To keel or not to keel

Having finally made the decision to lose our keel, our plans were thwarted at the final hour. We arrived at H2O’s slipway and looked at the trailer they were planning to use to haul us out with some trepidation. Frankly, it didn’t look big enough, but they assured us they had successfully hauled out bigger boats than ours. So, with Johanne lined up on the slipway, the trailer started creeping under her hull and then stopped. The driver got out and wiggled a few buttons on his remote control but to no avail – the trailer would not go far enough under. They offered to lift her out with a crane at a greatly increased cost. The drydock wouldn’t be available for another 3 months. What to do? After lots of discussion, we decided to live with the keel for another year and have booked into the drydock for next April. What an anticlimax!

Saone

Just a quick update - will add more + pics soon. We're currently on the River Saone, just north of Gray. Both still enjoying our travelling life. We were unable to get hauled out of the water to have the keel taken off the boat so have decided to live with it for now and try again next year. Hoping for more internet time when we get to Toul and will do a proper update then.

Fragnes

We are currently in Fragnes for a couple of days before we head onto the river Saone. We had a few long days to get here after Jen & Pete left. The Canal du Centre is very wiggly and has many locks which all take time. On Monday 25th, we climbed up to the summit at Montchanin through 16 locks and 3 lifting bridges.

Tuesday, we began our descent and managed 23 locks - it's quicker going down. Some of the locks are quite deep and have floating bollards.

We reached Fragnes early afternoon on Wednesday after another 11 locks and were happy to stop for a while. There is a long quay here with a very helpful Capitaine and a great boulangerie right on the quay.

We will leave here tomorrow to head up the Saone to St Jean de Losne to have some work done on the boat and for me to get the train back to the UK on 12th May.

Easter Weekend

We had our first staying guests over Easter weekend - Jen & Pete, my sister and brother-in-law. We weren't sure how it was going to work out with their car, sleeping on the sofa, no alternator, etc., but it all worked perfectly. We met them in Digoin and cruised as far as Genelard with a stop near Paray-le-Monial on the way. The weather was fabulous all weekend. We had picnic lunches, a barbecue, went out to dinner and to top it all on the last evening, David and Pete caught a humunguous trout and a chubb for tea! Unfortunately, we were so excited no-one thought to take a photo. In fact I don't have any photos of their visit at all as Pete was using his camera all the time. Perhaps you could send us some, Pete, or I'll copy them when I come home.

Paray-le-Monial has an interesting old town and Basilica. The outside of the Basilica is more interesting than its plain interior but it's clearly a big religious centre as there were loads of people staying there for Easter weekend.

On the way to Genelard, we passed a nice-looking Auberge at Digoine, near Palinges. Pete caught the train back to Digoin to pick up the car and drove us back there for dinner. Excellent value menu @ 21 euros. We had 4 courses including an amuse bouche, full choice of dessert from the menu and chocolate eggs with the coffee! Friendly staff and great food.

Jen & I visited the museum in Genelard which told the story of the line of demarcation between occupied France and the Vichy administration during WWII. I had no idea the Vichy area was so large - about 2/5 of the country. It wasn't something I knew much about but I had this vague idea of a tiny area in the South. The border went right through the middle of farms and estates. Everyone had to have a special passport, or Ausweis, to be able to cross the line and all post was censored. People had to send pre-printed postcards to keep in touch with family and friends, just filling in the gaps. The museum told lots of stories about how people worked around the rules and crossed the line illegally.

It was lovely to spend so much time together, we usually only see each other on a flying visit or with the rest of the family (when Jen is busy cooking).

The first few weeks

We set off on Monday 4th April, much earlier than anyone expected after the party on Sunday! We didn't get very far before we found a nice, quiet, shady spot to tie up and recover.

The beginning of our journey was very slow and relaxed. The routine of cruising is surprisingly familiar after 5 months in port. I was a little apprehensive after our comfortable, safe winter but we've soon slipped into it again.

We didn't travel very far in a day and found some quiet spots to stop and savour the springtime. The canal sides were carpeted with great swathes of wild flowers - I've never seen so many cowslips - and the birdsong has been delightful, especially the nightingales.

Other highlights include:

Decize where we were able to buy a 12V fridge thanks to Gert. (Although our alternator is no longer working, but that's another story.)

Beaulon where we met some lovely people and had a great game of Boules. Albert and Anita, some friends from Nevers, drove over to visit us for the day. The village had everything we needed, including a Pizzeria. We much prefer to buy our produce locally, rather than visit the Supermarche.

Moving on

I wrote this before we left Nevers but didn't get around to posting it. This was mainly due to the large amount of alcohol consumed at a leaving party - three boats left on 4th April. Still, at least I didn't have to be helped back to the boat...

Spring is here and it's time for us to start moving again. Initially, we're going to head for St Jean de Losne where we're going to have the keel cut off the boat. After that, we're not sure but will probably do some sort of loop to bring us back here for the winter again. Some of our friends will still be here so it'll be nice to come back to some familiar faces.

We don't have too much to do prepare to leave. David has installed a deck hoist to make it easier to get the motorbike on and off the boat. So, no more Evil Knievel type stunts over the gang plank. The dinghy is back on board and we have to take the mast down, which is a surprisingly easy job with the winch.

Another year older

My 47th birthday passed without too much excitement. Funny how they get less important as you get older. As a child, age seems to carry status - the earlier your birthday in the school year, the more you are revered. But then, when you're young, you change a great deal in the course of a year - growing taller, becoming more mature and more knowledgeable. Now, the effect of another year is less visible - a few more grey hairs and wrinkles, a subtle deterioration in joint flexibility and skin elasticity, perhaps - nothing too noticeable.

My big change over the last 12 months has been my way of life. This time last year, I was living in Wigborough and teaching full time. Now, I'm living on a boat in the middle of France and am happily unemployed. There are times when I miss my friends and family but otherwise I'm enjoying it all - even having to walk/cycle to the boulangerie when it's cold and wet!

The weather has been quite sunny here lately so we've been able to get on with a few outside jobs. I've been sanding and varnishing the window frames and doors to the companionway and workshop. Most of the old varnish had worn off by itself so they're looking a lot more cared for now. David has sawn up the last of our wood supply. We've brought it all on board and expect it to last us for the rest of the winter.

We hired a car for a few days last month and went south to visit some friends who are leasing a house near Perpignan for the winter. It was a long drive but a really interesting one. There were some dramatic scenery changes as we drove over the Massif Central. There had been some snow in the higher areas and the frost covered trees looked magical with fabulous vistas looking down onto mountain villages and medieval castles. The viaduct at Millau is amazing. We stopped there for lunch on the way down - it was just warm enough for a picnic if you kept your coat and hat on! As we started to descend, there was a noticeable difference in the landscape - it became much drier and more 'Mediterranean'.

We enjoyed the mountain/coast combination and visited a spa town as well as the beach. Carcassonne was a big highlight. I'd like to go back and spend more time there. We checked out the port - great location near the centre of town though closed for the winter again.