|
Michelle, Pam and Ken were my crew for the Med. Pam and Michelle were to arrive on Sunday 17 April. Loulou, Pierre and Paul joined me for a weekend cruise on the Rhone.
Unfortunately we found that the Beauchastel lock was closed till Thursday morning so we messed around . On Wednesday evening we set off for the lock and tied up there till morning at 0530 when the lock opened. The early morning start was hard on the crew. We passed the four reactors at Cruas and paused at Viviers - a beautiful town for a stop though the shops are a bit away from the port. After passing through the defile de Donzere we arrived at La Bollene the deepest lock. There were several boats ahead of us in the lock. By the time we reached the next lock Ecluse d’Avignon only one remained. Avignon was a great overnight stop with its new marina sheltered by a peniche.
The last lock is Ecluse Beaucaire just before the Chateau de Roi Rene at Tarrascon. We gave Arles a go by and raised the mast in Port Saint Louis with the help of a halyard from the mast of an American yacht. Our plan to head for Corsica had to be ditched when we were south of Toulon as there was hardly any wind. We motored to Saint Mandrier accompanied by two dolphins who stayed with us for nearly an hour. After 2 nights in Saint Mandrier we went to Hyeres. A pre-Olympic series was in progress. It must have done some good as France topped the medals table for sailing at Soeul that summer
From Hyeres we went west to Marseille where we stayed two nights and Michelle and Pam went back to Lossiemouth. Ken and I returned as far as Avignon where Ken jumped ship. The trip up the Rhone was with various crews and great fun. Eventually Sufiana was moored at Les Roches de Condrieu.
|
