Not a good start to the day! We managed with some difficulty to get off our 'mooring' but as we got our into the middle of the Canal it was clear that the filter was blocked again as we had no cooling water coming out. So Skip stopped the engine to empty both the filter and the hose leading to it. This meant that we were drifting into the opposite concrete bank, so Crew had to lower fenders and employ the boat hook! Skip was now resigned to emptying the filter at each lock, adding tedium and time loss to our day!! After four locks though the weed seemed to be lessening thank goodness, making life much easier. After 10 locks we had to employ the 'zapper' we'd been given at the start of this navigation, slowing us down somewhat. All the locks hitherto had been ready and waiting for us but now we had to activate the system with the zapper and wait for the lock to fill. We arrived in Ligny-en-Barrois around 2.30 p.m. and moored awkwardly, stern to in the small port. A kind Dutch man next to us helped us by attaching two of our lines to his boat.
The usual late lunch and rest ensued. Skip went to investigate the town, restaurant wise. There is a lack of French restaurants in this town but if you fancy pizza or kebabs, no problem!! So instead of going out for dinner, Skip brought back a pizza as Crew was definitely too tired to cook. He said that the one halfway decent looking restaurant would be open tomorrow......so that's a plan!
15.5 km 15 locks 5 1/2 hours
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