Sadly, after 12 weeks we are back in Joigny to begin cleaning up the boat and preparing to move on…..
The day started cold and foggy (49 degrees in August!) for our short motor to Joigny. We were joined in the last locks by two other boats, what looked like a converted barge (more on that later) and a Le Boat rental. The last lock was fun…when we noticed as we were locking down that the Le Boat seemed to be hung on the bow. We tooted our horn to get the lock keeper’s attention before their stern went under water (at which point, the boat sinks and we all are stuck for a good while).
So, the alarmed lock keeper closed the gates and cycled the lock again to float the boat off. All went well and the boat came clear but as we started to cycle down again they appeared to be doing the same thing before the lock keeper came up and explained that a stern line was needed as well as a bow line and basically stop being idiots.
The other boat in the lock was a custom barge owned by a South African couple and they are looking to sell. We had time to talk as the lock was re-cycled. They are asking 195,000 Euros and they invited us to stop by and see the boat in Joigny. Lovely but maybe a bit big for us (20 meters).
Our Adventures 