Sunday 14th August - Agde to Frontignan

We left our mooring at 10 a.m.and had to turn round to make for the famous round Agde lock.  Unfortunately we hadn't noticed the large passenger boat coming up behind us so we had to pull in to the bank and let him pass before we could turn.  We managed to tie off whilst waiting for the lock luckily as eventually seven boats in all wanted to lock through.  After about 15 minutes the gates opened and the fun began!  We went in second so we're able to get our favourite spot (out of the danger zone!!).  The eclusier was kept very busy trying to get the hire boats settled safely - he certainly earns his money!!  Finally we exited the lock just after 11 a.m.  Half an hour further along the canal we came across our friends, Quentin and Denise on their boat Rinanbe

..a nice surprise!  We tied off behind them and went aboard for a coffee and a catch up.  Of course the wine and beer subsequently appeared and we spent a couple of very pleasant hours chewing the cud!!  We reluctantly bid our farewells as we had another lock to get through and then the Etang de Thau to traverse.  The Etang is the second largest in France, famous for its' oyster beds and mussels and is around 20 km across to the Canal du Rhone a Sete.  Arriving at our last lock on the Canal du Midi we found three boats already in the lock.  We thought if one of the boats could move up that we would fit but the young eclusier gave no instructions so we had to wait.  Luckily it was not a very deep lock and it didn't take long to fill.  About 40 minutes later saw us at the entrance to the Etang and an absolutely fabulous day for our crossing.....perfect blue sky and not much wind.  We crossed in just over an hour and reached the canal around 4 o'clock.  We were very lucky to find a mooring space to squeeze into and got ourselves settled with free power!  The plan was to stay in Frontignan for two nights so that Henk could catch up.  We had a relaxed dinner on board, watched a silly film and bed with lots of sea air in our lungs!!

2 locks  36 km  7 hours