2015 October The Rhone - Lyon to Port 2 L'Ardoise (Avignon)

Confluence - the Saone joins the Rhone.

Mooring at Vienne

By the time we arrive by train in Lyon and get back to the boat it is 15h50 and there is light rain We nevertheless decide to make a start once we have refuelled. We cover the remaining 3 km to the confluence where the two rivers join. The red and green post in the photo marks the division.
There is an increasing headwind and as the current increases in the Rhone the water is more choppy too, with spray coming over the bow. The locks here are much larger, with floating bollards. We pass through the écluse Pierre Bénite ( 11.8m drop) and there is a marked increase in current on the other side of the hydro dam.

The landscape here is bleak and industrial, emphasised by the weather. Once again we find few possibilities for mooring, most of the quays are reserved for freight vessels or other commercials.The guide indicated a small 20m pontoon on the approach to Vienne, just next to the motorway bridge tucked into an arm of the river, out of the current. It was sheltered and empty.Perfect!
Engine off 19.35. 29km covered in 3h45mins. Courgette and cream pasta for tea and a glass of Macon.

No one promised you a rose garden!

We wake the next morning with threatening skies and storms forecast. We get under way at 08h20. Approaching lock Vergris there is a long wait for commercial barges and a huge hotel boat. There is nothing to be done but clean the decks and wait it out. By 10h30 we are through the lock and the promised storms have arrived, with heavy rain and strong winds too. Jonge Jacob is OK however, and by 14h10 at Sablons lock the worst is over and the sun is coming out again.

Tain l'Hermitage-a great wine area!

Not only is the weather better, but the area is now much more picturesque. This is wine country - Tournon and Tain Hermitage. Once again as the day progressed we are on the lookout for a suitable mooring, having seen no other pleasure craft all day.  As we approach La Roche de Glun we find an idyllic spot in a large waterway before the hydro scheme. We moor up to the floating pontoon and set off on our bikes to find somewhere to eat. The village is beautiful and the Auberge Monnet is friendly and welcoming, with a wonderful meal and a bottle of Croze Hermitage.
69km in the day 10hrs35 mins under way.

Valence bridge

We leave at 0820 to a much quieter day, though the storms are still visible. There is lots of traffic, large hotel barges and commercial barges too. We pass through the bridge at Valence shortly after a hotel boat went through it.
The current is steadily increasing, and as we join the Isère river we suddenly speed up from 10km/h to 13.8km/h.  and at one point later in the day16.4km/h!

Take care when mooring in a lock with a vessel like this.

As we approach lock Beauchatel the Mistral gets up (force 4 gusting 5 to 6). This makes manoeuvring around the locks difficult with the wind behind us. To make things worse  we went into one lock squeezed behind a large barge. As always we waited for him to leave before casting off, but as we did so he opened up his engines and the wash pushed us over to the lock entrance wall. No real damage except to my pride - and a lost fender.

The medieval town of Viviers

By 1700 we were through the Chateauneuf lock
and approaching the town of Viviers.

 According to the guide there is a marina and moorings on the quay wall at Viviers. In fact the Marina had been closed after flooding the previous winter, and the pontoon had been converted to accommodate hotel boats.It is easy to see why town authorities would prefer a boat load of wealthy tourists in a hotel boat, visiting their restaurants and shops, taking guided tours giving employment to suppliers, bus companies etc, but the danger is that there will be nearly nowhere for smaller vessels to moor at all. Still - we nosed carefully into the marina even though it was closed, looking forward to a quiet night before our final day.
69km run in 10hrs40mins.

Donzères gorge .- a roller coaster ride!

 The night was not so quiet: firstly there was considerable movements of hotel boats on the quay opposite. Secondly we both awoke in the night aware that the boat was listing - she was hard aground. It was some while before we realised that closing the hydro dam at night lowered the water level in Viviers. We floated off again when they opened it at 06h30, and at 0830 we left the marina.

   

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Downstream of Viviers is the Donzères gorge which restricts the river between high cliffs, resulting in a roller coaster ride on a very fast current. Care is needed to enter the Dérivation de Bollene, as vessels need to change lanes to allow larger commercials to navigate two large bends and a railway bridge.

The cut leading to Bollène lock is very long (30km) with a strong current and almost nowhere to moor up. In the middle is the lock which is 23m deep! Going downstream you enter at ground level, the gates close and you descend into a vast concrete chasm, the size of a cathedral. For many years this was the deepest lock in Europe.
Leaving Bollène lock the Mistral continued to push us down past St Etienne des Sorts and the massive Marcoule power station to our final lock.

 

Port 2 L'Ardoise - our new home.

Shortly after leaving the lock at Caderousse there is a  turn to starboard into an old arm of the Rhone which runs for 4km up to a cement and gravel works, a hydro dam and a small marina. Port 2 marina is in a closed-off section with no current, surrounded by trees and low enough to be protected from the worst of the Mistral. There are only two pontoons, but the marina has a small, friendly community of Belgian, German, Danish and French boats. It is a popular place to overwinter because it is out of the ferocious spring currents when the river can rise five metres or more. It is here that we have chosen to base Jonge Jacob for the next couple of years.   54km run in the day, 6hrs45mins.

A few notes on the trip from St Jean de Losne to Port 2

Fuel
Total distance from St Jean de Losne 418km. Engine time 57hrs. Once again there were few opportunities to fuel up. We refilled from cans in Lyon.

Mooring.  We had good fortune in finding pleasant and convenient free mooring places en route. It is difficult to predict where you will be at the end of the day, and we would pick out a few possibilities from about 1600h rather than have a fixed plan. The published guides are often well out of date by the time they are printed. I downloaded several recent accounts of the trip from other vessels which were more up to date. Many mooring places are restricted and the rise of the hotel barge trade has further limited the options. Jonge Jacob draws 1.00m.

Jonge Jacob in Port 2

Locks 
We had some difficulties with approaching locks downstream, particularly when the Mistral is blowing with any strength. The waiting pontoon for pleasure boats is often placed well down a narrow lock approach, often set back from the line of posts for commercials. I was not happy to commit to heading into a blind alley with the wind behind and the current under me unless I was sure that the lock gates would be open when I arrived, and nothing huge was coming out. On a couple of occasions there was something of a stand-off when the lock-keeper wanted me to approach against the red light and I explained that I would approach as soon as I could see that it was safe to do so.

Weather
Yes, I know it would be best to wait for fair weather before going down the Rhone, but like many yachtsmen we have a business to run and our cruising days are limited. However, the Rhone (or the Saone) in flood is a fearsome beast, and a strong Mistral can blow for days. Both must be treated with respect.

Ports
The ports at Auxonne and St Jean de Losne will be well known by many yachtsmen. H20 who run them are barge experts who can do what needs doing, though prices for work can be eye-wateringly expensive. You can find many other yachtsmen there to share expertise and ideas, including the very experienced British couple who run Auxonne.

Port 2 is a good choice for overwintering because it is so safe. The essential is to be out of the current in winter. (The marina pontoons at Avignon were washed away in winter floods a few years ago). Ariane runs it efficently and will contact you if there is a problem. She also runs a small restaurant on site in season. She speaks good English, French and German. There are frequent buses into Avignon, and to supermarkets. It is close to the motorway and surrounded by good vinyards. Chateauneuf du Pape is on the other bank.
Even though it is in an industrial setting with some barge loading nearby, it is low down, surrounded by trees. It is a good site for bird migration , and for kingfishers, heron, black kite etc
Ariane is very friendly, though she has some reason to be wary of British boats. One 50 foot launch "Suzi Anna*" was apparently abandoned by a British owner (she gives the name John Austin) and despite Arianne's reminders and efforts to pump water out, it sank. It still occupies one berth because it is too expensive for her to move it. Another British boat named Tootsie allegedly stayed for 3 months and then left without paying the bill.
*Suzi Anna was the very first Dagless Fleur de Lys. Keel laid 1958, launched 1960. Double diagonal iroko planking on oak, copper riveted. original BMC engines. Hull underwater covered in canvas skrim. 50 ft. Ariane would be thrilled if anyone out there wanted to take this historic vessel away!   Note 2019. This vessel has now been broken up and recycled at the Marina's expense, the owner not having been traced