[Read Tony's comments].

After picking Tony up, we motored up the canal, through the low lying lakes. (The word Etang indicates a shallow lake or lagoon.) We were low enough to get through the few fixed bridges and the pontoon bridge (Passerelle Flottante) at the island Abbaye de Maguelonne was swung out of the way by a co-operative bridge attendant in his outboard motor boat. On we motored to the lift bridge at Frontignan, arriving about 1930. We had to moor alongside for the night as the next bridge opening would not be until 0730 next day. Sta Ben, a British boat was alongside just before the bridge, and advised us not to moor too close to the bridge as the train noise was very bad. We soon found this out. We rafted alongside them for supper, but found the noise of the frequent trains quite disturbing, and so motored back a kilometre or so to anchor in a wide junction for a quiet night’s rest before heading back to catch the 0730 bridge next day. We thanked Pete and Ann for their assistance and wished them well in the repairs they needed done to their boat. We heard from them a few horror stories of power boats ruining their props and prop shafts on shallow banks, as did Sta Ben.

Going along the canal through the shallow lakes we entered the shallow Etang du Thau, passing the canal leading to Sete, and motoring over to an unmarked channel outside of the miles of shellfish farms. The extent of these pole lined structures was impressive, stretching most of the 25 kilometre length of the lake along its north side. We went through a wide opening into Meze a town in the middle of the north shore.

We stayed at the town marina with good facilities for two nights. The town was most pleasant and we enjoyed the market and a sumptuous meal of, what else, shellfish. In the afternoon I took Sprite with Annie and Judy 10 kilometres inside the shellfish poles across to Bouzigues to enjoy the Shellfish Museum, an excellent display of how shellfish are cultivated and farmed. We also saw pictures of the brightly coloured shields used by the boat jousters at their annual festivals, with the names and pictures of the champions.

Back in Meze we saw the jousting practice. It involves two large rowing boats (like whalers or life boats and these had outboard engines for practice) about 25 feet (7 metres) in length. Each brightly coloured boat has a 15 foot wooden ramp extending from the stern at a 30 degree angle with a small platform at the outer end n which the jouster positions himself. The combatant is armed with a wooden shield with four or five shallow sections on the outer surface, and a wooden pole about ten feet (3 metres) long. The object of the combat is when the two boats pass each other on opposite courses, the men try to dislodge each other from the platform, ramming their wooden lances into the compartmentalized shield of the opponent.

We watched several jousts, with different jousters each time. They were not in the traditional costumes they would have at festival tournaments, but their combats were in earnest, several being thrown into the water and once a lance shattered from the force of the impact. Each town has a few boats and they compete with each other, the champions then challenging the champions from other towns. It makes for an interesting waterfront spectacle.


I was still anxious about the height of the mast at the bow, as the published air draft for the Canal du Midi is only 3.3 metres, and the depth 1.4 metres. Judy had carefully measured the height of the forward goal post to be sure that the mast on top of it would be below the minimum air draft. She calculated the mast would be 3.1 metres, sufficient for the lowest bridge, but high enough above the foredeck to give us headroom without having to duck under when working the bow lines. However, since the forward goal post was higher than the after one, the mast extending beyond the bowsprit was angled upwards and possibly higher than the minimum air draft! I felt we had to lower the forward goal post to be on the safe side.

Next morning, since our mast overhung the jetty, we had the assistance of a few local bar flies to lift the mast off the forward goal post while I placed a plank beneath it to suspend it. Then we detached the goal post from the toe rails and put it ashore where we cut off six inches (about 15 cm) from each leg. Replacing it we then lowered the mast back on it to the cheers of the French-only speaking assistants. We appreciated their good-natured help, but communication was a hit and miss thing. I felt better about the mast being that much lower.

Depth was another concern as we have a draft of 4 ½ feet or exactly 1.4 metres. We will be plowing furrows along the bottom in several places, I suspect, but we can’t do much about it. Actually, we did. We had two sail bags stored in Sprite on our stern, making Veleda a bit stern heavy. We switched them to the foredeck. We also moved the boom from the main deck where it restricted a bit of visibility to the forward part of the mast above the forward goal post, both these moves evening out the waterline.

We left Meze at noon hour the third day and were into the Canal du Midi within an hour, and an hour later were faced with our first lock (ecluse). It seemed to go OK, as it was only a height of 1.5 m. However we found all the locks in the Canal du Midi are oval shaped, rather than the usual rectangular shape. The eclusier also lets the water in at a fast rate, causing much surging in the lock. Our usual technique of a midships line and fending off bow and stern did not work. The second lock was a round lock! Rather than being oval, it was a large round lock with three gates. It was a smoother lock where they expect the boats to just idle in the middle rather than secure along one side. This was the lock at Agde. Once through we went ashore to pick up our canal permit from the local VNF office. We found a change in policy from what we experienced last time we came through the canals. At that time a two week or 30 day pass covered days traveling only. Thus if we stayed in one place for several days, it still only was considered as the one day travelling. We spent 3 months coming down from Le Havre to the Med on a 30 day pass. We traveled less than 30 days but were delayed by lock strikes, canal closures and high waters en route. Now however, the passes are for consecutive days only. We were advised to get a two week pass to get us to Toulouse; then when leaving Toulouse get another two week pass which would cover us to Bordeaux. This is what we have done.

While there one of the chaps was asking about the EU flag we had flying from the forward part of the mast. I had put one there to indicate for me the extent of the mast overhang. However the man was asking about the politics of the EU, especially since France that very weekend had rejected the proposed EU constitution. Tony had sensed a hostility to the EU flag from the friends who helped us with the mast in Meze, and this “discussion” caused me to remove it and replace it with an old Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons flag we had. The French in this part of France are against the EU for several reasons. They don’t like Jacques Chirac, the bureaucracy, globalization, the high unemployment and the immigrants from the expanded EU. It seems very much of a rural/small town versus the large city mentality regarding the EU. We have seen some boats flying not only the EU flag, but an EU flag with a small national flag in the upper corner. We have seen French and German boats with this informal flag. However, we won’t fly it any more here in France.

More about the Canal du Midi in my next log.


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