Cruising Stats 2023

It probably shouldn't have surprised us that the end-of-season nerves associated with making sure that everything that needs to be done does get done has removed our urge for last-minute "field trips" this week. So, we're using the available time to get things done in a leisurely and relaxed manner. Using up our remaining groceries with little waste always makes me feel a sense of accomplishment, and we're enjoying dinners at local restaurants to fill in the culinary gaps.

Last night's dinner was crepes on the terrace of Creperie du Pont. We could see
 this intrepid cat using the open window for a bird's eye view of its surroundings.

We're not unhappy about getting back to Florida, but we will miss the view from the boat.

Herewith, some statistics from our 2023 cruising season:

We started cruising on May 3, 2023, from Port Cergy, west of Paris. After completing nearly a full circle to the north and east of Paris, we arrived in Paris the first week of June and spent 3 weeks there. Time in Paris included a Seine River cruise. We left Paris on June 27 and arrived in the city of Auxerre (a little over 100 miles to the SE of Paris as the bird flies, 126 miles by boat) on July 10. A short, maintenance-aborted cruise on the Nivernais Canal and an afternoon cruise out of Auxerre with family were the only cruising we did from mid-July until now. In hindsight, it would have been nice to have cruised a bit more during the latter part of the summer, but a number of factors--such as intense heat waves intermixed with periods of rain--worked against that. All in all, however, it was a great summer and we met the major milestones we'd hoped for prior to the start of the season--with nary a "Plan B" in sight.

Number of cruising days: 38

Total engine hours: 144.1

Distance cruised: 735 km (441 miles)

132 locks

1 swing bridge

3 tunnels

Saturday will be a busy day, with loads of laundry to wash and a final cleaning of the boat. We're spending Saturday night in a local hotel so that we don't leave the boat with "slept-in" sheets for 6 months. After the final tasks of Sunday morning we'll be on a train to Paris Sunday afternoon, and will spend a couple of days in central Paris before heading to an airport hotel on October 3 in preparation for departure back to the U.S. the next day.