More Boatyard

I mentioned that we had a few glasses for John’s birthday with other boatyard denizens but failed to identify some of them. I’ll rectify that mistake. 

We’d met Brits Gail and Julian on Kikkerweiss (Dutch for “Tadpole) on the Nivernais Canal last year. We had looked at that boat on the internet when we were looking for Odysseus back in 2007. They retired, rented out their house, bought the barge and a motorhome (“caravan” over here) and live on the boat in the summer and travel to warmer climes (Spain, Morocco) in the caravan in the winter. They were in the yard getting some rudder repairs which, being a boat, turned into a bit more than they planned. All it took was the application of euros and a few extra days.

Peter from Australia is the new owner of La Belle Helene. A rare breed of insane person, he is a two boat owner, having bought the newbuild barge before selling his current boat, an ex-hireboat. He was in the yard having some modifications made to his new boat so he could carry his scooter on the back.

Also, after completing the painting we decided we deserved a night out. We had a very nice meal at the Restaurant du Canal. Note to self. Next time don’t order the fois gras entre , duck plat and extra rich chocolate dessert washed down with a nice burgundy. Just a little too rich. Luckily the hard boatyard work was done and we could use Saturday as a recovery day.

On to the Bourgogne!