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Old 06-30-2018, 11:37 AM   #5
Irish Rambler
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City: NARBONNE
Vessel Name: 'Snow Mouse.'
Vessel Model: BROOM FLYBRIDGE 42.
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,733
WHO designed the canal du Midi ?
Msr Pierre Paul Riquet from Beziers who was a local farmer and salt tax collector.

WHAT was the purpose ?
To be able to transport goods across the French isthmus to avoid vessels taking the 3,000 mile plus journey though the straits of Gibraltar and to stimulate trade in wine and grain in the region.


WHY was it so strategically important ?
Because the British fleet under the direction of Horatio (later Lord) Nelson kept capturing or blowing up French vessels. Salpetre to manufacture gunpowder for the French naval fleet was a favourite target.

WHEN was the canal started /
Construction began in 1667 and it opened for traffic on the 15th of May 1681.

HOW was it built ?
Using manual labour including many women, Msr Paul Riquet mainly followed the contours of the land and built one of the very first canal aqueducts in the world at Redorte to cross a river. He also built a massive reservoir at the summit to feed both the canal du Midi and as we shall discover later, the canal de Lateral a la Garonne.


The canal is 240 kms long and has 91 locks. The locks are 30.65 metres/100' 6'' long, 5,80 metres/19' wide.

The barges could carry up to 200 metric tonnes and were behemoths in their time when a horse and cart could only manage 5/6 tonnes.
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