April 2026

I thought I would do a separate posting about the locks that we travel through on our way south in France. We found them so interesting. We pass through 15 locks from Lyon to Arles. They were built between 1947 and 1980 to regulate the river. The Rhône was a difficult river to navigate because of the strong currents and the rapids. The locks also overcome the differences in elevation and allow boats to pass from one level of water to another. And, they generate a lot of hydroelectric power.

The total difference in elevation from Lyon to the Mediterranean is 531.5 feet.

The cost for our boat to go through the locks is about $30,000 Euros per year.

It usually takes 30 minutes to go through the locks, 5 minutes in, 20 minutes inside and five minutes out. There is very little space on either side of the boat when in the locks so the captains need to navigate from the outside so they can see the gaps on the sides.

The deepest lock is 76 feet. The locks are manual and are operated by staff in two central offices.

Before there were locks, boats had to be tracked with men and horses. Downstream with the current was easier but dangerous because of currents, shallows and floods. It used to take 3 weeks or more to move goods through. Now it takes 3 days.

It is said that the boatmen were normally non-swimmers so they would do everything they could to save the ship and the cargo. They also had painted oars covered with religious symbols to protect against hazards. I didn’t check to see if our crew can swim!

We saw two of the nuclear power plants on our trip. There are over 50 in France and five along the Rhône. They provide over 70% of the power needs in France. They also use wind power for about 20% and hydro-electric for about 8% and 2 % is solar. They sell electric power to neighboring countries. All except one of the locks is adjacent to the hydropower plants.

Later I will post about our day in Viviers.