goochie
Well-Known Member
Sorry about the delay in getting part 2 up - been busy with work and stuff.
The Background:
Amillie, our Beneteau Antares 9.80 is stranded in Paris following early return of crew to blighty owing to tummy troubles of biblical proportions...
The Plan:
Following return to England and a day or two recovering, I got to thinking about how I could retreive Amillie from her Paris lodgings (£45 per night), being more than a little concerned that as she was a French lady, she might not want to return once she got used to being in the home country again!
Enter stage right: the forum. Folk must have picked up a feeling of desparation in my posts, as there were very quickly a number of replies offering help, so the first two responders whose availability etc. matched mine got the gig.
Enter stage left: Forumites SteveE and Alandee - henceforth known as Steve and Al.
Plans were made and tickets bought. Steve and I were to meet at St. Pancras and take the Eurostar on the wednesday evening, while Al, whose birthday it was on wednesday, flew over from Southampton on Thursday afternoon.
Here's Steve on the eurostar.
Sorry, forgot to turn the photo - take too long to go back and do it now.
Anyway, after a very pleasant (and slightly boozy) trip we got to Paris about 8pm, had some supper and got an early night. Next morning we went to get a few supplies and then washed the boat down ready for the trip, before I went to settle up with the capitanierie.
This was followed by a light lunch and a very pleasant afternoon on the flybridge with a beer and having a good chat with Steve, who is a top bloke in all respects.
Finally, after a bit of a delay, Al arrives from the airport around 6pm and we left Paris arsenal marina almost immediately, as we had even singled up the ropes ready for Al's arrival. We got through the lock out of the marina and into the Seine and turned right towards all the finest sights Paris has to offer.
At this point I could offer you a travelogue of France as Steve had his big camera out and was snapping away for England. Here are a couple though:
Paris arsenal marina, looking towards the Seine lock.
Notre Dame I believe.
Sort of a wake shot - one of the many, many bridges you have to pass under.
Had to include this one...
Finally out of the city and able to erm... go a bit faster.
Now the boat you see behind us in the last pic is a Princess 45 that followed us all the way down river for a couple of hours and then overtook us and cruising on ahead, only for us to spot them again when we were looking to stop for the night. There aren't that many places to stop on the Seine, so you have to plan a bit. We were aiming for a little Halte Plaisance (marina) shown on the Navicarte, which turned out to be a sort of liveaboard haven with maybe 40 boats and barges rotting away. There was one possible place left to tie up, which was nicked by the Princess, so we cheekily went over and asked if we could raft, which they were quite happy about.
It turned out that the boat was owned by two slightly bonkers Austrian couples who had brought her all the way from Italy, and were heading for London and then Rotterdam. Anyway, there were no facilities at this place, so we cooked up some dinner and went to bed, aiming to leave around 6am the next morning, hoping to make Rouen before nighfall.
I felt very guilty about waking Steve and Al at 5.30am, but Al's a raggy stick man so he's used to it, and we got underway at around 6.15, closely followed by the Princess (which had a silly name I can't remember - guys?
Just a couple more shots of the Seine and Amillies new crew:
At first we hit a spot of rain, so it was indoors for a while....
Then it brightened up - this is what Seine cruising is all about!
Yours truly (with tache) and crew member Al. Al's boat is in the med after taking it all the way down through the French canals - he became our lock specialist!
There are some amazing buildings along the banks of the river - this being one of them.
Aprt from the occasional light shower and the odd lock to negotiate, we made really good progress down the river and got to Rouen at about 8pm, hotly persued by the mad Austrians - I'll leave Steve to tell more of them! The three of us went out for a well earned dinner and a bevvy or three(!) before crashing in time for another early start.
Rouen is a nice city and I'd like to go back sometime. The guy at the marina is very friendly and helpful, even though his English is worse than my French - and I can't speak any French at all!!!
Once out of Rouen and the intriguing lifting bridge it's 15 knots all the way to Le Havre, and if you're lucky yo can get 4-5knots of tide all the way down. We didn't quite time it right, as a) It was hard getting out of bed that morning! and b) The guy on the fuel barge obviously felt the same as we had to wake him up by telephone and wait for him to get to work!!
Anyway - a few post Rouen shots:
The lifting bridge at Rouen. As an architect Al found this quite interesting.
Basically, the whole centre section is pulled up on steel cables.
Al was designated galley duties that day, and was a complete star rustling up food from the cupboards that kept us going during a long day. This was during another spot of rain - it got quite heavy as we approached Le Havre.
5 knots of tide - by now going against us!!
The last big bridge - from here it's into the estuary where it's always a bit bumpy owing to the tides and the shallows - think Dover and the Goodwin sands.
The previous couple of hours had been very wet, but there didn't seem to be much wind to speak of. The forecast for the channel that morning had been F4 NW - not great, but quite do-able, so we thought we would stick our nose out and see what it was like, with options to go back into Le Havre, or round to Fecamp if it got too uncomfortable. The good news was that it wasn't too bad at all, and Amillie was coping very well with the waves. We all went up to the flybridge again and the view in front of us was a good one...
Unfortunately Steve was so obsessed with wake shots that we did'nt get one of the view towards England - suffice to say we were heading towards much clearer weather, which is always the best way if you ask me. We picked up the TSS waypoint from my original trip across to Fecamp, by which time the weather was much better...
And by the time we were coming out of it (quite busy BTW) it was like this...
Nice!!
Heading towards Brighton, Steve at the helm.
We got tied up in Brighton at about 6pm UK summer time. Steve was picked up from the marina by a mate, and drove Al to Southampton airport were he'd left his car, and I stayed in the Premier Inn for the night - absolutely dog tired!
So Amillie was home, and it couldn't have happened without two fantastic helpers. Two nicer and more helpful blokes couldn't be found, and we had a great time with lot's of laughs and banter, so thank you once again Steve and Al, and thankyou to the forum, which never ceases to amaze me. Al, you still need to send me the bill for the airfare btw!
The postscript:
This is to be Amillies last long trip with us as she is to be sold. Swmbo's mum is very poorly and needing lot's of care so we just won't be able to use her enough to justify her. We've had 5 great years with her and done some very exciting journeys. I need to get a few things sorted on her, and then she will have to go to market. Sniff(wipes away tear!)
Goochie
The Background:
Amillie, our Beneteau Antares 9.80 is stranded in Paris following early return of crew to blighty owing to tummy troubles of biblical proportions...
The Plan:
Following return to England and a day or two recovering, I got to thinking about how I could retreive Amillie from her Paris lodgings (£45 per night), being more than a little concerned that as she was a French lady, she might not want to return once she got used to being in the home country again!
Enter stage right: the forum. Folk must have picked up a feeling of desparation in my posts, as there were very quickly a number of replies offering help, so the first two responders whose availability etc. matched mine got the gig.
Enter stage left: Forumites SteveE and Alandee - henceforth known as Steve and Al.
Plans were made and tickets bought. Steve and I were to meet at St. Pancras and take the Eurostar on the wednesday evening, while Al, whose birthday it was on wednesday, flew over from Southampton on Thursday afternoon.
Here's Steve on the eurostar.
Sorry, forgot to turn the photo - take too long to go back and do it now.
Anyway, after a very pleasant (and slightly boozy) trip we got to Paris about 8pm, had some supper and got an early night. Next morning we went to get a few supplies and then washed the boat down ready for the trip, before I went to settle up with the capitanierie.
This was followed by a light lunch and a very pleasant afternoon on the flybridge with a beer and having a good chat with Steve, who is a top bloke in all respects.
Finally, after a bit of a delay, Al arrives from the airport around 6pm and we left Paris arsenal marina almost immediately, as we had even singled up the ropes ready for Al's arrival. We got through the lock out of the marina and into the Seine and turned right towards all the finest sights Paris has to offer.
At this point I could offer you a travelogue of France as Steve had his big camera out and was snapping away for England. Here are a couple though:
Paris arsenal marina, looking towards the Seine lock.
Notre Dame I believe.
Sort of a wake shot - one of the many, many bridges you have to pass under.
Had to include this one...
Finally out of the city and able to erm... go a bit faster.
Now the boat you see behind us in the last pic is a Princess 45 that followed us all the way down river for a couple of hours and then overtook us and cruising on ahead, only for us to spot them again when we were looking to stop for the night. There aren't that many places to stop on the Seine, so you have to plan a bit. We were aiming for a little Halte Plaisance (marina) shown on the Navicarte, which turned out to be a sort of liveaboard haven with maybe 40 boats and barges rotting away. There was one possible place left to tie up, which was nicked by the Princess, so we cheekily went over and asked if we could raft, which they were quite happy about.
It turned out that the boat was owned by two slightly bonkers Austrian couples who had brought her all the way from Italy, and were heading for London and then Rotterdam. Anyway, there were no facilities at this place, so we cooked up some dinner and went to bed, aiming to leave around 6am the next morning, hoping to make Rouen before nighfall.
I felt very guilty about waking Steve and Al at 5.30am, but Al's a raggy stick man so he's used to it, and we got underway at around 6.15, closely followed by the Princess (which had a silly name I can't remember - guys?
Just a couple more shots of the Seine and Amillies new crew:
At first we hit a spot of rain, so it was indoors for a while....
Then it brightened up - this is what Seine cruising is all about!
Yours truly (with tache) and crew member Al. Al's boat is in the med after taking it all the way down through the French canals - he became our lock specialist!
There are some amazing buildings along the banks of the river - this being one of them.
Aprt from the occasional light shower and the odd lock to negotiate, we made really good progress down the river and got to Rouen at about 8pm, hotly persued by the mad Austrians - I'll leave Steve to tell more of them! The three of us went out for a well earned dinner and a bevvy or three(!) before crashing in time for another early start.
Rouen is a nice city and I'd like to go back sometime. The guy at the marina is very friendly and helpful, even though his English is worse than my French - and I can't speak any French at all!!!
Once out of Rouen and the intriguing lifting bridge it's 15 knots all the way to Le Havre, and if you're lucky yo can get 4-5knots of tide all the way down. We didn't quite time it right, as a) It was hard getting out of bed that morning! and b) The guy on the fuel barge obviously felt the same as we had to wake him up by telephone and wait for him to get to work!!
Anyway - a few post Rouen shots:
The lifting bridge at Rouen. As an architect Al found this quite interesting.
Basically, the whole centre section is pulled up on steel cables.
Al was designated galley duties that day, and was a complete star rustling up food from the cupboards that kept us going during a long day. This was during another spot of rain - it got quite heavy as we approached Le Havre.
5 knots of tide - by now going against us!!
The last big bridge - from here it's into the estuary where it's always a bit bumpy owing to the tides and the shallows - think Dover and the Goodwin sands.
The previous couple of hours had been very wet, but there didn't seem to be much wind to speak of. The forecast for the channel that morning had been F4 NW - not great, but quite do-able, so we thought we would stick our nose out and see what it was like, with options to go back into Le Havre, or round to Fecamp if it got too uncomfortable. The good news was that it wasn't too bad at all, and Amillie was coping very well with the waves. We all went up to the flybridge again and the view in front of us was a good one...
Unfortunately Steve was so obsessed with wake shots that we did'nt get one of the view towards England - suffice to say we were heading towards much clearer weather, which is always the best way if you ask me. We picked up the TSS waypoint from my original trip across to Fecamp, by which time the weather was much better...
And by the time we were coming out of it (quite busy BTW) it was like this...
Nice!!
Heading towards Brighton, Steve at the helm.
We got tied up in Brighton at about 6pm UK summer time. Steve was picked up from the marina by a mate, and drove Al to Southampton airport were he'd left his car, and I stayed in the Premier Inn for the night - absolutely dog tired!
So Amillie was home, and it couldn't have happened without two fantastic helpers. Two nicer and more helpful blokes couldn't be found, and we had a great time with lot's of laughs and banter, so thank you once again Steve and Al, and thankyou to the forum, which never ceases to amaze me. Al, you still need to send me the bill for the airfare btw!
The postscript:
This is to be Amillies last long trip with us as she is to be sold. Swmbo's mum is very poorly and needing lot's of care so we just won't be able to use her enough to justify her. We've had 5 great years with her and done some very exciting journeys. I need to get a few things sorted on her, and then she will have to go to market. Sniff(wipes away tear!)
Goochie
