Oldies On Tour

Thursday 21st September 2023

During the morning the carpark started to thin out and we set off, walking to the marina around 1030am; we were due to meet the broker at the car park entrance at 1100hrs.  Last night we had “debated” which way was the quickest to get to the marina,  so this morning we headed off on different routes!!!    Today it overcast and a “will it” or “won’t it” rain moment took place and should we take our coats; one did one didn’t!!!    

This whole area around us is nicely laid out with several paths winding along the river, and through the trees all geared up for cyclists and joggers, in fact just walking was slightly hazardous!!!  We both arrived at the marina, but in different parts of the car park early so telephoned the broker (Graham) to see if he was available earlier, and he was, he had driven from his office on the MIDI, a four hour drive away!!!  We met and headed to view the “Kotter” moored on a pontoon right at the far end of the marina.

This “Kotter” is 12.85 meters (42ft), an ideal length for cruising the inland waterways of Europe and in necessary sturdy enough to go to sea and do coastal work.   Our first impression was that the description given by the broker was actually correct, she looked immaculate from the outside, no sign of “bumping or boring” alongside the commercial traffic in the big locks on the rivers; a good start.   Because we had the dogs and Graham suggested they did “not” come aboard, so Christine waited whilst I went inside first.   Again first impression was how immaculate it was, albeit very cluttered as one would expect as the vendors have been living on her for the past year.   I poked about in most cupboards, fired up the engine, walked the decks and struggled to find any fault, well perhaps the asking price!!!!    There is no doubt this boat would suit us perfectly, comfortable to live aboard for prolonged periods, sturdy enough for the busy rivers and locks and sea worthy for coastal passages.   Our one big question hanging over her is; “why has she been on the market since March”??? She is immaculate and well looked after; asking price perhaps??.   Graham the broker had no answer to that but assured us there was nothing onerous about this time scale, hmmmmmm????  She is a very nice boat, “food” for thought!!     Back in the van and Supermarket next 

By the time we left the supermarket, and this was a “Mega” sized one, it was raining so had a quick bite before heading back to Chusclan, a safe place for the night but more importantly the dogs have the river to jump in and out of.  We had a plan this time, “NO MORE WINE”!!!!! 

The weather improved and the sun came out as we headed south again and arrived at the “Aire de Camping Car, Chusclan”, and to our astonishment it was closed; “shock, horror”, what’s going on here??   Once we’d got over the shock we read the sign, it was only closed for two nights; last night and tonight😡😡😡. OK Chateauneuf de Pape, the vineyard we know, but again no more wine!!!!

Minding our own business, pottering along the French lanes amongst the vineyards when we suddenly came across the ”perfect” place, a parking area between two sections or the river Rhône with ample dog walking territory.   The temptation to acquire more wine from our favourite vineyard was gone; a bitter sweet moment!!!

Parked at the end all by ourselves, dogs exercised dinner completed, we enjoyed the peace and quiet and reflected on what we’d viewed earlier in the day

Wednesday 20th September

After a good visit, especially catching up with lots of Nanny//Elton bonding, and not to forget the bonus, sailing, it was time to leave.   We had to continue our journey whilst Andrew and his skipper had to prepare the boat prior to sailing her back to England for the usual winter servicing and repairs after the chartering season.

We hit the road, destination Valence to meet the broker tomorrow morning and view this “Cotter”, a 12.85m Dutch Steel Cruiser, a purpose built coastal and inland waterway vessel.  This was a relative short trip so there was no rush in leaving and therefore a few stops along the way was fine.  Christine had found a nice-looking overnight stop within a km of the marina but had limited places, still we will be there early afternoon.

After a pleasant drive in the sunshine we arrived as planned only to find the chosen site was already full up, 👹,  OK, let’s find the marina as they may have parking but no, there was a big sign with numerous “rules and regulations”, one of which was no “camping cars” (motorhomes), so off we trundled but about 1/2 a mile along this narrow one way lane we found a car park adjacent to the river with much “dog walking” terrain, “bingo”, in we went, selected our spot and settled in for the rest of the afternoon and night; good job we did as during the following hour or so the park was full of motorhomes, obviously a known “overnighter”.   Even though it was full they still kept coming and a couple tried to squeeze in alongside us; totally impossible as there was a lamp post and a kerb but one determined “German”, in a Concords, and they’re very, very big was determined and by now we were beginning to panic, firstly for the safety of Rosie and secondly we wouldn’t manage to open our doors so got out with Tom-Tom and Rosie looking veryannoyed; that did it and they went!!!!

Later in the afternoon Christine went for a walk to check we could get into the marina easily and how long it would take and the pooches had a good run around, but later they paid the price, they were both covered in “burrs”, so Christine set about picking them out as a brush wouldn’t touch them.

Apart from our parking place being full it was very quiet so settled down for a good nights sleep 🤞🤞

Tuesday 19th September 2023

We have a busy day today, well Christine did!!!!!   There was all our washing; leaving the moment we arrived didn’t help!!  We also needed to change the beds, and have a general clear-up before heading out to Spain tomorrow, however; one of our constant hobbies is looking at boats for sale and dreaming, and having just spent 3-days/2-nights on one our thoughts got the better of us and we arranged to go and see one in Valence, a town on the Rhone; quite out of our way, in fact heading North!!!   Our mutual dream has been to travel the canals and rivers of Europe and this is such a boat!!!   We made contact with the broker and arranged to meet up with the vendors in Valence; they would stop so we could have a look at her.  The current owners are returning from the “Canal du Midi”, up the Rhône and heading to Burgundy; at least we know she is floats!!!!

At Lunchtime Andrew headed off to meet some friends at the airport, “Sophie and Janet, we just carried on regardless, including baby sit Elton and two dogs!!!   Sophie is an old family friend and Janet is Sophie’s friend, they had come out for some late summer sun.

Andrew has also employed a young lady to help with Elton and generally help around the house, the bonus for Christine was she did our ironing, what a result!!!   This is a fill-in position for her as she is trying to get onto a yacht having completed her hostess course; she has fallen on her feet here me thinks!!!

This evening the two ladies, Christine and I took Andrew and Elton out to dinner, he chose a restaurant on the quayside of this “huge” marina here in Frejus and it was excellent food; this is France after all!!   The evening was “stretching” out, so Andrew withdrew with Elton leaving us to finish up.   Tonight Sophie and Janet are sleeping on the boat so were picked up in the tender while we headed to find a taxi: taxi, what taxi!!!   Eventually we contacted Elton XL’s skipper and asked him to come back with the keys for the boat’s pickup truck that he had parked in the marina so we could get home.   Christine elected to drive but struggled with this “beast” with a manual gearbox so we compromised, she dit the pedals and steering whilst I sorted the gears out; we got home without incident!!!!!  Everyone was in bed🤠🤠🤠

Monday 18th September 2013

During the night the wind got up so Louis stayed up and did anchor watch whilst the rest of the crew hit the sac as they had decided to leave soon after 0500hrs hoping to get back in daylight.

We were away around 0600hrs but alas the wind that came late last night had “blown-out” by morning so back on engine, this will make it a long journey😡😡, still it was a lovely day!!

We soon lost site of Corsica as we headed to Frejus, about a 100-miles away but at 7 to 7.5 knots it would be dark, but about 2hrs into the journey we found some wind.    No time was lost, the skipper issued the order and out went the main and jib, and immediately we picked up speed, cruising around 11 to 12 knots, touching 13+ at times; our ETA became earlier.

Though we had sufficient wind to power this massive craft, we were lucky with the “sea state” it was moderately calm and she sailed nicely with about 35-degrees of heel.   This wasn’t a problem for anyone including Elton; he thrived on the adventure. 

We arrived around 1830hrs, dropped the sails and anchored about 100-meters outside the port entrance, jumped in the tender and headed to the quayside.   Unlike the first two hours, the rest of the time we made good progress to get back on schedule.   Though we were back in the house in time to cook dinner, we had a rather interesting welcome; the dogs had decimated a number of things whilst we were away and spread everything around the pool area, a herd of elephants couldn’t have made more of a mess!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend and even the Friday night paled into insignificance, thank you Andrew for arranging this passage whilst we were staying with you, we had a fabulous time.

Sunday 18th September

After a “comfortable” and “enjoyable” nights sleep on anchor, we were ready to face the world so at a reasonable time we hoisted the anchor and set off.    Our plan was to head north making for the “National park”, an area of special sea grasses with the accompanying sea life below the water but first we have to get there.   Again we were on engine due to lack of wind, let’s hope we have wind tomorrow when we head to Frejus.

The scenery was much like yesterday, though by early afternoon it became more dramatic, and more colourful, the cliffs were steeper and there were many caves dotted about.   As we approached the “Regional National Park of Corsica”, a world heritage site, we started to “hover”, looking to anchor, when the skipper became aware of a speedboat fast approaching with a warden telling us “You Can’t Stop There”.    We moved on as the speedboat left, but once out of site we stopped anyway, obviously it was OK here as we didn’t see the warden again. 

Bathing platform lowered and we were in the sea; today it seemed much warmer so stayed in longer.   Christine did a little snorkelling but her equipment wasn’t quite right so soon stopped.    Today the boys went off to explore some of the caves that were about in this bay.  Sitting on board gazing up onto the cliffs we were amazed to see a green film covering on the rugged rocks, it looked like moss or something similar, perhaps this is what causes the sea grass to grow so vigorously and attract so much marine life, hence the “National Park”. Once all-aboard we headed of, our destination was “Marine de Porto”, a couple of miles further along the coast.

Naturally we couldn’t get into the harbour so anchored away from the entrance.  Tonight we’re heading out to eat.   Christine, Louis and myself were the first boatload and the first thing that struck us were the numerous ribs, small passenger boats and even a semi-submarine moored out in lines across the harbour.   This place has been built up with the tourists visiting all the wonders of the area, everywhere you look there are restaurants and “booths” selling excursions, and oh yes, one small convenience small supermarket.  There was also a hotel on the quayside with a rather nice looking restaurant and a decent fish menu, so the three of us settled for that.   The rest of the crew also came ashore but had somewhere else in mind to go.   Andrew stayed on board with Elton who had already eaten.

We had an excellent meal with copious amounts of locally produced superb wines, and completed with a few Jack Daniels; we were ready to be collected.   On our way back we were surprised how many other boats were now anchored in this “Gulf of Porto”, obviously a regular anchorage.

Back on board, Louis and I had a few more nightcaps and the crew joined us and some “sea-yarns” were exchanged before heading to bed: tomorrow we head to Frejus, 100 miles away, we just hope the weather forecast is right and we will have wind!!!!!