Luckily, the chapter title does not refer to us – but to a barge that was passing through Arsenal. It had crossed the English Channel and was on its way from London to Épernay – on the Marne. Where we are supposed to be now. Not quite a catastrophe for us but beginning to feel like one. But that’s another story. One that you will find at the bottom of this page.
Back to ‘Close to Catastrophe.’ I looked out of a porthole and saw a lovely-looking hotel barge coming out of the tunnel and headed in our direction. It was under the bridge in the photo below when I first noticed it. It was moving very slowly. I assumed whoever was at the helm, being in a new port, was being extra cautious.
I watched as it went by us and entered the lock which opens onto the Seine. As you know after reading Chapter 244, we are worried about the speed of the current on the Seine. Wonderland arrived on Thursday. We would be heading out onto the Seine early Monday morning. I thought this would be a great opportunity to see first-hand how fast the water was flowing. When Wonderland left the lock, I’d see how much it was pushed by river – and decide if it would be safe for us to leave on Monday.
I watched as Wonderland dropped inside the lock. I watched as the gates onto the Seine opened. And I waited for Wonderland to head out and fight the current. And I waited. And I waited. Wonderland didn’t move. Unlike Aleau which uses a diesel motor to turn its propeller, Wonderland is propelled by electric motors. Before it could leave the lock, it lost all electricity. If that had happened after it had left the lock, it would have been swept quickly downstream. It would have no steering. Unless someone was able to quickly drop the anchor, it would have been swept into one of those beautiful, ancient stone bridges that cross the Seine. It would have been ruined. The bridge would have been severely damaged – stopping all traffic on and under it for weeks if not months. Thus, “Close to Catastrophe.”
But it remained motionless inside the lock. That presented another problem. It’s a very busy spot. That lock is the entrance to three canals – the Canal St. Martin, the Canal St. Denis, and the Ourcq. It is used not just by pleasure craft like Aleau going in and out of the marina – but also by large tour boats taking passengers for a cruise on the Seine.
It is sometimes used by large commercial barges.
Two boating schools are based at Arsenal. Their boats are in and out of the lock all day long.
With Wonderland stuck in the lock, all traffic had to stop. That was not an option. But Wonderland couldn’t move. The decision was made to pull Wonderland out of the lock – by hand, using ropes.
I’m standing on Aleau – taking pictures and ready to grab a rope as Wonderland gets closer.
Finally alongside – but a few more fenders will be deployed to protect both Aleau and Wonderland.
Although we’ve only seen her from the outside, Wonderland is a nice-looking barge.
Interior photos are available here.
https://www.superyachttimes.com/yachts/wonderland-30m
According to the link below, Wonderland can accommodate five guests in three cabins. For €60,000/week. Plus expenses.
https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-38877/wonderland.htm
But Wonderland is not going anywhere at the moment. And neither is Aleau. In addition to being stuck for as long as she is tied to us, our burner (a part of the furnace) has died. We have no heat and no hot water. The temperature in Paris at 7:30 this morning was 2 degrees. (In late March!!) The indoor temperature throughout Aleau was 12 degrees – with all our electric heaters blasting away. We discovered the lack of heat and hot water on March 17 – less than 24 hours before we were due to pass through the lock and begin our voyage to the Netherlands. Now, we don’t know when we can leave. We are booked into a shipyard in Maasbracht on May 1. When setting our departure date from Paris, I chose March 18 as that would give us some extra days to cover any possible emergencies. I hadn’t planned on an emergency happening before we even got underway. We have purchased a new burner from a firm in England. We paid a substantial amount of money for “Overnight Shipping.” That was on Tuesday. It’s now Monday. And there’s no sign of our burner. Our catastrophe. And a new definition for “overnight.”