system at the coastal town of St Valery-
sur-Somme and plopped out into the
Saône at Pontallier-sur-Saône. With a
month to go before our anniversary
celelbration, now our river adventure was
to begin... a voyage through the Saône
and Rhône, to Keppel’s winter home of
Port St Louis.Arrival with a bang!
We came alongside the town quay at
Pontallier-sur-Saône with a jolt. About
0.7m below the waterline there’s a nasty
jutting ledge that put a small gash into
Keppel’s port bilge keel. Discouraged, we
opted for the marina. At r13 (excluding
showers) it was reasonable enough, and
we enjoyed dinner at the Hostelerie deF
rench inland waterways are
special. Where else can you
voyage from the temperate dawn
chorus of blackbirds to the
Mediterranean hum of cicadas? We’ve
been cruising these rivers and canals for
many years, and currently keep our
Golden Hind 31 Keppel over winter near
Marseille. But this time we had something
special waiting for us at the end of our
voyage – our Ruby Wedding celebration!
What better excuse to lower the mast,
brush up on the French and get the pilot
book out for a three-month adventure
through medieval towns, glorious
countryside and some occasionally
challenging locks.
We’d entered the French waterwayCRUISING
Richard Hare grew
up in Leigh-on-Sea,
Essex, where he
learned to sail. He
and his wife, Janie,
now live in Suffolk
where they fi tted out
their Golden Hind
31, Keppel, which they cruised to the
Aegean and back via Biscay. In 2018
they returned to the Med via the inland
waterways.ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maronniers, where crewmate Lindsey ate
‘friture’, a plate of fried freshwater fi sh
similar to seawater whitebait. It was to