N.B. Please note that this video is almost thirty-eight minutes long, it covers a period of about three hours of cruising, during this time we were getting installed on the boat, fetching drinks, so there was a lot of toing and froing between the saloon, the cabins and the roof level where Barrie did all the driving. There's always something to look at, something to do, if you find this video too long, perhaps you're not going to enjoy a canal cruise, there are long periods when chatting is the only thing to do, but your'e out in the open air and the sunshine. I find the time passes too quickly, but I enjoy sitting back and watching the world go past, the other boats, the restaurants, the wine caves, and don't forget you can always stop for a closer look. Boating is great fun for all ages, we were on a one-way voyage which I don't like, it means you have a schedule to keep, we had five days to get to Trèbes to deliver the boat.
The first day of our October 2014 canal trip from Port Cassafières, nearby Portiragnes, to Trèbes. We were relocating a boat for the company, ready for the start of next year's season, so everything was very flexible. This day we were aiming to get as far as Béziers, roughly thirteen kilometers.
Our departure was quite late (15:30) since we had lunched in the restaurant at the hire base, always a good start to a holiday on the Midi Canal. But it meant that we had only two and a half hours of cruising before the locks closed for the day. We had thought to be in the Port of Béziers, but we were quite laid back about the voyage so we didn't hurry, as it turned out a good decision since we were just below the lower lock of the port, where all was calm. Malcolm Reynard joined us for supper and we had passed a very pleasant day, everyone slept very well, after even only two and a half hours of strong warm wind and the sun, the extra energy used at the locks and the exercise was better than any sleeping pill!
We navigated three locks this day, 'Portiragnes lock', 'Villeneuve-lès-Béziers lock' and 'Ariège lock'.
