Over the long cold winter we have watched a lot of videos about people doing the same trip as we are now undertaking. The only one we watched where they stopped at Rueil gave us cause to worry.
The YouTubers said that the pontoon was a meeting place for feral teenagers who spent the night trying to get on their boat. We had another easy trip up the river from Port St Louis, the only hiccup was at the Bougival lock. Trusting our ancient guidebooks we attempted to call the lock keeper on Channel 22 but no reply. Checked both guides again. One said that the lock was only open when the river flooded, the other said it was closed when the river flooded.
Igor checked the guide again and we decided to give it a miss and go to the next lock, Ecluse Chatou, on the other side of the long narrow island that separates them. There was no problem passing through this lock but it meant we had to detour back downstream for about 4km to the Halte Fluviale. Luckily, downstream is quicker than upstream, important when you're tired after a long day's sailing. We were later told that the lock keeper at Bougival is on channel 18, like Ecluse Chatou.
It changed years ago and now they are run by the same organisation. Not only that, the lock wasn't working even if you called on the correct channel. My lovely niece Lucy lives quite close so we called her and, what a hero, she brought dinner, wine and chocolates and her friend, who gave Igor a lift to the nearest garage where he was able to buy 40 litres of diesel!
Her perspective on the mooring was very different. She told us that this is one of the nicest arrondissements in Paris, and any youth hanging round are nice kids just enjoying Saturday night. Her opinion was that the previous people were simply unlucky and we were as safe here as anywhere. Local knowledge is priceless. She was right, and we had a peaceful night's sleep. Next day after breakfast we walked to the nearest supermarket, a Super U over the bridge.
