We were up early at 0700h, to make sure we weren't still in our PJs when the H2O mechanic arrived. But soon after 0800h he arrived with a box under his arm and descended into the engine room. 40 minutes later, we heard the generator burst into life and assumed he had done his magic. And then he asked if he could try to start it from the control panel in the galley (where we normally start the generator), and again it worked like a charm. Yea, a working generator!

While he was there, we thought we'd ask the mechanic, who'd done our house batteries a couple of years ago, about a few other problems. Firstly, the electric hot water immersion heater didn't seem to be working from the switch on the galley wall. He politely informed us of a master switch in the engine room that also needed to be turned on. Doh! It's amazing how many little details you forget in two years. Secondly, we asked why the water pump kept running for so long (2-3 minutes) after you closed the tap. He showed us a red control valve in the engine room which he said would regulate the run time. However, when he tried it, it didn't seem to do anything, so he suggested it may need replacing. Another job for while we are away in the next few weeks.

Ten minutes after he finished work, we were ready to depart and soon thereafter we had entered the River Saone, but there was another boat taking fuel, so we hovered mid-stream for about 15 minutes. While we were doing so, I took a photo of the moorings at the steps near the cafes, and sent it to David Rothery who was arriving later that day on L'Escapade.

A little further north had us passing the entrance lock for the Canal du Rhone au Rhin (the River Doubs). We noticed that it had been given a good clean-up and paint job since we were last here.

Then it was our turn at the fuel pumps and we took on about 300euro of diesel at 1.43euro/litre. Another mid-stream turn had us heading north and saying goodbye to the boat-lined shores of SJDL for a little while.

Another couple of kilometres further on, and we were approaching our first lock for nearly two years. At times like this, you start to wonder whether you'll remember anything of what you're supposed to do to negotiate the lock, but apart from a few hesitations and missed rope throws, we got through with no major dramas, and headed towards Auxonne.

We were thinking of stopping at the Auxonne moorings on the river for some lunch, but when we got there we found there were no available spots, so we continue past Auxonne and had lunch on the move (which is easy on the rivers, where you can relax a bit more than on the canals). There were also no spaces at Lamarche and Pontarliers, so we continued on and eventually found a little mooring for the night near Heuilley-sur-Saone. It only had a very small dock area (at just the right height for Kanumbra) but with two substantial bollards in the surrounding mowed grass.

While the mooring itself was quite good, it was surrounded by clouds of mosquitoes, so I kept the doors closed while Rita went for a short exploration of the nearby village. She arrived back at the boat just in time to beat a rainstorm that was approaching up the canal from the west. We then settled down for a quiet dinner (inside) and watched the sun setting at the end of the canal.