Wintering up in France?

[mikenfi]

Hello people so we're in France haven't made it very far! We got caught at the beautiful port l'ilon. We have been here a month and been exploring and berry picking, scrumping apples and plums it's Idillic.

We planned to stay here for the winter but it is maybe a little to far from the town to do the shopping Come the cold months. However some nice people have offered to take us when they saw us arriving back on the bikes ladened with 10 days worth of shopping! its very kind but we would rather not make our shopping logistics their problem now or in the winter!

Does anyone know where we could winter up other than here? We have been considering "port saint louis -seine". Does anyone have any experience of this marina?

We are sailing (or annoyingly motoring) a sabre 27 mast down. Any ideas of costs and services security etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! We will maybe consider a little further along the river or canals in the southernly direction provided it's relatively green for walks with our little dog and the shops nearby, a weekly market or something like that!

 

[Fantasie 19]

No advice just some lateral thinking...

~ could you by a cheap/old/disposable car just while you're there..??? You can pick up crocks for £2-300 here can't imagine it's any different in France?

~ Not sure of the distances, but same for a cheap moped.. you'd still have the same quantity carrying issue but the motor means you don't have to go every 10 days??

~ Last, how about rigging something to tow a shopping trolley or similar behind the bikes?

 

[mikenfi]

Thanks for the advice. However I am qualified to take pretty much anything to sea, any distance! But I never bothered with land qualifications. So the shopping trolley is possibly the only option I can take from this! I did have a mule but it rusted so bad while near the coast I threw it away!

Thanks anyway

 

[Carmel2]

Do the large supermarkets deliver?? Super U did when we lived in Corsica.

 

[mikenfi]

Super idea I will look into it!!! Thank you!

 

[OldBawley]

Why stop near Paris when you have so much time left to cruise?
We wintered on the Canal du Midi. Kept on moving during winter but took Poilles as a base.

Did Le Havre, Paris, then went south. Had to get back, I believe it was the Bourgogne route that had not enough water, then the most western route to the Loire, Rhone, Canal de Sete, Canal du Midi.

Plenty of time to get more South. We did not want a marina, no need for one.

Plane trees boarding the Canal du Midi provided wood in abundance for our wood burning stove.

Just don't rush. France is beautiful.

 

[mikenfi]

Thanks for the advice there oldbawley. We love France well the coastal parts anyway. We actually decided to stop here because we are not loving the inland waterways want to be back st sea!

Basically we thought we'd stay till March- April. Then head back up to sea. It's not that France is not beautiful it is but we have a fin keep finding places to stop is a pain. Also when we do find a pontoon that it clearly says we can stay, in the fluvi carte we are told we can't by some horrible French folk who come out of the bushes!!!

We are finding the further inland we get the people seem less and less approachable some are lovely people however it's not like the coastal towns we have stayed.

So we want to get out of France quick but don't really fancy going up the Seine again. That's no fun.

I think we will head south now.... Maybe... God knows what we'll do.

 

[OldBawley]

I keep forgetting how long ago it is that we passed France. We took almost all of the year 2000 to see France. A long time ago and I am sure life is more difficult now then in those days.

Most of the “Halte nautique´s “ ware brand new, villagers expected to get rich of the new pontoon, ware all very nice. I speak French, that helps also.
I remember that my wife who is German had a fear for passing trough France. Understandable.
Now she often thinks of the canals and rivers of France as the most beautiful part of our cruise and we never had a bad word from French folks. We did had two bad experiences with Roma´s.
They know the most beautiful and convenient places to stop, always along a river or canal and twice we ware already at “their spot”. We had to leave. Roma´s are not French.
It also helped that I had a lot of experience navigating rivers and canals. I had done about all there is in Holland Belgium and Northern France.
Our boat has a long keel, draws 1,5 m. I had made a wooden passerelle 3 meter long, could connect one end to a chain plate, the other end had a hole through which I drove a 80 cm canal spike. ( bad idea to use that spike when anglers are around ) Then I used two other spikes to more the boat to the canal bank. With ropes that is. That way I was almost always able to find a mooring place. If not I used anchors or moored to overhanging tree branches. We avoided towns, even villages. Some places as Paris and Lion can not be avoided, those ware the only places I used a marina.

I tried to moor to the canal bank opposite of the towing path. Used our dinghy to go shopping or to ferry my bike to the other side. Villains use cars. They never walk a mile trough a field to rob someone. We had friends who ware robed at gunpoint on the Canal du Midi. They ware moored conveniently at a quay. Mind, both of them ware over 80, easy targets.

Most sailors have no idea how different and more difficult travelling on rivers and canals is. We had more near accidents in that year than in the next 16 years of Med sailing. ( And non of them my fault )
We moved one day, then had a day of rest. The soul has to be able to follow. Important even for a young guy like me.
The further south you get, the easier the people, and the easier the trip. You have done the most difficult part.

 

[SteveSarabande]

Thanks for the advice there oldbawley. We love France well the coastal parts anyway. We actually decided to stop here because we are not loving the inland waterways want to be back st sea!

Basically we thought we'd stay till March- April. Then head back up to sea. It's not that France is not beautiful it is but we have a fin keep finding places to stop is a pain. Also when we do find a pontoon that it clearly says we can stay, in the fluvi carte we are told we can't by some horrible French folk who come out of the bushes!!!

We are finding the further inland we get the people seem less and less approachable some are lovely people however it's not like the coastal towns we have stayed.

So we want to get out of France quick but don't really fancy going up the Seine again. That's no fun.

I think we will head south now.... Maybe... God knows what we'll do.

Do you speak French?

Don't see the points of yachts in Canals
If you want to do canals buy a motorboat, if you want to get to the med go via Gib, you could be there in a few weeks

 

[mikenfi]

Oldbawley. Thanks again you have renewed our belief in the canal. We are going to go for it. It's horrible to hear about your friends in the midi.

I completely understand what you are saying about the need for a day's rest. As a sea going couple Having a bank side 50 metres away is pretty daunting. I don't worry being at sea I am confident that we can handle most situations and our boat is a good safe choice, however not having our sails I do worry if the engine is to pack up. But we will weather it. We have oars! Got some internet shopping being delivered in the next week we are going to head out then and get back En route.

If your still around the med we certainly owe you a bottle of wine.

Thank you so much we are going to head to Paris and round the champagne region. We'll see how it goes. Could I pm you our email address and potential contact you on the future?

 

[mikenfi]

Stevesarabande I really hate having to reply to such a pointless comments. Yes we speak French not perfectly but we have no problem conversing! We spent 8 months in France previous to this trip and short of the perfect grammar we get on just fine. French people often tell us that our French is tres bon!

your comment of having a river boat is of no help to us now as we are here in a sail boat. It's was only 400 years ago that our Royalty amount others were sailing up the Seine in sea going vessels the same route we have taken.

Perhaps rather than thinking about what boat is suitable for what, maybe you should get you boat out of the same port she was built in.

 

[OldBawley]

Private messige send.

 

[Mrnotming]

We had a nice time in Port l'ilon in may 2003. The staff were charming.We noticed that many berths had a wired phone connection.useful for those working from the boat.We were curious as to why a group of swimmers had congregated mid lake.It turned out there was a hot spring there bubbling up gently.Bliss,we joined in gratefully.We paid for a month and flew home to Dublin from Beauvais.Grehan of this parish may know if these waters freeze,which would be my only concern if overwintering.As you have discovered ,Mantes-la-Jolie is about 7km away and used to boast an Europcar depot.Perhaps now closed,check!
Best of luck in the shallows!

 

[mikenfi]

Hi thanks for the update, we have moved on and are wintering in Auxonne! It's pleasant here, not as beautiful as port I'loin but nice and we closer to the med for a January jump! There are actually 2 springs! Mantel a Jolie is 10km away. We walked it and tracked on navionics hike and bike! Where are you now as it was a while ago you were there! We are headed to Greece so if you around that way, we will have French wine... For a short while!!!

 

[Grehan]

Auxonne is a really good port - we were there for 7 weeks earlier this year (floods, tempests, etc.). It will get cold though and you should be prepared for that, and the river will rise too. But the town is great, easy walk to the supermarket, brico and train station across the bridge.

 

[mikenfi]

Thanks, we're ready for the winter, we have a diesel heater warm jumpers, thermals and full offshore gear (base, mid & top), we shouldn't get cold! Yes Auxonne is such beautiful medieval town, casino supermarket is great the gas there is the cheapest price we have ever paid! A lidl has opened near inter marche! Really please with that also, pain au chocolate 35c... I will probAbly put on some weight this winter!!!

 

[Mrnotming]

Hi thanks for the update, we have moved on and are wintering in Auxonne! It's pleasant here, not as beautiful as port I'loin but nice and we closer to the med for a January jump! There are actually 2 springs! Mantel a Jolie is 10km away. We walked it and tracked on navionics hike and bike! Where are you now as it was a while ago you were there! We are headed to Greece so if you around that way, we will have French wine... For a short while!!!

Hi mikenfi,
We did the transit to. The end of the rhone exiting at Port St.Louis du Rhone,a very satisfactory day having battled a southerly 20kts southerly wind over Rhone current from Arles south.quite violent motion.
The years till recently brought a modest amount of cruising in Catalonia,Liguria,Italy, Balearics,Corsica ,Sardinia, and various small islands before that liner disaster.We truncated our cruise in Malta due to the downturn,and retreated to a dry port in the Venice of the South, Martigues,and enjoyed a jump off spot from there annually coasting mostly with visits to the Porquerolles,including a memorable Jazz Festival week one year.
Bad health last year and this year meant a return to Dublin via Anderson Transport of Cornwall,low loader,all done most professionally by driver Paul.
So the vessel is now in its home port on the marina.an expensive option,but one which saved battling up the Rhone,a channel crossing and a long sea passage up the Celtic sea.
Enjoyed every minute of the adventure,and very glad to have lovely memories.
So off you go in springtime and enjoy yourselves.

 

[Grehan]

Thanks for mentioning Anderson Transport - had second-hand experience of them some years ago, was quite impressed - and then forgot their name completely. Lindsey Anderson, like the film director. http://www.andersonsboattransport.com/

 

[Mrnotming]

Glad to be useful Grehan!