!!! To be honest more was relayed between G & I simply with our eyebrows than was gleaned from our guide. Luckily with both of us having some boat experience and me with motor homes, we got most of it sorted pretty well except for the docking bit. This only became an issue after G handed me the helm for the downstream leg. Gently sliding into the wharf with about 2 knots up your jacksy (so to speak) does not make for a pretty tie up. Drifting sideways into locks and channels is hardly "course de riguer", never the less we got there.
Sitting at the bar on the riverside at one stop we asked the English Publican if there was any thing wrong with the river  picture, he glanced over all the tied up boats and with out pause said "nothing except for that boat over there round the wrong way", then left us crying into our drinks.

Spot the odd one out!

The locks were an ongoing part of the river cruise with them appearing 4 or 5 times daily, to keep us on our toes. They were a manual variety, easy to master but some effort required.

Weirs everywhere

Filling the lock

G man took the helm (however wouldn't don the captains hat) for the first leg up the river. This worked very well with him barking orders at all and sundry and went swimmingly well so to speak.
Having 6 on board made for shared exertions and gentle cruising, albeit a watchful eye always being required to sail the right channels with comprehensive river notes to prevent groundings and shooting off the weirs. Though did think  at speed some may have been manageable, however Cpt. Pugwash kept a steady hand on the helm and entertained no such thoughts.
The 7 day cruise was 3 days up from Jarnac, a night at Angouleme, "safely" seeing two of our crew off, on their way back to NZ, then the somewhat diminished crew, taking 3 days back down the river. The night in Angouleme was to be a celebration of Jane's birthday, but the eating got overlooked after some Tapa's in a Spanish bar at the start (like one does when you visit France!), so there were a few suffering the next morning. The crew reduction did mean some extra work for all and with Commander Tyles at the helm for the return leg made for some inspired docking manoeuvres. The least said the better, however no boats or docks were seriously damaged in the making of that return leg.

Trying to find the Bar in this village.

A stroll through Trois-Palis

We walked and biked many small communities and villages some with out cafes, others with and was generally a low key  relaxing journey to allow G&C a wind down after their previous 5 weeks of driving and guiding round France. Also Jane &  Emily and ourselves a new experience cruising a river that I would liken to the lower reaches of the Wanganui. We visited the pretty village of Trois-Palis with a Chocolatier Factory, where we were shown a great demonstration via video and then a staff member on all that is involved in making their products. We were unaware of the labour and time taken to produce products that are so easy to consume. So of course we were all happy to support them before moving on.
The Charente was a slug of water interspersed with weirs and locks and in its day a main avenue for trade & commerce. The stretch we did is mostly leisure these days but still some commerce happening from Cognac down to La Rochelle.
Many rivers in Europe are still the life blood of big industry with large factories

The finer points of Chocolate making 

Cycling off to Saint Meme for a baguette

crowding the banks, originally using vast amounts of water for power, and processing materials. The legacy being polluted waterways, and not so scenic vistas but undoubtedly where the industrial revolution took hold and remains in many cases.
 Split Enz six months in a leaky boat did come to mind with all the rain we had, but we didn't let it deter us and fun was mostly had.The weather was untypically damp with the launch being not the newest in the fleet leaking at various points on to bedding etc. This was a nuisance needless to say and the hire company did dispatch a repair crew to further tape window flashings. Another heavy spell of rain later in the trip showed more leaks which we managed to live with.

Feeding the family off the back of the boat

The Charente was heavily exploited for transport ,and industry, tanning and paper being big on the river, also the milling of grain. The rivers are also the recipient of treated effluent from all the towns and villages ridding their waste into rivers.
The river was not by any stretch clean as we know it, however bathing was being done by kids at one stop and fishermen were abundant the full length in all weathers as is their want.

Claire enjoying the picture

Another lovely village

During the French briefing I attempted to ask about where to dump our waste tank. He raised his hands and shrugged , obviously not our worry, till we used the toilets and it was obvious where it went. Amazing. And no we didn't try the fish at the cafes and didn't go for a swim, even if weather had permitted. It did make for many alcohol induced conversations of where and how our ablutions may fare in their long lonely journey to the sea.
All in all an  enjoyable trip was had, with family, new friends, quaint villages, gentle scenery, good food and many wines.
From here it is now off to Bordeaux to meet Allan & Nicky for some more days of relaxed exploring, no clear itinerary as yet, just a desire to see more of this huge continent, without the stress of needing to be any where anytime!!