Nicols Boat Charter Sireuil
///stun.healing.lameness
45°36’20.8692″N, 0°1’30.6804″E
Today was the big day. We picked up our boat from the Nicols Charter company depot in the village of Sireuil on the Charente River.
Our first task for the day before leaving Angouleme was to go to a nearby grocery store and pick up provisions for our journey.
The boat has a well equipped galley so we plan to have a mixture of preparing meals on board & eating at local restaurants & cafes along the way.
After picking up all of the items on our shopping list we hired a taxi for our 25 minute journey from Angouleme to Sireuil.
We started planning this trip many months ago & it was exciting to finally see our boat.
Our boat is a Nicols 1000 Sedan. It’s about 34 feet long with a spacious dining & galley area on the main level & 3 sleeping cabins & 2 bathrooms below deck. It’s pretty compact but comfortable.
The Nicols staff were very efficient at checking us in. They gave us a tour & tutorial of the systems on the boat and then took us & 2 other charter boats to the first lock.
Our route on the Charente River takes us from Sireuil to Saint Savinien, a distance of about 98 kilometers & a total of 15 locks that we have to operate ourselves. We have to return the boat to Sireuil in 7 days so we aren’t sure how far we will get before we have to turn around.
We have decided that we will take our time & stop at interesting places along the way. If we only go 30 or 40 kilometers before we have to turn around that will be fine. The map below shows the first segment of our journey.
It was almost 4:00pm when we left the Nicols depot. We made it through 2 locks & arrived at the 3rd lock at 6:00pm. This looked like a good place to stop & spend the night.
Ecluse de Mosnac (Mosnac Lock – the 3rd lock on our route)
///consultancy.unplayable.investigate
45°37’36.5484″N, 0°1’21.3204″W
Catherine & Valerie prepared a great meal of pasta & salad supported by some excellent local wines.
After dinner David & I cleaned up the dishes while Catherine & Valerie laid out plans for the next day.
Tomorrow we will pass through 3 locks to get to our next destination, the village of ….
Cheers!