POSTCARD FROM LEONIE The last écluse (lock) in the Petit


Rhône lowered us a mere 18 inches to sea level and once through we swore we could smell brine in the air. On our wedding an-


niversary we moored near Palavas Les Flots (like Paignton-sur-la- Med) and walked 20


Sanary


minutes to the beach for our first swim in the Med - fantastic. Earlier we


Yacht brokers Agents for Elan Yachts Karnic Power & Ribye Suzuki main agent


Boat transport Qualified surveyors All year round storage Launch and recovery Engine service/maintenance


had seen three


things the Camargue is famous for - a pink flamingo, white horses and wild black bulls. A great day which was rounded off with moules et frites by the sea.


Back on the Rhône we spent a night in the ancient city of Arles, moored at the city’s only stop alongside a restaurant barge (free if you eat there). We visited the Roman amphitheatre and the Roman Theatre, which is still in use today and where Carl imagined annoying Japanese tourists being chased by bulls or gladiators.


The next day found us at the


massive Navy Services boat- yard at Port St Louis (our last stop before the med) where we made Leonie seaworthy by repairing a few minor dinks to her hull (where she had bashed against the metal supports of the canal bank), touching up the paintwork, antifouling, and re-varnishing and re-stepping the mast.


Office Open for Business as usual at 1 Mayors Avenue 1 Mayors Avenue Dartmouth, Devon, TQ6 9NF


T 01803 833500 F 01803 833350 E info@yachtsofdartmouth.co.uk W www.yachtsofdartmouth.co.uk


When Leonie was hoisted back into the water we noticed her furling gear was bent. The yard crew advised the kink may straighten out once we tension the backstay. It didn’t. The furlex swivel, which takes the sail to the top of the mast, got stuck on the kink, three-quar- ters of the way up. We were faced with an expensive repair job of nearly 600 Euros, accord- ing to the on-site rigger Marc. Amazingly, our insurers agreed


to pay out and as well as waiving the £500 excess fee said we wouldn’t lose our no claims


 


L’écluse Bollène


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132