From Fresh Water To Salt Water

If you are interested in sailing, in precisely timed turns and polar diagrams, you can safely put this article aside. Because here the sails are not set once or a sheet is plucked. Instead, the machine chugs leisurely through inland France with the mast down. The Rhine-Rhône Canal, the Saône and the Rhône should be the start of our sailing trip, the access to the sea, so to speak.

This begins in the deepest southwest of Germany, in Breisach am Rhein. The Rhine is the closest navigable river from Lake Constance, where our “Aracanga” has lived for a long time. And if the route through France was more attractive than the one across the Rhine to the North Sea, we decided to take the tour south. A problem-free route on paper and navigable for boats with a draft of up to 1.8 meters. Our keel protrudes 1.65 meters into the water, so it should be feasible with a bit of healthy caution.

Martin Finkbeiner on board the "Aracanga" during the very first short stretch on the Rhine shortly after departure in mid-July 2018

On July 18th we cast off the lines in Breisach with the rough plan to sail into the Mediterranean at Port St. Louis du Rhône in southern France a month later. And sure enough, on August 18th we drove through the lock into the salt water, so the plan has worked so far. Not quite as expected, however. Because what we, like many others, hadn't taken into account was the extremely hot and rain-free summer.

Because of "pas de problem"

There has been next to no rainfall since May, and the water levels in rivers and canals have suffered extremely as a result. The first part of the Rhine-Rhône Canal leads us uphill through 40 locks that follow one another at very short intervals. In this part the water level is relatively easy to regulate because of the short distances between the barrages, and both lock keepers and harbor masters respond with “Oui, oui, pas de problem” to our inquiries about the water depths in the canal.

After the fourth day we have reached the watershed, from here it goes downhill. While a lock keeper team accompanies us uphill, we are on our own on the descent. In contrast to the ascent, however, the downhill lock is very relaxed, the lines only have to be slowly lowered and no longer pulled tight with force.

Up and down: "Aracanga" in one of the canal locks

Instead of being accompanied by a lock keeper team, we are equipped with a remote control for the upcoming locks. On its way towards the Rhône, the canal alternates over long stretches with the natural course of the Doubs, which are the most beautiful sections of the connection between the Rhine and the Rhône. At the same time, however, the greatest caution is required in these areas. Especially with a sailboat with a fixed keel and a corresponding draft.

The river can swell rapidly and increase its current. In addition, it is paved with large stones, gravel and sandbanks, which do not always have to be in the places indicated, especially after a flood. However, it was not the high water that caused us problems, but the extreme low water of the Doubs.

Especially at the lock exits, where the canal and the river flow together again, a lot of debris is deposited, and after the second lock in the river at the latest, we feel our way very slowly in these areas. As complete beginners in inland navigation, we quickly learned that the reference to 15 meters from the shore leaves little room for maneuver, that an additional “safety distance” is not necessarily effective and that two meters of water do not mean any cause for concern.

Everything goes well up to kilometer 85

We only took the gas back from 1.9 meters and took it all the way down at 1.8 meters in order to slowly feel our way through the flat areas. We would not have been even more careful when going ten miles a day, because the echo sounder rarely showed more than 2.5 meters. Of course we touched the ground a few times and got stuck one or the other time, but never had serious problems getting free. Up to kilometer 85 (the kilometers are counted on both sides from the watershed).

There the canal was suddenly only 1.4 meters deep. At this point, the canal reinforcement slipped into the water over a length of approx. 50 meters. The embankment was redone, but the rubble was not dug out of the canal. After a few attempts at different points, we decided to retreat in order to prepare the whole day well and to tackle it with fresh energy.

So in the evening water tanks were pumped empty, outriggers were built to shift weight and heavy items such as life rafts and anchors were stored with chains on the port gangway. New day, new try. Very early we were back at the shoal with the hope that the water level had risen a little and that the locks are not in operation at night. But the opposite was the case, the canal lost between 5 and 10 cm of water.

Evening mood in Mulhouse on the Rhine-Rhone Canal

Still, after a few hours of diving we dug a channel for the keel with our salad bowl and were on the other side of the sandbar. A short pleasure, and then the next shoal, this time not soft mud, but hard as concrete!

For us this was the end of the line for the time being. Turn around, back to Deluz, the last port, and explore options. After long deliberations and a phone call with a befriended yacht designer, we discarded the option of reducing the draft through recovery bags and saw land transport as the last option. Because in the foreseeable future the levels would not rise. Driving back and taking a different path was no longer possible due to the lower water level.

High and dry on the low loader

Two weeks later, the "Aracanga" was once again high and dry, but now on the truck and this time with the destination St. Jean de Losne, which is about 100 kilometers west of the Saône and France's largest inland marinist. There it went straight back into the water, and the next day the voyage continued on its own keel. The Saône is a calm, leisurely river that flows into the Rhône near Lyon. On the Rhône, on the other hand, things can really get down to business and the current can reach up to five knots.

The Rhône Valley is also the birthplace of the Mistral, a stormy wind from the northwest that regularly turns the sea area between southern France, Corsica and Mallorca into a cauldron. The two rivers lead us past famous cities such as Lyon and Avignon, but also to dreamy, small towns off the beaten track such as the picturesque, medieval Viviers with its massive fortifications high above the city. The further south the journey takes you, the more Mediterranean influences can be seen. Pine trees line the banks, and the steep roofs of Franche Comte are replaced by flatter roofs with Roman tiles.

The Rhône flows into the Mediterranean Sea at St. Louis du Rhône. However, the natural estuary is reserved for those familiar with the area, for everyone else it goes through the lock from fresh to salt water and into the large port of the city. This is where our mast is set up and from here we begin the second stage of the journey: the Mediterranean.

The Rhone is making good headway south

Conclusion: Despite the shallows and hardships, the trip over the canals and rivers is a good and relaxed way to start a long journey and get used to life on board before the inclines, wind and waves create additional challenges.

Information on inland travel

Rhine-Rhône Canal: Officially navigable to a depth of 1.8 meters, realistically, however, the limit in a normal summer is around 1.5 meters. Unfortunately, since the state-administered Rhine-Rhône Canal is only used by recreational skippers, it does not receive the greatest attention from the authorities.

The canal is 237 km long and has 112 locks, 40 to the Rhine and 72 to the Saône. There are numerous places to lie down, but the number is drastically reduced for yachts with a large draft. Maximum headroom: 3.4 meters. The locks are 5.10 meters wide. The canal has two tunnels (185 and 384 meters long), the maximum speed is 6 km / h on the canal sections and 10 km / h in the river.

Saône: From St Jean de Losne (confluence with the Rhine-Rhône Canal) to Lyon (confluence with the Rhône) you drive 200 kilometers on the Saone. There are five locks with bollards embedded in the wall, the lifting height is between 2.9 and 4 meters. All locks can be reached via VHF. In other words, there are hardly any restrictions in terms of size when large shipping is on the move.

Rhône: 310 kilometers from Lyon to the Mediterranean Sea. The river offers few places to lie down for recreational skippers, since the license-free houseboats are forbidden here. There is a lot of wind and current here, so a short, steep wave can build up. There are 12 locks, the highest of which has a lifting height of 22.5 meters. All locks are equipped with floating bollards, so locking is not a problem. All locks can be reached via VHF.

Photo gallery: Inland journey of the "Aracanga"

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Checklist for canal drivers:

- long lines for the locks (it is best to use old lines) - Check the water levels in advance - At least two large spherical fenders for the locks, enough other fenders - Fender board - Radio antenna (with the mast down). VHF is not mandatory, but helpful - steamer light (with the mast down) - enough sun protection, e.g. B. large bimini top - large funnel for diesel, especially if you fill up in canisters (the boat filling stations have truck nozzles) - River guide with an overview of locks, shoals, and places to lie down - Apply for a vignette for the desired period from the VNF (French Maritime Authority) - the website water-ways.net and the book “Inland Waters France” (Delius-Klasing) are helpful for rough planning

Further information, pictures and articles about the journey of the "Aracanga" at Ahoi.blog