BargeBlog

View from shore

New wheelhouse looking back

View from the deck

New Wheelhouse

Cruising along the Burgundy Canal

Wheelhouse Interior

Michelle & Karen

New Wheelhouse

Here's our new wheelhouse. The top, window trim and doors are teak. The inside is finished with light oak. The roof is a lightweight aluminum/foam composite. The entire structure can be disassembled and lowered. Now we can fit in the tightest tunnels and lowest bridges (not that we're in a rush to do so.)

What we notice the most is the light and improved view from the inside. The wooden trim is thinner so we have more window expanse. Combined with the light wood and the white roof, it's bright and cheerful even on cloudy days.

We're off to a great start for our 2007 season!

Michelle Caffrey

www.bargeandbreakfast.com

Homeport at last

We arrived in homeport October 13, inauspiciously a Friday the Thirteenth. We'd closed the loop we'd started seven years ago on our training cruise and our maiden voyage from Holland, begun in the middle of July this year. Now, almost exactly 3 months later, Imagine circled the lock to our homeport like a duck circling the nest. I recalled our attempt to enter this tricky lock on our maiden voyage. Paul had this approach nailed now...didn't he? I sat at my post on the bow with my boat hook in hand, ready to enter the deep entrance to the Canal Rhone au Rhin. I imagined a triumphant entry, a welcoming lockkeeper, our friends alerted to our arrival, lining the side of the lock or waving from their boats. It didn't happen that way. Instead, I watched as Imagine's bow lined up with the entrance, waited…and felt us sideslip toward the wall. There was much more current in the Saône than we'd thought. No, no no. That's not right, I thought. I glanced back at Paul, cast a quizzical look, and hoped he read my concern. But over 80 feet away, I didn't have a hope of reading his expression. He surely couldn't read mine either. Maybe he'd see my face turned toward him. I breathed a sigh of relief as I first heard, then felt, Paul shift into reverse, back up, and try the entry over again. This time, he did nail the entrance and we were home. And so, we finished our Centennial Cruise. The highlights of the trip will stay with us always. And, American that I am, I can't help but rank them. And so (pretend there's a drum roll) the highlights were:

Number five

The Aqueduct at Briare. This was something we'd always wanted to do, an historic water bridge over the River Loire. The photo is of me and our guest, Bill, taken by his wife Diane, who stayed with us for three weeks!

Number four

Moret sur Loing. We'd been in this town on our training trip, and it was as gorgeous as we remembered.

Number three

Seeing the village of Sancerre. We likened this lovely town to Beaune on a hilltop, with a view of the vineyards. No only was the town exquisite, but the abundance of Sancerre wine and the Pouilly Fume from across the valley taught me to appreciate these wines.

Number two!

Champagne on the River Marne, during the Vendage, the wine harvest. If you've wanted to cruise by miles of vineyards, this is the place. There's nothing like it anywhere else we've traveled on Imagine. The people were wonderful, the countless Champagne tastings and restaurants made this a superb experience.