373. Wind, rain and gremlins – my epic French boat trip concludes! (Canal du Midi Part 3)

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This trip was very kindly laid on as a press event by Le Boat
Visit https://www.leboat.com/en to book your canal holiday!
Book using code CUT25 for £50 off
(Booking dates : 20th June – 31st October, Validity: 2025 & 2026 departures, All boats (except Horizon and Liberty), UK, IE & FR as destinations)

Note: whilst Le Boat provided the trip, they did not pay me to make the video and they had absolutely no editorial say over the content. Everything I filmed and included was entirely of my own volition.

In this final part of our Canal du Midi press trip, organised for us by Le Boat, we move from Roubia up to Trebes where we handed the boat back and went for a day trip to Carcassonne, to look around the historic medieval city.

Start point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vxRTVcsu2zqX8Ewd6
End point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bJgAJAwaxiHwN71y5
Carcassonne: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Lw3ytRyYwrmeJySp7

Watch Part 1 at: https://youtu.be/3NmxXUvEcU4
Watch Part 2 at: https://youtu.be/TErUWeAJJps
See Lorna’s video at: https://youtu.be/00eUWBwRzq4

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:23 Setting off
02:22 The hot lock-keeper
02:45 Bow thruster ‘fails’
04:55 Incompetence
07:17 Bow thruster works!
08:00 Saily promo
09:59 Sharing the lock
12:47 Nice doggie
13:25 Lock sculptures
14:16 Hunting for a mooring
15:40 Thursday morning
16:05 Driving inside
18:38 The final lock
19:50 Arriving at Le Boat in Trebes
20:34 Friday to Carcassonne
22:59 A streetcat named Puss
23:52 Goodbye

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Theme music: “Vespers” by Topher Mohr and Alex Alena, from the YouTube music library

#narrowboat #canal #cruisingthecut #rivers #offgrid #liveaboard

Hello and welcome to the third and
final part of my journey to France on a press trip arranged by Le Boat. I and two friends were travelling
along the Canal du Midi and as you join us on this Wednesday
morning, we were having breakfast. That done, Lorna untied the bowline… …while Sally sorted the rear.
I was at the helm on the flybridge. We’d moored the previous night
on the outskirts of Roubia so we got to see the village
as we departed. The next substantial town would be Homps,
where Le Boat have one of their bases. The clouds and overcast skies of
the prior day had vanished but the winds had not subsided much with the waves on the canal
an indication of the gusts. Seafarers will laugh at those waves, but to have that level of movement
on the small surface area of a canal means it is quite breezy. Almost immediately we came to Argens Lock, a single chamber we passed through
without incident. We’d shared the lock with another boat,
which meant it was now on our tail, prompting us to keep the throttle forward. (Mild sound of engine. And lots of wind) (Arctic blast of wind) The excellent canal map provided by
Le Boat was once again our guide. (Honestly, you’d think we were
in Antarctica from the wind noise) (How are they even cycling upright
in this gale?) Having only joined us the previous day,
Lorna was keen to do some boating and I was happy to have a break from the helm. That’s the Chateau d’Argens Minervois,
a 900 year old castle. I don’t know why we’d suddenly found a
glut of traditional English narrowboats in the last 24 hours but it was
a pleasure to spot them. The countryside and the view was lovely. (Just thought that was an
interesting rocky cliff thing) A double lock awaited at Pechlaurier
and a treat for Lorna and Sally who both squealed like teenagers about
how hot “Stefan the lock keeper” was and all the things they’d like
to do with him. I felt somewhat disparaged. but I had a more prosaic concern. Well, that last lock was complicated
for a couple of reasons. Firstly, just before we went in, the bow thruster
packed up, which is unfortunate. Must have just got a bit of muck in it from
the canal which is not uncommon. And that made maneuvering a bit difficult. And then in the lock, we were a gigantic
boat next to a very small one. And the force of the water coming in against the
bow pushed it up and we gently nudged, let’s say, the other one. It was a gentle nudge but it was
embarrassing because they glared at us and I was the one standing there holding
the rope and all a bit, yes, awkward. So we’ve let them go ahead and we’re
now going at a snail’s pace so that they can get well out of our way
and we need never see them again. Meanwhile, we phoned Le Boat and said
the bow thruster is no longer working and they’ve said “don’t worry,
call into the next base” which is only a couple of kilometers away
and they will have a look at it. So that’s all OK.
Meanwhile, it’s a beautiful day! With another double lock
before we got to Homps and knowing the lockies preference
for boats to share, it was no surprise when we encountered 3 hire boats coming the other way
in quick succession. “Bonjouuuur!” Ahead of that upcoming lock flight
was a flood barrier, gates that can be closed
in case of high water levels. Lorna steered us through, helped certainly
by my pointed reminder that it was my name on the insurance
and my credit card that would get charged if she scraped the boat. I like to be helpful. Or maybe I was just still grumpy
about “hunky Stefan”… With at least two boats coming down the flight, it unfortunately meant we’d be going up with the boat we’d bumped against
in the earlier lock. Oh dear. The map showed us we were almost at Homps,
where Le Boat could sort our bow thruster. There was just Homps lock itself to pass through, which was ready for us as soon as this
other boat cleared the entryway. We crept up towards Le Boat’s marina and turned
in, mooring on their services point. Less from choice and more because the wind
blew me against it as I was backing in. This did not help my mood. Well, I didn’t film much over the last few locks
because frankly we’ve had a nightmare. mostly I think of my own making partly misunderstandings
between lock keeper and me. and partly my own ignorance. We went into the first lock with another boat and it’s very hard getting into these locks
because they have curved sides so you need to be able to steer into them. and given that our bow thruster packed up
just before we went into the first lock, that just made things a bit awkward because you’re
trying to steer with the tiller at the back and fishtail the boat in all the time, not thumping
the boat that’s already in the lock with you. And they glared at us and then when
the lock was going up, the water just pushed the boat, the bow of the
boat, sideways and we gently bumped them. And they didn’t look happy with that. And then there was a series of further locks
where we just had a bit of a nightmare, culminating in the very last one,
which was behind a bridge. and there was a rickety old bit of plank of wood
sticking out the side of the canal bank, which I thought “is that really a lock landing?
I don’t know.” There might be some concrete steps up the side of
the lock like there have been previously. So we just went merrily into the lock
because the gates was open. No, there were no concrete steps. The rickety old planks WERE the lock landing and
we were supposed to have dropped someone off. So we then got shouted at by the irate
French lock keeper who said, “Come up the steps,” which they
don’t like you doing. Only I couldn’t get to the steps because
the bow thruster wasn’t working. “Use the bow thruster!” he said I said, “We don’t have a bow thruster.” We shouted back to him and eventually
the wind blew us over, not to the left hand steps I was
trying to aim for, but the right hand steps and Lorna
managed to jump off, take a rope. Meanwhile, the French lock keeper was
muttering frustratedly and exasperatedly, and frankly, quite rightly so, because I should simply
have let someone off at the lock landing, which with hindsight was quite
clearly a lock landing. And then we came up that lock and now
we’re hiding at the Le Boat base so that hopefully they can fix the bow thruster. Either way, I’m not pleased with my
standard of boating there. I’m very strict with myself at knowing what I’m
doing and I don’t like being incompetent. And that was largely me being incompetent. I set off to find the maintenance team, having
a look at the Le Boat fleet as I went. While they came aboard, we went for
a wander around the canalside area. (Glorious tranquility) But when we returned, well,
wouldn’t you know it… Somewhat inevitably, having stopped here to tell
them that the bow thruster doesn’t work, when the team came aboard, which
they did very rapidly, they pressed the button and the
bow thruster worked. Immediately, no question. So don’t we look foolish? The day just gets better. Anyway, we’ve had a spot of lunch, which was
delicious at a local restaurant, and now we’re about to head off again. And it’s got very, very windy,
but the sun is out. We nosed the cruiser out from the basin. Thankfully, no traffic coming along as we did. Yes, it’s a narrowboat. Seems odd spotting them in the south of France. Before we reached Trebes,
where we’d return the boat, there were a smattering of locks to ascend. With little sign of activity here, we secured
the boat to the bollards and waited. And waited…. Until all became clear:
A passenger boat joined us, and they have automatic priority at locks,
hence the delay until they arrived. Fortunately, there was still space for us to join
them and another hire boat and thanks to the bow thruster
now working again getting in was much easier
than the morning’s encounters. The passengers were enjoying the experience and on the lock side was a lovely little stall
selling produce like oeufs and confiture. The trip boat assumed we’d be going along at
speed, so they insisted we go first. This put the pressure on not to dilly-dally so
we pushed the throttle again to maximum. We didn’t even dare slow for bridges! (Palpable air of tension) “Duck! Mind the sticky out bit”
“Ooooh oh yeah!” Yes, be warned of little metal protrusions
on some of the bridge brickwork. You could do yourself a nasty injury. Lorna: “It’s concrete”
Sally” “Ohh, ohhh” (Birdsong) Another aqueduct came up. Being a short one,
I only had time to film one side and Murphy’s Law meant the other side
was far more picturesque. Immediately following was another spillway,
the Épanchoir de l’Argent-Double. (Sound of me patting myself on the back
for my French pronunciation) This boat hails from Liverpool. It’s a long way from home. Sit back and relax as we cruise
through the countryside. (Engine sound and birdsong) (Wind noise) (Robot pylon army,
preparing world domination) At the next ecluse, there was a cafe and shop. But even better, there was a dog
who wanted its ball thrown. Sally duly obliged. (Faintly)
“Good boy” (Birdsong) And another lock, which we thought
would be much of a muchness but in fact features an unusual
art installation of sculptures, some of which move as the wind blows them. (Roaring sound from lock plus
slight clanking from the sculptures) At this point we were here, and as soon
as we flipped over the page, we’d be on the final stretch to Trèbes. Look, an otter! It was now 5pm and we were on a bit of
a rush to get through some more locks before they closed at 7, in order
to reach our hoped-for mooring. The other hire boat we’d shared locks with
was on the same mission so we hared along at speed together. We made it to the Écluse de Fonfile,
but time was against us. It’s 6:40pm and we’re still in the
top chamber of the 3-lock flight before the one we wanted to get through. They shut at 7,
we’ve still got to get there, It’s not going to happen. So that means we’ve now got to try
to find somewhere to moor up along the next stretch of canal
before the next lock, because it just shuts at 7. We can’t go any further at that point. We just need to find somewhere for the night. There are very few places marked
on the map, so fingers crossed for us. All eyes were to the sides to see if there
was anywhere wild we could tie up. Ultimately, if we didn’t find somewhere,
we’d moor on the lock landing, knowing it was closed until 9am, so
no one would need to use it. And that’s what came to pass, and we weren’t the
only ones in the same boat, so to speak, with two others also tying up here for the night. It was a very nice spot, and after a walk to
stretch our legs, we retired for the night. As predicted, Thursday was very windy,
with gusts of 40-50mph forecast. This was why we’d pressed on so
keenly on the prior days. While Lorna still considered it summer… …Sally was of differing opinion. We made sure we entered the lock as soon as it
opened so as not to block the landing stage. But with rain starting to come down, the inside steering position
was suddenly looking attractive, so we all decamped into the living area and had
our first go at driving from the lower helm. It is different, steering from down here. Being at the side, instead of in the middle. And just with the restricted vision. That didn’t do a lot. (Scratchy sound of wiper blade) Lorna had a go. The rain stopped but we stayed down as
conditions looked ‘variable’, to say the least. (Distant birdsong plus hum of engine) You do notice it’s trickier to line the boat up
for tight spaces when you’re steering inside rather than having the top
down view from above. (Leaves brushing the side of the boat
plus water rippling) We were aiming for Trèbes,
where we’d leave the boat. Having no slippers, Sally used gloves
to fend off the chill. “Weeerrrr-huh!” and fortified herself with snacks. (Wind rustling the leaves) (I want a turret on my house.
Just saying.) It was reassuring to see we weren’t
the only hardcore boaters battling through the gloom, rain and wind. (LOUD wind noise) There was a swell worthy of the North Sea! Incredibly, these were the first ducks
we’d seen on the canal. It was all a bit jungle-like here. (Sounds akin to Amazonian rainforest) We’ve arrived at the final lock flight of the
journey. Three locks in a staircase and then we come into Trebs. Treebs?
however you pronounce it, and that is our end destination and
we’re actually here a day early so we have a plan to moor in
the Le Boat facility, the marina there and then just go exploring on foot
both around Trèbes itself and also to a day trip to Carcassonne before we finally officially hand the boat back. So this was it: our final lock. (Sound of rushing water) (Sound of spurting water) (Sound of rumbling tums) (Engine noise and lots of birdsong) Oh look, it’s a jam shop. How marvellous. And it looked like quite the jam
at the Le Boat marina! But I managed to squeeze the boat onto
the end of a little island in the middle, this time using the wind to my advantage. It was lunchtime, so we went
for a walk into town. (Distant sounds of conversation in French) And as you do when in France, we went
to an Italian restaurant to eat. I had an excellent pizza. A lazy afternoon and evening followed. The next day we took the bus to Carcassonne. It would have been too long by boat. Carcassonne is home to the largest and
best-preserved fortified medieval city in Europe. In 1997 it was declared a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. The city boasts 52 towers, 2 concentric walls,
totalling almost 2 miles of ramparts, and there’s a castle in the middle
built in the 12th century. The area has been occupied since around 600 BC,
as well as by the Romans, the Visigoths, the Saracens and the Franks. I know it looks like something from Disney
but this is genuine actual stonework, not plastic and hundreds of years old. Entrance, remarkably, is free and you walk across
a drawbridge over a dry moat to get in. (Muffled muttering of other tourists) At this point, it does become a bit Disney,
because every square metre of the streets is packed with shops selling tourist souvenirs,
all much of a muchness to my eye. You can buy a suit of armour if you’d like, though luggage restrictions on the
return flight prevented me from doing so. It was all carefully colourful,
designed to entice. (The tinny sound of Tina Turner from a radio
sounded rather incongruous here) (Sound of my eyeballs hurting) The bus journey had been exhausting
so we found the cafe area for the worst waffle I’ve ever
had the displeasure of eating, though this was partly down to errors
in translation when ordering. This basilica used to be Carcassonne Cathedral,
but there’s now another one. There’s also a hotel here. (Smell of money in the air) The double walls really are very impressive
and you get a superb view. We were very pleased to make the acquaintance
of Monsieur Le Pusscat. Eventually we’d had enough and left,
looking back over the city one final time before seeking where the canal
comes into Carcassonne. If we’d had more days – and less wind –
this is where we would have boated. As it was, we had to satisfy
ourselves with gongoozling. (Sounds of traffic,
driving like maniacs) (Water sploshing) (End theme music begins) And that was that. The end of our trip
with many thanks to Le Boat. Thanks for watching. Cheerio.