Full Description
A practical and fascinating guide to taking your boat through the French canals to the fabulous cruising grounds of the Mediterranean.
How many of us yearn for adventure, or long for a slower pace and escape from the daily grind?
This is the captivating guide to taking your boat through the French canals to the fabulous cruising grounds of the Mediterranean. It is also the story of two ordinary people and their entertaining tale of mishaps: knots that untie themselves and Camargue mosquitoes that bite through jeans - all in pursuit of a dream. The prize was the azure waters of the Med, but first they had to navigate cold, tidal northern waters, followed by weeks of locks and lifting bridges, where a 'good day' meant only one lock broke, and the éclusier wasn't far away.
With humour and warmth, Kerry and Fraser share the highs and lows of their adventure along with plenty of invaluable advice on:
choosing and fitting out a boat for inland and coastal cruising
breaking free of the ties of land life
mastering the inland waterways - from unstepping the mast to tackling the Tidal Seine
making the most of Mediterranean cruising, from hidden anchorages to local delights
Whether you're planning your own voyage or simply dreaming of one, this is a warm, witty and practical companion for anyone drawn to life on the water.
Contents
Introduction
PART 1: Festine Lente
1 Choosing a boat
2 Fitting out the boat
3 Fitting out ourselves
4 Passage planning
PART 2: Home Waters
5 Ireland, North and South
6 Wales and the Bristol Channel
7 Cornwall and the South Coast
8 The English Channel and Northern France
PART 3: An Honorary Barge
9 From sailboat to motorboat
10 Preparing the boat for inland waterways
11 A look at locks
12 The Tidal Seine and Paris
13 Marne-Champagne
14 The Saône and Rhône
PART 4: Remembering how to sail
15 Southern France and Corsica
16 Sardinia, Sicily and the Straits of Messina
17 Southern Italy to Greece
Epilogue: The Debrief
Appendices
1 Summary of major boat costs
2 Costs for us
3 Paperwork we carry with us
4 The Schengen shuffle
5 Sources of information
Acknowledgements
Index
Also available from Adlard Coles
About the authors
