Floating Through France

A practical and fascinating guide to taking your boat through the French canals to the fabulous cruising grounds of the Mediterranean.

How many of us yearn for adventure, or long for a slower pace and escape from the daily grind?

This is the captivating guide to taking your boat through the French canals to the fabulous cruising grounds of the Mediterranean. It is also the story of two ordinary people and their entertaining tale of mishaps: knots that untie themselves and Camargue mosquitoes that bite through jeans – all in pursuit of a dream. The prize was the azure waters of the Med, but first they had to navigate cold, tidal northern waters, followed by weeks of locks and lifting bridges, where a 'good day' meant only one lock broke, and the éclusier wasn't far away.

With humour and warmth, Kerry and Fraser share the highs and lows of their adventure along with plenty of invaluable advice on:

• choosing and fitting out a boat for inland and coastal cruising
• breaking free of the ties of land life
• mastering the inland waterways – from unstepping the mast to tackling the Tidal Seine
• making the most of Mediterranean cruising, from hidden anchorages to local delights

Whether you're planning your own voyage or simply dreaming of one, this is a warm, witty and practical companion for anyone drawn to life on the water.

About the Author

Kerry Buchanan is a retired veterinary surgeon and mother of three adult children. She began writing in 2014, and despite having a disability (psoriatic arthritis) that affects her stamina and her ability to write and type for prolonged periods she has been prolific and diverse with her work. Kerry's Northern Irish crime series is published by Joffe Books, and she says that despite the bloodthirsty nature of her novels, she's really a very nice person, honestly. She also writes freelance for publications including Practical Boat Owner Magazine. She wouldn't have been able to produce so many novels, stories and articles if it wasn't for the support of her husband, Fraser. Fraser is a retired professor of biomedical engineering and has sailed since he was a teenager.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• PART 1: Festine Lente
  • 1 Choosing a boat
  • 2 Fitting out the boat
  • 3 Fitting out ourselves
  • 4 Passage planning
• PART 2: Home Waters
  • 5 Ireland, North and South
  • 6 Wales and the Bristol Channel
  • 7 Cornwall and the South Coast
  • 8 The English Channel and Northern France
• PART 3: An Honorary Barge
  • 9 From sailboat to motorboat
  • 10 Preparing the boat for inland waterways
  • 11 A look at locks
  • 12 The Tidal Seine and Paris
  • 13 Marne-Champagne
  • 14 The Saône and Rhône
• PART 4: Remembering how to sail
  • 15 Southern France and Corsica
  • 16 Sardinia, Sicily and the Straits of Messina
  • 17 Southern Italy to Greece
• Epilogue: The Debrief
• Appendices
  • 1 Summary of major boat costs
  • 2 Costs for us
  • 3 Paperwork we carry with us
  • 4 The Schengen shuffle
  • 5 Sources of information
• Acknowledgements
• Index
• Also available from Adlard Coles