Be sure to check this month’s “Latitude 38”. Go to page 138 at http://www.latitude38.com/changes/Changes09-12.html, with a very complimentary commentary of my 7 year voyage. This compliment from Richard Spindler, the orignator of Latitude-38, carries for me more value than any one else in the sailing publications. His magazine has done more than any other publicatiions to realize dreams like mine.

Never a dull day. Yesterday I made it to St. Lay Remy at km 120 on the canal de l’Est. That was a decent day for distance and I had already set back to plan “A” to go to Paris. after all. But then at one of the last locks the lock keeper told me that there is no way to get into Paris with my 1,75 mtr draft because, since mid August, the draft has dropped to 1,4 mtr in the canal de Marne au Rhin. So, back to plan “B”.

To day I covered more  than 40 kms, Then I learned today that the Canal de Meuse betwen the French Belgian border and Namur will be closed for 3 weeks…. from the evening of September 15. This means that I have two choices. Get going and be in Namur before the 15th or go back via Touls and take the Moselle and the Rhine. I should  be able to make the first option. That means that I have to take the train from Namur to Paris on the 15th to be at the airport to meet Ce Ce on the morning of the 16th. My nephew Dirk Jan has accepted my challenge to drive from Holland and bring the draft down an inch or more and make some more room for my crew. So that will most likely happen in Namur. Tania on the Dutch motor yacht “De Eenling” from Huizen checked out the possible route through the Canal d’Ardennes and it turns out that is not an option because the draft is down to 1,6 mtr. Take a good look at the picture of the Dutch barge “Brave Bart” in the below pictures. They will be going up with me tomorrow and are moored next to me here. http://www.bargingintofrance.com/about-barge.html Check out their web site. You’d have a fabulous vacation with them in luxury. on the French waterways. An English couple, Jim and Diane operate this barge. I expect that my cousin Karel van der Meer will have some more information for me about this 1910 built “Katwijker” at Boot in Alphen a/d Rijn. Because this barge was used to carry sand from the Scheldt to Holland and Karel used to operate the largest sand barge in the sixties/seventies in the same trade. The original name was “Kieks” and she was owned by the English author Gerard Morgan Grenville as “La Pursuite de Bonne Aire”. Later it was owned by the American movie actor Darren McGavin who was married to Kathie Brown, who played “little Joe”s wife in Bomanza. Lots of history here in St. Mihiel. By pure coincidence “Brave Bart” is identical in meaning and spelling in Dutch.

When I see a boat name of someone I know I try take a picture and send it to them. Today my very own ship came in “Jacob” my baptismal name.

When I came back from grocery shopping I saw the Chard in with the flowers. So, this will be added into my stir fry. “Aan een struik zo vol geladen mist men een twee blaadjes niet”