Yup. Once again. We cast off from Cergy in less than ideal conditions. But we were racing the clock. It was September 30th. We had to be in Paris on October 1st. We couldn’t let not being able to see slow us down.
It is 81 kilometres by water from Cergy to Paris. Almost all of that going upstream – fighting the current on the Seine – and this morning, fog, too. It would be more than we could handle in one day. Fortunately, our good friend (and occasional mechanic on Aleau), Jeremy, and his wife and two teenagers live on a barge on the Seine 30 kilometres from Paris. Not only did he say we could spend the night rafted against him, he organized a dinner party for that evening.
The closer barge is Jeremy’s – ‘Stern.’ I think the name applies to more than just the back of the barge. That’s Aleau’s wheelhouse – accidentally under the glare of a light being set up for dinner.
Jeremy – a bit blurry because he’s working so quickly – attending to the BBQ.
The table is set.
À table! Dinner is served.
Much later, we retired to Aleau with a full moon above us. It was our last night on the water until March of 2024. It could not have been any nicer.
