From Les Roches-de-Condrieu to Lyon

We are still a bit uncertain whether we should leave or wait a bit longer, but ultimately our curiosity about Lyon prevails. The night before, we had company, and the two gentlemen also wanted to set off early. After a brief discussion with them, they head out but will wait for us so we can lock through together.

We ended up being faster than expected, and after leaving the port, the Liberté was only 200 m ahead of us. Soon it became clear that while they were moving quickly, I had to significantly slow down Gustav. The speed indicated by the Liberté at 10-12 km/h referred to the speed against the current; we are calculating with SOG. With the current, the Liberté was only progressing at about – 7-8 km/h SOG.

We urgently needed to change this after the first lock.

This came after just a few kilometers below Vienne. In this area, the lock blocks the entire valley, and the journey above, past Vienne, goes through the Rhone, completely bypassing the usual lock channel.

We quickly gain distance, and I was able to quickly dispel my first officer's concerns that we would have to wait at the lock in Lyon. Given the speed difference of about 5 km/h between Gustav and Liberté, they will arrive about 2 hours later than us. They won’t make us wait that long.

Since Valence, we have also been noticeably slower, as the current on the Rhone now roughly corresponds to that of the Rhine at Loreley. Especially the last 10-12 km before the final lock, Écluse de Pierre-Bénite, below Lyon, are quite challenging.

Upon arriving at the lock, my first officer establishes contact, and at first, everything sounds optimistic. The chamber is being prepared, and after the gate was already opened, the traffic light turns red again.

Oops,

here comes someone who has paid more than we have, and indeed it happened that way. A tourist boat cut in front of us, and we were allowed to enter the lock chamber behind them.

After leaving the lock, it's only a few kilometers to the junction of the Saône and then just a few kilometers until the Halte Fluviale LYON Confluence, that's what the place is called in Lyon.

The port is located in the Lyon district of La Confluence. This area was created between 1770 and 1850 through land reclamation. Originally, there were industrial, commercial, and transport facilities, storage facilities, and transshipment points for goods located here, which had to make way for an architectural highlight. Die-hard Mainz residents know this from the Zollhafen, residential space for all, which none can afford.

I don’t mean to belittle it; the district certainly has its charms, but the older parts of Lyon have significantly more charm and tradition.

At the Halte Fluviale LYON Confluence, we were greeted by the harbor mistress with wild shouting and waving of arms. Due to the noise, my first thought was that I was doing something wrong, but my first officer clarified for me that it was her joy to finally have a ship in the harbor again. We were the only one.

We had our dock beer, turned off all switches, and then took care of the formalities since we had chosen Lyon for a longer stay, aiming for 4-5 days.