Greeting to Everyone!
I just got a call from Jim and Rosi (finally!). They called from Agde, France which is on the Mediterranean. The boat is up the canal a little ways and they are currently travelling by car - they wanted to check out places in Agde to get the mast put back in. They will move the boat tomorrow and work on preparations through the weekend and have the mast put in on Monday.
They *claimed* to have been too busy to call earlier. When they went through Bezier (the last big city) they had to go through 9 locks. Bezier is apparently known as the city of nine locks and they attracted quite a bit of attention as they went through.
They had planned to go out to the Med through Narbonne, but the canal was a bit too shallow. Jim said that they have been bumping along through the canal the entire way. They are often running through weeds and they bump into the occasional log. Libelle only drafts about 4.5 feet and the depth meter is typically reading 3.5 feet, but it is getting echos off weeds and mud.
Paul and Janet left the boat in Carcasonne and they are in Nice right now, leaving the day after tomorrow (?)
Brunhilde and Erich have been accompanying the boat since Carcasonne, and everyone has been having a spectacular time. Brunhilde and Erich are a little shy of riding on the boat during the day, but they have slept very well on the boat for three or four nights.
After the mast is put back up on Monday, they (Rosi&Jim, no Brune and Erich :-( will be leaving down the coast to Barcelona. The trip down to Barcelona should take about 1.5 days and then they will sail over to Mallorca where they will stay for maybe two or three weeks. So they should be in Mallorca by next weekend or shortly thereafter. I believe the next stop after that is to Italy where they hope to meet up with Dan and Pat Miller. I'm not sure if they will be able to speak English when they reach Dan&Pat. With the exception of the time spent with Janet&Paul, they have been speaking nothing but German.
Well, that's about all the news I have for now. I hope everyone this side of the Atlantic is surviving the heat wave. Just think, we have this weather for 3-4 months SOLID! The classic summer forecast for Baton Rouge in the summer is 95-74 with a good chance of afternoon thunderstorms (the rain doesn't cool things down, it just makes everything steamy). I think the meterologists just go on vacation during this time - nothing to do :-)
Alles Gouda,
Yvonne
Libelle Web Page:
http://geocities.datacellar.net/RainForest/Vines/2328/libelle.html
