Cracks Appearing

Friday  24th June 2022. l'Avenir looks v sad. Dirty, Lots of rusty cracks.

We spent the next 10 days tied up at the marina in St Jean de Losne trying to restore our poor boat to some semblance of her former self. 3 winters and 2 hot summers of total neglect (thanks to Australia's stringent Covid lockdowns) had not been kind to her. 

Although it was still quite early in the boating season water restrictions were already in place and boat washing with hoses was banned. So, there was nothing for it but to fill buckets, get down on hands and knees and scrub. Hard work at any time but even more so in the heat; clear skies every day and temperatures in the high 30s.

As the filth disappeared the true state of the bodywork was revealed and it was a thoroughly depressing sight; flaking paint, bleeding rust patches, peeling varnish. The more we cleaned the more it became apparent that l'Avenir was going to need a complete repaint. 

Shipshape

At first sight things didn't look too bad. We had been excited to be back and find our boat still safely tied up and afloat and were just anxious to get aboard. The main problem I had really noticed as I hauled myself and bags onto the deck was that there wasn't a scrap of varnish left on the handrails.

It's always a concern when opening up  the boat after an extended period away, the main one being is it going to be dry inside?  L'Avenir had never let us down in the almost 15 years we had owned her and this year this year was no different. Opening up the door was always an instant step back in time. Usually that was only a period of 6 months or so but this time (thanks to Covid) it had been more than 2 and a half years. Thanfully everything was exactly as we had left it.

We spent that first day getting unpacked and shipshape inside; de-winterising, water on, gas on, staring up the engines etc. All went well. I went over to the supermarket for essentials (including champagne). We chatted to other boaters along the pontoon and went out for dinner at one of the little restaurants alongside the river. A happy day and spectacular sunset.

Next morning my diary begins,

23/6/2022 

'Feeling a bit worse for wear this morning. Too much champagne. Won't do that again in a hurry!'

And we didn't.  I don't think there was ever any more champagne. Things had changed and not for the better.