The 2024 Cruising Season Beckons

Our return flights to France are booked for Tuesday, April 9. It's unbelievable how fast our 6 months in Florida seems to have passed this year. Maybe it's because we had the December trip to European Christmas markets, but whatever the reason, it's a little hard to wrap our heads around a travel date that is rapidly approaching. We just have to get past a potential "glitch."

On March 7 I tripped during my dog-walking shift at Pet Pal Animal Shelter and managed to break a couple of bones in my left hand. They were enclosed, non-displaced fractures, so I have every hope that they will heal quickly and without complications, but I'll have a better idea next Friday (March 29th) at the 3-week mark when my current cast is removed, and the hand is x-rayed again.

In the best-case scenario, I will get a removable cast and hand exercises, and can complete my healing in France. I don't care to contemplate other possibilities at the moment, but will deal with them if next week's doctor visit indicates that I must.

In any case, when we get back to Auxerre we will have to do the usual spring stuff: de-winterize the water system, clean inside and outside, and restock the galley. Our departure date from the marina to begin cruising will depend on water conditions--Is there high water? Is the current too fast?--and the status of a couple of boat projects. The hope is that we will be underway by late April or early May; however, the only "schedule" that we have to keep (and even that has some flexibility) is an October 1 return to the U.S., so essentially, we have several months to cover the following route at a relaxed pace:

1.  Start in Auxerre (at upper left) and head north on the Yonne River

2.  Short out-and-back cruise on the Canal de Bourgogne

3.  Yonne River to confluence with the Seine River

4.  Short cruise east on the Petite Seine (not shown) to Nogent-sur-Seine; turn around

5.  West on the Seine to the Canal du Loing

6.  South on the Canal du Loing, Canal de Briare, Canal lateral a la Loire 

7.  East on the Canal du Centre to the Saone River at Chalon-sur-Saone

8.  South on the Saone River to Macon and (maybe) Lyon

9.  North on the Saone to an out-and-back cruise on the Seille River

10. North on the Saone to the Petite Saone, finishing at Auxonne (the endpoint being just to the right of Dijon on the map) 

So, no plans, only aspirations. As always, it will be interesting to see how those aspirations ultimately mesh with reality.