Le Bateau France to the Caribbean

John stayed aboard for two and half weeks travelling up the Meuse River, onto the Marne au Rhin and then via Toul to the Moselle. As we moved along the various waterways the conditions were changeable. The Meuse was a locked River not unlike a small version of the Murray, except the locks, about 5km apart were all automatic. A few hundred metres from the lock a sign "here hier ici" would indicate that HERE we should press our yellow remote garage door control and activate the lock. A series of red and green lights told us it was okay to enter and secure ropes. Then lift a lever/long rod to close the gates and lock us up or down. Once the new level was established the gates would open and a sensor tracked our departure. After Paigny (the VNF took away our yellow remote) the Marne au Rhin was video and human control. A long tunnel and 13 locks in quick succession led us to the Moselle and big locks (ecluses) with human control. Easy! Then onto the Vosges Ca...

2019 sees us planning  a big year moving Le Bateau from the north of France to the Caribbean. Jane has a contract teaching at Kingscote for the year so Ants will be cruising with various crew members over the next seven months through France to Bordeaux by August. Jane will sail in Portugal in September and a  Caribbean Christmas. Ants flew  into Paris on June 11th and then traveled to Pont a Bar He found Le Bateau in a really good state except a battery that needed replacing. Other than that ready to go. Now in the "first person". I was accompanied by cousin John who last sailed with me in 1984 to New Caledonia. By day 3 we were motoring up the Meuse River in fairly idyllic summer weather with the occasional thunderstorm thrown in for good measure. At Mouzon  waiting  for the lock to be available Typical of the Meuse River in quiet countryside At Stenay we heard about the Musee de Bier and found a huge grain storage converted to a Muse...