Sept-Oct 2013 The Saone - Corre to Auxonne

At 08h15 on 30th September we motored gently out of Corre marina. On board were David & Linda, and our friends Peter & Sue.  The Saone is very
picturesque here, with many kingfishers, but it is narrow and bends need to be taken with care. Mercifully there is little commercial traffic. The locks are controlled by a hanging pole on a wire over the river. You have to catch the pole and twist it to start the preparation to enter the lock.The engine was running a little hot at first but soon settled down and we covered the 37km and 4 locks to Port-sur Saone without incident.



Port- sur-Saone is a pleasant town with a long quay and good access, though we could not find any electric points, which was a concern because the 24v alternator was not charging properly and we were losing battery power. (It later emerged that the mechanic at Corre had serviced the 12v alternator and not the 24v one!)




                                                                           The following day we faced two tunnels St Albin and Savoyeux, both around 650 metres. The river became a little wider, though the twisty passage through the Soing derevation is very narrow indeed. Not stopping for lunch we made good progress, though places to stop were few and far between, and after 69km in the gathering gloom we tied up next to a Swiss motor yacht, tying up to various bushes and rocks. Luckily it was a quiet night with no wind. Why has this beautiful sectlion of the Petite Saone not got any good mooring options? They could make so much more of this wonderful cruising ground.

The next day we motored on to Gray, intending to stop for a while, but it looked unappealing and we pushed on to Mantoche which is a pretty, old village with a good quay, cafes and shops. It is probably extremely busy in Summer, but in October you have it to yourself.  As the day wore on the river becomes much wider. Peter is now on the helm, unlikely to be surprised by an unexpected commercial on a sharp narrow bend.At 13h15 we enter Burgundy and by 18h30 we are approaching Auxonne where the boat will stay for the winter. By now we had little electrical power. We arrived at 19h00. 52km in the day- a total of 159km from Corre with 19 locks & two tunnels.