Fenders

Day 9

Thursday   4th July 2013

Il ne pleut pas aujourdhui.

 

Today the sun rolled in and out....better than showers doing likewise

We have travelling buddies today. A Dutch couple on route to the Moselle river in Germany.

They are clearly more experienced than us...in fact, G asked them to go ahead and not wait for us.....but they considered that rude.

I didn't know I could be prone to boat envy.... I don't generally covet machinery....(talk  fabrics or furniture ...that's different!.).....but after hours of lifting and lowering fenders, you can't help pay attention to obvious differences.......how the boat in front doesn't have to man handle a single fender....

So, fender speaking, I figure you have 3 choices:

1)

Our style of  " bateau": beautiful to look at, 2 hull levels to protect, one neat set of fenders results in lifting and lowering of those fenders all day.



Our hull protrudes in different places

2)

The majority of pleasure boat: needing to defend 2 lines on the hull, HEAPS of fenders, ...all over,... high ones, low ones...looking like a bushman's hat with corks bobbing everywhere, overdone and very distracting ....BUT...no fender adjustments required since this level of protection renders the hull virtually impenetrable to scratches and dents
but dammed ugly as well.

A set of rather distracting (and may I say "horrid") fenders dangling everywhere

3)

Boat in front: stylish too but well designed with only one protruding ring around the hull to protect, already clad with a handsome rope....requires one neat set of fenders, NO adjusting.

Note the perfect single line of fenders

Hmm....only options 1 or 2 are available to us since buying a different boat is NOT on the cards.....I have always sacrificed comfort for style....but not so sure now!

  

Speaking of envy, last night, after mooring in the rain, we observed the boat alongside. Not ONLY did it have 3 wipers, but they were a double arm variety thus keeping the blade vertical at all times! WOW, I am staggered that I am actually lusting after this.

Sitting on deck here and the strong smell of cow dung fills the air. This is cow pat country, so blessed to look at......the deepest green pastures, distant hills, forests, cultivated fields, rolled hay stacks, munching cattle and paddocks of sunshine adding texture to the view...just heavenly!

 

 

We arrived into the marina at Verdun, our planned destination, at 6:15...

 

And they say there's nothing for free....well, bonne chance, the mooring, the town water and the power were "gratis" !

We walked..lugged shopping and dined " a la terrace" overlooking the harbour. (The meal?....a  tad disappointing in my words, relatively average in Ali's.   Mais, il n'y a pas du temps  to canvass many options.

A memorial dominating the street scape in Verdun

 

 

 

It was a mild night, perfect for strolling and appreciating the architecture.... and the anguish. Memorials, plaques, flower beds, statues, walls scarred and peppered with rifle damage, remnants of old fortifications, and long lists of names depicting the personal sacrifice of war were ever present, painful and moving.

 

Totals:

Locks: 13

Distance: 57km

Overall: 536 out of 956

 VERDUN

Situated in a valley, the Battle of Verdun was fought on August 20, 1792. Despite the careful restoration of Verdun, memories of the bitter fighting that took place in the surrounding hills, will never be effaced.

Thousands of tonnes of metal and blood were buried in the soils here, where in the space of 18 months, 800,000 soldiers died; most of them to occupy a narrow strip of land which would be lost the next day. The soils were scarred to such an extent that, one century later, there are fields still uncultivated again.

Verdun is famous for its sweetmeats, sugar plums, confits...etc..which are said to the the best in France.