safety fence, fake grass and sunshade. With her
lifejacket and sun hat on, she played in it for hours,
waving at anyone we passed.
As we approached central France, the heat became
even more intense. Before leaving, we’d bought a
portable air conditioning unit on eBay for £70,
which turned out to be a lifesaver. It was small but
could cool the aft cabin nicely, creating a refuge for
us in times of need. At one point it got so bad, we
booked into an Airbnb with a pool and spent two
days recharging our batteries before returning
to Gemelle and continuing south.
By the beginning of August, we had passed
through the canals and exited on to the river Saone.
It was strange to be moving so fast again and the
river quickly took us south to Lyon. We expected
a large industrial city but were blown away by
the cobbled streets, cycle paths, green parks and
the nicest marina of the whole trip. We stayed
here for a few days before leaving and joining
the mighty river Rhône.
The southern Rhône was beautiful, with
mountains now making up the horizon. The places
we stopped were more affl uent and lively. We could
almost smell the Mediterranean and we were excited
to get to the sea, so some days we did as much
as 80km, stopping to celebrate Lena’s birthday
in Avignon, which was certainly one to remember.
It was late September by the time we turned left
and joined the Canal du Rhône à Sète. Just three days later we
motored out into the Mediterranean. We had been talking about
this moment for the last three months and as we passed the sea
wall, an endless shimmering horizon opened up in front of us.
We motored around the headland and anchored in perfectly
clear blue water just off the beach before jumping in the sea
to celebrate. We spent a blissful couple of days sunbathing,
swimming and soaking up the views. It was stunning, and neither
of us wanted to go back on to the canal but by now we wererunning out of money and had booked Gemelle into a marina in
Colombiers for the winter. With heavy hearts, we left the sea and
made our way along the Canal du Midi to Colombiers, where we
packed up the boat, stuffed our belongings into the boot of the
car and drove the 1,000km back to Roscoff.SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE
Not even for fi ve minutes was it a holiday. It was an adventure.
Much of it was about survival and dealing with adversity but
some of it was also pure, unadulterated happiness. In three
months, we made more memories than in three years at home in
our comfortable routine. We did it together, as a team. We stepped
outside our comfort zone, broke free from the rut and came back
extremely grateful for what we have. It enabled us to cut free from
things that were holding us back and gave us clarity about what
we wanted in the future.
For me, it was never about the destination, it was about the
trip, going on a journey and searching for something. If I’m
honest, I didn’t really know what I was looking for, but I knew
I wouldn’t fi nd it staying at home. Now I’m back, I feel stronger
and I can see an inner strength and quiet contentment in Lena
that wasn’t there before. The bond and love I have for my girls
has found a whole new depth and I feel my little family is in
a better place to deal with what life throws at us in the future.
More than anything, I feel incredibly grateful to share my life
with someone who is up for adventures like this. Now Betsy
is crawling, we’re going to stay put for a few years. However,
I can defi nitely sense a quiet hunger growing for another trip
in the future. I even found Lena looking at catamarans for sale
and asking,“Could that sail around the world?”COSTS
Food and supplies £6,000 over
103 days (we cooked on board
most days)
Moorings £1,000 (based on five
nights a week in port and two on
the bank)
Fuel £2,000 (1,600 litres, almost
half of which was consumed
crossing the Channel)
VNF licence £350 (valid for one
year on the whole canal network)
Insurance £450 (travel and
medical expenses were on our
household policy)
Tr a v e l £750 (ferries, car hire,
trains and car fuel)
Navigation books £120
Misc £2,500 (swimming pools,
presents, clothes etc)
Total costs £12,670
Income from Airbnb £10,900
Cost of trip minus rental
income £1,770 (£17.18 per day)
We paid £16,500 for the boat
and spent the same again on
refitting her. If we sell her for the
asking price the adventure will
have cost us less than £5,000.
Gemelle is now for sale on the
Canal du Midi at £29,900. This
includes a week’s training and
handover if wanted. She is ready
to go, just fly down and you can
begin your adventure.
Visit http://www.ybw.com/boats-
for-sale and search
‘Birchwood 33’ for £29,900
We stepped outside our comfort
zone, broke free from the rut and
came back extremely grateful for
what we have70TRAVELA rare lunch out
provides a break
from galley dutiesBonnie fi nally
gets to bathe
in the Med