Getting underway

The first couple of weeks of June have seen us getting the boat ship shape and ready to go cruising.


Our main problem has been the generator water pump, which started leaking at the end of last season.  It is really difficult to work on as the generator is right up against the rear bulkhead and of course the water pump is on the back.

Jan and Ian arrived safely, and with Ian being a brilliant mechanic he soon got the job to fix it.  With some help from Foster, Ian got the pump off and we ordered a service kit for it. The parts arrived on Thursday night and Ian started tinkering putting it together and ended up refitting it that evening - so at long last we are ready to go cruising.  Here is Ian with the main tools of his trade the IK AP1 (all purpose tool!) - a hammer and a block of wood!

The other good news was that I had ordered a new VHF marine radio on Ebay from the USA and this arrived - it took 3 weeks by US first class airmail. It is now installed and looks very smart - haven't yet been able to try it as there is no one to talk to - will have to find someone in the port and get them to turn their radio on!

Mark and Mary a lovely Canadian couple have been looking after us and taken on a number of shopping trips.  We all went off to a small village that celebrates all people with birthdays ending in the last digit of the current year - so in 2010 if you were born in 2000, or 1990, 1980 and so on you get to dress up and go in the parade. Jim from Festina Tarde was in the parde so a bunch of us went up to spectate - and being French of course the poured out free glasses of wine as they went by!

Laurels knee is still quite bad (we think tendonitis) so she can't walk very far, so for a large part she has been stuck aboard the boat. She had her birthday and couldn't decide what do do, but Mark came to the rescue and took us to a fantastic bar with live music (a Brazilian guitarist / singer with a small band), and together with Foster and Sally we had a great night.

Our friends Brad and Nancy arrived and it was great to catch up with them - they are only here for a few weeks and have headed off for a short cruise. Hopefully we will pass them somewhere on the canal, and meet up again.

Other than that it has mainly been pottering. Restocking the boat, buying plants to fill our flower boxes and going for walks.   Not to mention the odd glass of Rose and bowls of prawns!

So hopefully we will be able to enjoy a cruise with Jan and Ian and plan to head off for Paray le Monial (one of our favourite towns from last year) before they head off for Venice on the next part of their holiday (even if it has been a working one with us so far!).