I know this is a little past the date, but represents the part of my journey from the Belgian-French border. We had a little problem with a mud bank, which caused a delay as I cleaned the engine filters, then moored on the French border, as the French side was closed for their national holiday. Then, next morning, on through Lille, and towards Dunkerque. We stopped overnight in Arques, and had a quiet evening after the big lock.
the ancient boat lift, now disused, that replaced the original lock flight
Chris waiting for the big lock descent
and down we went, 13m fall, with sliding bollards in the wall to hold onto
Then, on to Dunkerque, where Chris left to return to the USA. It was a wonderful experience to have him with me, and to get caught up on his adventures, as well as sharing this one.
carilloneur in the belfort of the cathedral in Dunkerque.
the bastion behind the beach where many waited for embarkation
the bells of the carillon
the wide beach where queues of soldiers waited for the little ships to carry them away
The French canals are wide and have a significant amount of commercial traffic, but not difficult to deal with. I had a backwater mooring in Dunkerque, and this allowed time to deal with several boat issues. I was also able to visit the museums of the area that remember Operation Dynamo, which was the evacuation of some 338,000 soldiers from Dunkerque from May 25-June 4, 1940. An amazing story, and one that mustn’t be forgotten. Boats like mine were involved to assist in evacuating, and the ‘little ships’ are honoured still.
