Getting to Avignon – Deepest lock in Europe, passing the 2000km mark and getting stuck in a lock

---

We left at 8.15am with the mistral still blowing. However, as it was moving with rather than against us it actually helped us move a bit faster and didn't cause too many problems – unlike its sister scirrocco a few weeks earlier! We chatted, watched Tv, listened to music, continued to transfer music to my laptop and looked out at the windswept landscape as we raced down the Rhone.
Our second lock of the day was Bollene at half one – the deepest in Europe. I took the ropes to lasso this one as it was a momentous moment for us … and I hit the target first time. As we entered the lock the depth gauge on our fishfinder read 104 feet.
Once secured we took only 10 minutes to drop 82 feet. There were now just 22 feet of water beneath us. The descent occurred in eerie stillness and again the water made barely a sound as it gushed out. The huge guillotine gates were reinforced and curved to withstand the water pressure. We felt tiny in the bowels of this gargantuan lock and all had to put on an extra top as it was chilly so far down! The lamposts at the top of the lock looked like tiny dots and the iron clad walls seemed to lean over us as we looked up. It was an awesome experience.
Around an hour after we left Bollene, Mike called me out to the cockpit from the kitchen where I was throwing together some lunch.
“Baby, look at the odometer,” he said excitedly “we're going to hit 2000km soon!”
I kissed him and we high fived. Soon enough the odometer ticked over to 2000km and Fred took some pics of this second milestone of the day. Mike and I couldn't believe that we'd travelled 2000km in our home in the past 3 months – we'd never have even dreamt that could be possible when we bought her as a wreck 7 years earlier. But it had happened, and we were so happy to be living our dream and sharing these big events in our little boat home with two grear friends. We toasted with a beer. This wqas not to be the last big event of the day...
At 5 o'clock we pulled into Villeneuve les Avignon lock. As with the previous 2 locks, I'd radioed ahead to tell them we were on our way and the lock was all ready for us enter. We got in, Fred did a good lasso (his first one of the day had been disappointing – he'd missed and I had had to boat hook on while he re-coiled the ropes) and we all cheered his magnificence while he graciously accepted the plaudits … that is punched the air, whooped and said he was frickin awesome.
We had been secured to the bollard for about 20 minutes and hadn't started to move. The gates had opened and closed a feew times. There was clearly a problem. The eclusier radioed through. With my limited French I was able to work out that some wood was jammed in the gate, but that they were fixing the problem. We would have to wait. No problem, I replied.
So, what do you do ina situation like this? we're with friends, in a lock, unable to go anywhere. We have sunshine and a stereo. We did what most other people in possession of half a bottle of Jack Daniels and a bottle of wine would do. We had a few drinks. Whilst we sipped JD, chatted, listened to music and had a little dance around, we saw several people attempt to dislodge the log. First a guy with a big stick came by and bashed at it. Then another guy with another big stick joined him. They tried for about 20 minutes before they realised it wouldn't budge. They walked away. 10 minutes later they came back and had another go with bigger sticks, as a car with two more men in it pulled up. These men looked like the real deal. They wore hard hats and carried harnesses. One of the men was attached to a winch by his harness and lowered down the lock gate, carrying wires. He re-appeared on land a few minutes later and they started up the winch. I guess they'd attached wires to the log to try to pull it up with the winch. The biggest of the guys grabbed a stick again and set to giving the log a real solid bashing. The eclusier came back on the radio to say we'd have to wait a little longer. No problem, I said. We were perfectly happy watching the men work while we drank JD.
Eventually, we heard a crack as the log broke. The combination of pulling at it with the winch and bashing it with sticks had eventually worked. We cheered and appluaded as the gates opened and held our breath as they closed again. They stopped about a foot apart. The guy with the big stick had a few more goes at bashing and the gates closed. We stood up and faced the workers and shouted over our appreciation. One of them raised his hard hat as the others smiled. The eclusier came back on the radio to thank us for waiting. Then a generic multi language announcement was played to apologise for the delay and wish us a good onward journey. The eclusier came bacl on the radio to personalise the greeting. I told him in my best French that is was an adventure and thanked him. I then decided to sing 'sous Le Pont D'Avignon' to them. We were in Avignon, why not? I gave them my best rendition and they laughed clapped and said 'encore' before a final farewell.
Mike, Fred and Becky were all laughing.
“I can't believe you just did that” they said. We poured more JD. It was now half 6. We'd been in the lock an hour and a half.
As we left the lock we saw 3 boats waiting to enter - the people on board were all grinning and waved as we passed, one one shouted 'Bravo' … I hadn't realised that my impromptu performance had been broadcast to everyone near the lock!! Ah well, it made them smile!
An hour later, we were safely moored up on Avignon's town quay. We passed under the Pont D'Avignon on the way and had seen the town in the dusky light from the river. It looked beautiful. The mistral had still not abated and was now gusting really strongly so we decided we'd spend 2 nights here in the pretty surroundings before heading to the Med. We checked the odometer and saw that we'd done 95km that day, the biggest distance covered in one go since we crossed the Channel in July. Tonight we'd hit the town.

---