Ep28: Just 12km to the sea via Canal du Midi and we’re done with cruising the French canals. After motoring more than 2850km to get here, where next? Cruising The Long Way Down becomes Sailing The Long Way East. How far will we get before our time runs out? Can we remember how the mast and sails should be rigged?
It was always our intention to travel from our home in Yorkshire through the middle of France to the Mediterranean Sea on our sailboat OPTIONS. It is a fantastic journey with many good and not so good bits – but would the mast arrive and would it still be in one piece after transport from Dunkerque? Time to turn left . . .
Acknowledgments and links:
Canal du Midi UNESCO: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/770/
Da Vinci lock gate: https://civil.lindahall.org/mitergate.shtml
King Francis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I_of_France
Pierre Riquet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Paul_Riquet
Boatloads International mast transport: http://www.boat-loads.com/
Allemand Shipyard: https://www.chantier-allemand.com/en/home/
Grau d’Agde: https://www.capdagde.com/en/le-grau-dagde/
Fluviacap Route Planner: http://www.fluviacarte.com/en/fluviacap
VNF Main Site: https://www.vnf.fr/vnf/
VNF Route Planner: http://www.vnf.fr/calculitinerairefluvial/app/Main.html
French Waterways Main Site: https://www.french-waterways.com/
French Waterways Routes: https://www.french-waterways.com/practicalities/canal-depths/
European Waterways, best 6 canals: https://www.europeanwaterways.com/blog/top-6-canals-cruise-france/
Dutch Barge Association: https://barges.org/9-uncategorised/347-wg-intro
Navionics: https://www.navionics.com/gbr/navionics-plus-france-lakes-and-rivers-4.html
8 Comments
Hurray! Can't wait to see you work your way east.
with the 90 day rule ,how did you spread it through the year 3 on 3 off 3 on , 2 on 2 off 2 on ?
Great to see you back.
Great stuff.. good luck guys fair winds and following seas 🤙🤙😎
Really enjoyed this episode, and looking forward for the upcoming journey 👍🏻
Well done. Didn't take too long lol. Happy days . Hope your enjoying the med.
Congratulations, great journey and great video.
Hi. Love the videos. We are planning a similar trip next year on our motor boat. How are you dealing with the 18 month VAT limitation on UK registered boats in the EU? Also, interesting that you brought your car along for the ride. Would you recommend that as a good strategy? Good luck on the next phase of your adventure. Noel.