Rafting up: two postscripts

Monday 23 July 

Yesterday we sailed from St Mihiel to Dieue. We stopped at Dieue because we wanted to arrive in Verdun late morning. That way we would have a better chance of finding a mooring spot, the theory being that some boats would have left the port and others would arrive mid-late afternoon.

Pressure on parking places - Verdun

We arrived in Verdun and .. Oh dear, there wasn't a space left on the pontoon or the quay and many boats were rafted up two abreast already. There are lengthy quays on both sides of the port, which is on the Meuse River. We sailed up and down the lines of boats and as no one actively welcomed us we looked for a 'sympathetic' flag. Ettie is a barge we have seen a few times this season and there she was, flying a union jack with no-one rafted up to her. We came alongside and knocked to ask permission to tie up but no-one was aboard. We decided to raft up anyway.

C went ashore to check for supplies of electrcity and water and was surprised to meet David off Christina who is moored in front of Ettie. We met David and wife, Lois, ( M and M will remember them) at Langres in 2009. At that time, David got our ailing fridge up and running. We had drinks and nibbles on Christina on a beautiful evening and a convivial time was had by all. David and Lois happily put a Magnum of champagne in their fridge to chill for Margaret in particular. We had bought it forgetting that it wouldn't fit in our tiny fridge!

However, back to the present, David said Ettie's owners were away for the day and would be ok about us tying up to them. “It is just what you do in situations like this', he assured us.

We have had a lovely lunch and a glass of wine to celebrate our good luck, watched a few more boats looking for a place to tie up and feel very fortunate to be safely moored. We are especially happy to have the opportunity to catch up with David and Lois again.

Tuesday 24 July

Last night at 7pm we were invited to have a drink with David and Lois on Christina. However it ended up being a celebratory affair on Esme, a barge rafted to Christina. Dianna and Chris were celebrating the birth of twins, their first grandchildren. Janet and Dick - from Wales (guests on Christina) were there too and we spent a couple of hours in lively chatter and the drinking of several bottles of Champagne. We had a most enjoyable evening and we have four more new friends and offers of accommodation in Wales and England, reciprocated of course by us. The Welsh have been to our fair land twice already, done extensive tours and loved it.

This morning, Ettie left her spot on the quay and we slipped in to her possie. We are very happy and we can now easily get the bikes off to go shopping. So far (it's 4pm) no-one has rafted up to us, but there is still time for this to happen.

It is always interesting to know why boats have certain names. Some inherit a name, as we did with Erewhon. I asked Julia how Ettie got her name. It is the diminuitive form of Henrietta, the name of their daughter. The family has strong Dutch connections. Henrietta wanted the barge to be called Princess Henrietta. Mother Julia wasn't going to have that but was very happy to have Ettie. It really rather suits this very lovely barge.