First visitors!

Last Friday we were delighted to welcome Don and Cathy Jo aboard as our first sleep-over guests!

I first met Don and Cathy Jo in Digoin in 2009 when Cathy and Ian Kennedy were with me. Don and Cathy were on Odysseus which they subsequently sold – they had a break from cruising over here but are now in the process of buying a new boat so that they can return to these beautiful waterways.

They joined us at Saint Florentin where we had stayed for several days with the Kiwi crew of Akaroa beside us. We had a most pleasant dinner on board for Don, Cathy Jo, Sue and David. My ratatouille seems to go down a treat!

Then on Saturday we overtook the good ship Akaroa, left them in St Flo (where they seemed to have taken root) and headed towards Migennes. We spent the night at Briennon and Adrian did his bike ride back to fetch the car. Unfortunately he had a puncture en route and had to seek the help of passing cyclists! All took a while but was ok in the end.

There are two things that are really frustrating….

Electricity – the supply at ports remains very variable! At St Flo the total current available is 16 amp – split across all the boats! So you can imagine how frequently this trips, especially at peak times eg morning tea time! Also, apparently, the hire boats are often fitted with an array of electrical equipment – kettle, toasters, microwaves, sat TV, etc etc – and the hirers expect to be able to use them. Unfortunately this ain’t necessarily so and can result in some problems. The Capitaine told us tht St Flo is due to be upgraded next year – he hopes so anyway, as he’s been asking for this for years!

Wifi – the availability is very variable too and even though we have our own router its not always possible to pick up signals so we get frustrated when out of access.

But I digress…..

Don and Cathy Jo were really pleased to have the opportunity to cruise a little whilst awaiting all the legal stuff with their purchase. They said it reminded them of why they were doing this again. And it was great for Adrian to meet them and for me to see them again. Don even got to drive Piedaleau….

Author: mistyjf

I have been boating in Europe since 2009 when I shipped Misty Morning to France. Time & life move on! Adrian, my new partner, & I bought Piedaleau in 2015 to continue and expand our European boating adventures. View all posts by mistyjf