Sunset Port Royal, Auxonne
I guess many of the DBA members have enjoyed the hospitality of Port Royal in Auxonne, perhaps some have even left their Noating homes idling there over the winter months. Situated on the River Saône with easy access to the Burgundy Canal, the Rhône-Rhine Canal, the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne and the Petit Saône, Auxonne is in the heart of the French waterways. I'm sure many of you have snapped a similar sunset from the harbour or even enjoyed the view while sipping your chosen beverage on the back deck. Thankyou Ian McCauley for this photo
If you want to send in a Sunrise or Sunset photo please email me at karen.johns@barges.org
Book Review
Information and enjoyment about cruising in a longer form
Waterways on the Western Front
Editor - Ian
Thanks to James Littlewood of Paddington V for this review of a book that tells the deXnitive and detailed history of how the waterways of Flanders and
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northern France affected the conduct of World War I. The subtext to the title is "Untold Stories of World War I". If you are cruising these areas or are just interested in that period, this would be a fascinating read. Over to James:
The introduction covers the waterway network of Belgium and northern France in 1914, the country borders and the position of the Western Front.
In 1914 the “Blowing the Bridges”, which was part of the policy to slow down the advancing German Army, led to the Xrst two Victoria Crosses of WW1 being awarded to two British Royal Engineers responsible for blowing the bridges in Mons. Today, there is a plaque to this event under the bridge by Mons Marina.
There are references to Karel Cogge, a Belgium waterways employee, who masterminded the Nooding of the Yser and to Henrik Geerhaert, a barge tug owner, who opened some of the sluices.
Wilfred Owen (1893 – 1818) an English poet and soldier of WW1 wrote “Hospital Barge at Cerisy”; there is a small monument to this by a lock on the Somme [ed: At Sailly-Laurette although it has been vandalised and the frog had been decapitated]. Owen was later killed attempting to cross the Sambre Canal one week before the 1918 armistice.
Other chapters describe the use of barges as mobile hospitals, their use in carrying arms and food to the front lines and in some cases being Nooded to provide advancing troops with a means of crossing the canals. The book is well illustrated with photographs and maps of the time. It can be ordered online from the London Canal Museum (scroll down the page to Xnd the entry for the book) for £18 including UK postage.
Member's Blog
Stories about life on the waterways
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Editor - Ian
Partway through COVID, Tim Bull and his wife Karina Rook decided to leave the high-pressure environment of Silicon Valley startups and pursue a dream to cruise the inland waterways of Europe. Faced with the reality of COVID they took a Xve-year detour and moved to Greece, bought a boat and cruised the Mediterranean. Midway through this year, they took the next step and purchased a 27-metre Klipper, built in 1907 and are currently moored in Gent preparing Clair de Lune to take them around the inland waterways. All this is described in their blog 'Insatiably Curious'.
Tim writes his blog articles weekly and each has an issue number. At present, he's up to Week 220, so over four years. From #1 to about #180 he covers the time during which they owned their trawler Matilda (yes, they are Aussies) and trips in the Mediterranean visiting friends and interesting people around the world. Week 180 is the transition point where the story becomes progressively more about inland waterways. You don't have to navigate this transition, his blog website has a separate section 'Discover by Barge', currently with 13 articles, that covers their barge lifestyle.
These 13 posts cover a lot of work: Xnding and purchasing Clair de Lune; moving to Belgium and setting up a company to allow them to use her commercially; travelling from Decize to Gent (with some excitement along the way—see below in the Miscellaneous section); and most recently, commencing the signiXcant refurbishment work. This current theme should provide ongoing, entertaining reading during the off-season.
The content is exceptionally well written and illustrated - economical but comprehensive prose and high-quality, nicely organised images that you can expand with a single click. Two detailed videos also extend the most recent issue. Tim has an excellent writing work ethic and updates appear regularly. There aren't many waterways blogs active during the off-season so if you want some vicarious participation in the lifestyle while tucked up warm, or sheltering from the heat, reading Insatiably Curious should be just the thing.
Restaurant Review
Members' à la carte experience of dining ashore
Restaurant de L' Ecluse 16
Editor - Paul
There can be few better indicators of a restaurant's proximity to a waterway than it being named after the near adjacent lock. Housed in a former horse relay station, and, judging from some of the blown-up old postcards gracing its walls, with a long gastronomic history, Restaurant de L’Ecluse 16 on the Canal des Houillères de la Sarre in the Bonne Fontaine forest between Sarralbe and Mittersheim comes complete with a mooring slightly downstream on the opposite bank just a couple of minute’s walk away. Ideal for those reNecting on the majesty of the Mosel, or looking forward to the historic infrastructure of the Marne au Rhin Est, its proximity allows for an aperitif on board, other customers arriving over the canal bridge, and the burgeoning car park, suggesting a popularity that only serves to increase the anticipation.
Set price four-course En Plaisir (offering a choice of meat or Xsh at €47-€57) or Ecluse 16 (€67) Xxed menus (with the A la Carte allowing for a mix and match between the two) vary with the seasons. There are also Discovery weekday-only (€28) and Children’s (€15) menus. A similarly concentrated wine list covers all bases.
I arrived at 7 pm on a Saturday to be met by a huge Godin-type stove and a welcoming line of waitresses. Seated in the modern extension with
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contemporary, cohesive décor and distinct dining areas, and soon joined by a mixed clientele of couples, groups of friends and families of all ages, I choose the Menu “Ecluse 16” - Duck foie gras with spruce apples and baerewecke, then Langoustine tails with mystery egg, followed by Beef
Xllet and porcini mushrooms with a Plum Pavlova to Xnish. Two and half hours of culinary joy followed, fully living up to the website's promise of a “desire for freshness, prioritising the senses above all”.
Highlight was the Plum Pavlova, the construction of which was an engineering marvel; its cinnamon ice cream content stacked in foam - mousse - ice cream layers, a cooking marvel; the whole dish, sitting in a reduced, non-sweetened plum sauce, a delight. Service, inclusive of a Brigette Bardot c. 1957 lookalike, was welcoming, attentive and eycient.
A must-stop dining experience of the waterways, with some serious cooking, worthy of support, and worth the experience. Bill for one with a bottle of water, two glasses of wine and coffee was €88. Allow €150+ for a couple.
A couple of minutes walk from moorings slightly downstream on the opposite bank. Take a torch for the walk back.
Restaurant de L’Ecluse 16, Good Fountain, 67260 Altwiller, Tel. 03 88 00 90 42 or online contact form. Closed Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday evening from October 31 to April 30, otherwise open weekdays: 12
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p.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and weekend: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Reservation required.
Would you like to provide a review about a restaurant you've enjoyed while cruising? Email me at paul.stevenson@barges.org
The Inspection Camera
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Editor - Paul
One of the unwritten rules of barging is that when something breaks, needs to be removed or is dropped, it will always be somewhere that cannot be seen and/or is diycult to access. Whilst not guaranteeing a successful outcome, the inspection camera can assist.
Derived from the rod lens endoscope invented for medical use by the British physicist Harold Horace Hopkins (1918-1994), devices for other applications began to appear in the 1960s as a result of the work of Indian-born American physicist Narinder Kapany (1926 – 2020, Xbre optics) and American optical physicist Brian O’Brien (1898 – 1982). Subsequent miniaturisation and cost reduction has now made them widely available in a €20-€200 price range.
An inspection camera, also referred to as a snake camera, endoscope or borescope, is a handheld device with a digital camera mounted at the end of a probe that is small and Nexible enough to be slid into and around most objects, with the image relayed to a small screen. Integral lights and camera angle adjustment help to direct the user, although some familiarity and practice is required to relate the image on the screen with manoeuvring the camera at the end of the probe. Most devices will also have an image and possibly video capture function with kits and adapters available that allow a laptop or smartphone to act as the display device and power source. More recently, wireless capability has added to the cost of these devices if not immediate capability. Some have an IP67 (waterproof to 1 metre) rating.
Their main purpose is to act as an exploratory camera for otherwise inaccessible places, which on a barge will be most of it. Where is that drip
coming from? What size is that nut? Where has the end of the cable gone? Or, and the very worst-case scenario, where is the toilet blocked?
A full guide here.
Members may also be interested in a list compiled by Paul Hayes of 'Good Stuff' that you can Xnd in our Library.
DBA Calendar
2025 DBA Calendar
Cover: Evening at Auxerre on the River Yonne
Photo: Judy Evans
DBA 2025 Calendar
I’m pleased to announce the publication of the 2025 DBA Calendar.
It’s a testament to the diversity of our membership - with photos of: renovated old boats and new recreational vessels; barges and cruisers; boats cruising, moored wild and at town moorings; located in Belgium, Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands; and owned by Americans, Australians, British, Dutch, Germans and Turks.
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What a varied lot we are!
The cover is a photo from Judy Evans taken, of course, at Auxerre - across from an ex-member's barge. Thanks for the atmospheric waterway image, Judy.
My thanks of course to all those who made contributions - the calendar will certainly grace our wheelhouse next season and record, each day, where we are moored.
You can download a moderate-sized version suitable for personal printing from the DBA Library. If you have access to a professional printer, a six-fold larger, high-quality version is available at this link. Some instructions for a professional print service are available at this link.
As you check the calendar, keep in mind that I'm keen to get submissions for the 2026 calendar. Please send them to ian.mccauley@barges.org along with where the photo was taken, who are the crew members and permission to use it. Send the largest/highest quality version you have.
December 2024
Peter and Gayle will almost certainly be settled in the warmer clime of Sydney for December and away from Dankbaarheid and the winter Christmas holidays in Europe.
January 2025
Some of our boats may look a little like Sarah and Tim's Cedar for at least a short while in these times of milder winters. New Year's Day is the only widely recognised national holiday in Europe.
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Most months feature a member's boat and, for some of them, you can =nd out more details by using their link in the Members' Boats register. If you have a vessel that isn't yet on the register, please take a few minutes to add the basic details and an image if possible.
What's in a Name?
Members tell us why their boat has its name
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Editor - Karen
Anna's tale about Ayanna commences in Türkiye far from the canals of Europe:
Our home many years ago was in Turkey. We built our Villa on a plot of land, with some already established fruit and olive trees. We got some chickens, for free range eggs, and grew our own organic fruit & vegetables and planted 60 young olive trees as well. The Good Life for sure!
After a couple of years, the olive trees were producing a good crop for pressing into organic olive oil and after a couple more years we started to produce a lot more than we could use so we sold the oil to friends and anyone else that wanted to buy some at reduced rates and the money from the sale of the olive oil would go to the local animal charity to help with stray cats and dogs.
We have some very good Turkish friends that would come and help us at olive harvesting time. They wanted to think of a name for our olive oil production as it was looking as though the following years, we would be really producing a lot of oil. They came up with the name ‘Ayanna’, being our names Ayhan and Anna combined. We really liked this name, but unfortunately, we left Turkey not long
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afterwards due to being very uncomfortable with the political situation. With great sadness, we sold our lovely Villa and our sailing boat and returned to the UK. Ayhan, having had a boat for most of his adult life, couldn’t contemplate life without a boat, and so the journey began and that is when we discovered Dutch Barges. Our barge build was completed at the end of 2022 and we decided to Xnally use the name ‘Ayanna’, which also brings back fond memories of our time at our lovely Turkish Villa.
Just out of curiosity I did a google search on the name ‘Ayanna’, thinking that it was just a made-up name, but it isn’t and it has many meanings –Ayanna - Originating from Africa, the name Ayanna carries the graceful meaning of beautiful Mower. This name holds signiOcant historical and cultural ties to the region, signifying the importance of nature and beauty within African traditions. Ayanna has been embraced for centuries and continues to serve as a symbolic representation of elegance and natural aesthetics
Do you have an interesting snippet about your boat's name? Email Ian at ian.mccauley@barges.org.
Getting to Know You
A short chat with some of our Members Editor - Karen
Name: Julie Law
Boat: Mimosa - Piper 60M
Nationality: British
Travelling Partner: My husband James and Colin our 2 year old Cocker Spaniel
In a few short sentences tell us about your life aMoat.
Our love story with boats & the inland waterways really began in 2011. James moved from Kent to be closer to my home base in Oxfordshire and we lashed out and bought a narrow boat. She was not a traditional design, instead she resembled a Dutch barge, with a wooden wheel house between the galley and the living quarters and hydraulic steering instead of a tiller. We spent many happy weekends and holidays cruising the U.K. canals. All was "Tickety Boo" (the boat's name).
Whilst on the River Thames we met and made friends with lots of boaters, including a couple in Abingdon who had bought a beautiful new replica Dutch barge from Piper Boats. Could we retire and cruise Europe in a similar boat? They say ‘fortune favours the brave’ and after regularly telling this couple how much we would love to buy their boat, this Xnally came to fruition in June 2017 when we became the proud owners of Mimosa. By coincidence, or perhaps fate, she was the same length as Tickety Boo (18 metres)and the same cream and burgundy colour so they looked like they were related!
After much preparation, like selling our house, leaving our jobs and saying farewell to family we crossed the channel in September 2018 with a pilot to guide us through the lobster pots and sandbanks to spend our Xrst winter aboard in Bruges.
We have returned to this beautiful city every winter since. It is a safe harbour with a friendly, active community. We even managed to survive Brexit by jumping through all the hoops necessary to become Belgian residents.
Do you have a particular skill you would like to share with us?
As a retired fireman James is very handy to have around when things go a little pear-shaped. Need someone to swim under your boat to check the propeller or if you lose power and need a tow then James is your man.
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If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Please include your favourite moorings. Apart from Bruges, we have enjoyed exploring the historic towns of Belgium, including Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels. Last year we tasted champagne while navigating the Marne before experiencing the Parisian city culture. Then of course there are the peaceful lakes and rich architecture of the Netherlands and the spectacular scenery and challenges of the German Moselle and Rhine. Who can choose?
If a genie could give you three wishes, what would they be? Health, happiness and many more adventures in the future
How do you take your coffee?
For me a latte and croissant, for James an Americano with a cognac on the side. Colin prefers a doggy treat!
Editor's Comment
It is with great sadness for us and mixed emotions for James and Julie that they are now selling Mimosa [DBA advert here] and returning to the U.K. to spend more time with their families.
Association Notes
Editor - Ian
Members-get-Members
The members-get-members scheme is still operating and there has been a steady if small Now of members beneXting from introducing new people to the Association. Keep the scheme in mind as you meet others who might be interested in a living or cruising on a boat. All you need is the name and email address of an interested person, then head to the website to Xll out a simple form - our Membership Secretary will do the rest.
2025 Rallies
Mainland Europe - Belgium
.The 2025 Rally will be held at and near the historic Ascenceur 4 at Thieu on the Canal du Centre Historique in Belgium. More details are on the website calendar entry and will be provided in the next Blue Flag. It will take place in the second half of June with dates to be Xnalised. Special thanks to be directed to our membership secretary, Liza Hauwaert for her efforts in organising this venue.
UK - Probably somewhere on the Thames
We are very fortunate that Glynis and Tim Haines have again offered to organise a UK Rally next year. Although they have tried to Xnd a suitable location away from the south, there does not seem to be any practical option so the next rally will be somewhere on the Thames. Stay tuned for more details.
2025 AGM
The 2025 AGM will be held using Zoom on Saturday the 15th of March at 2000 GMT. More details in Blue Flag closer to the date. A link for the meeting will be
sent out in an all-member email before the meeting.
One of the main activities is appointing the directors for our board and we are always keen to have new appointees to keep the management fresh and add new ideas. If you, or anyone you know have any level of interest and would like more information, drop a line to our chair, Mike Gibbons or any other of the directors.
Member Meetings
Worldwide - Member Zooms
Member Zooms commenced successfully in November with a mix of established and new members attending. Mike will be hosting a more in series of online meetings for members once a month. These will take place on the:
2nd December 13th January
Details and links will be provided on the website forum and the DBA social Facebook page. If you would like to be notiXed by email, send your details to Mike Gibbons and you'll get direct notiXcation.
Australian Gatherings
Perth
Regular social gatherings are held each month during the southern summer in Perth (contact Ellen Herden) by the Canal Capers group.
Melbourne
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The group of European cruisers had their post-season gathering on Sunday the 10th of November. 33 people with a wide range of experience and boat types attended Deb and Howard's (Moondance) home in Melbourne. Most of those attending are captured in this photo. The group's next, pre-season, gathering is scheduled for the 2nd of March 2025. Contact Deb Keir if you are interested or want more details about the group. Anyone and everyone are welcome.
Miscellany
Watch Out
Editor - Ian
There was a recent Forum discussion on what the correct name is for the phenomenon (in Paul Hayes words) "it's when going down a Gight, the water leaving the lock [and] you and going down creates a shock wave, which hits the top gates of the lock below and bounces back up the canal causing the descending boat to rise up as the "Back Ebb" passes under it"*. The correct term is, apparently, a ‘translation wave’ although other terms such as ‘back Nush’, ‘back ebb’, ‘back surge’ and for the French, ‘bassinée’ are in use. It’s an uncomfortable sensation for the unprepared and potentially dangerous. The lift caused by the wave can be substantial and boats with marginal air draft could strike ( ) problems with low-clearance features of a lock they are exiting or at a nearby bridge.
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We experienced, for the Xrst time, several occurrences of this type of translation wave when descending the Canal du Centre towards the Mediterranean (ie eastwards) from the summit - from Montchanin to Saint-Julien-sur-Dhune. There are about three groups of closelyspaced, quite deep (several over 5 m) locks close together.
The sensation of the wave arriving made it seem like we were surXng out of the écluse. The video shows (not all that well as it has been speeded up) exiting one of these écluses (#3 Fourneau) without any wave and the next écluse (#4 Ravin), while experiencing the wave. Note the sudden jump of the cap on the jackstaff and bouncing as we exit in the second video.
Now, the issue of damage is not theoretical as Tim and Karina on Clair de Lune can attest. This season, only days after taking ownership of their Xrst inland boat, they were exiting one of the écluses on that section of the Canal du Centre mentioned above and the ‘bassinée’ lifted them up and the front of the wheelhouse struck a bridge structure. Showing great presence of mind, Tim, a novice bargee (although experienced with boats), pushed the throttle fully open to drop the rest of the wheelhouse and minimise damage.
* The same phenomenon can also occur within a fast-Xlling lock.
Subscription and Membership
Subscribing Members
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Feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you feel may have an interest in our Association by clicking on this link. A form will allow you to enter an email address and a message. For technical reasons, it is preferable NOT to simply forward the email that delivered this newsletter to you.
Non-members
Welcome! Again, if you are reading this from a forwarded email, then you can click on this link to set up your own subscription. The content of the newsletter is the same for members and non-members of the Association. The only difference is that some of the links in the text (highlighted in green), that take you to the DBA website, will not work because certain parts of the site are only available to members.
Membership
If you are reading this newsletter and are interested in becoming a member of our Association, please visit our website or email our membership secretary for more information. You'll be welcomed!
Opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the editor or of the DBA Board and directors. The editor and publisher accept no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or consequences ensuing from any information given in this publication.
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