Port Napoleon - April 2011 - Preparing for relaunch
Eliza B
Ron & Elizabeth HOWARD
Thu 21 Apr 2011 17:26
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We recently visited Eliza B, on the hard in Port
Napoleon and spent ten days preparing her for relaunch. Although we had a
long list of jobs, the weather was beautiful and
sunny - we had a great time. It was very warm except for the last two days
when the mistral was blowing and the temperatures dropped by a few
degrees.
While Ron was repairing the scratches to the
gelcoat, acquired going through the locks last season, Elizabeth ws busy
cleaning and oiling the teak toerail and handrails on deck. The next job
was the rubbing down of the topsides ready for applying the wax polish - a
two-day task for both of us. That completed, it was time for the annual
ritual of rubbing down the undersides and applying anti-foul. A notriously
messy and miserable job in a typical English spring. With the good weather
we managed two coats in two days and that brought an end to the larger jobs
on the list. We then had time to check the plumbing and service the
winches.
Since it was Elizabeth's birthday just after we
arrived, we enjoyed a very nice meal at a restaurant in Port St Louis, next to
the lock from the Rhone, where they specialised in seafood cooked on
a hot-plate.
    We rewarded ourselves at the end of each hard day's work with a glass of
wine in the club house or a trip down the road towards the beach to admire the
flamingoes. They are strange creatures with pink legs, pink bills and
appear to be white until they flap their wings and reveal black and cerise
undersides.
 Here you can admire the results of our hard work
- a very clean and shiny Eliza B ready for relaunch. The mast has
been re-stepped and the anchor chain has been extended by a further 30 metres
ready for Mediterranean anchoring.
  During our two day drive back from the boat, we
made a small detour to visit the Pont du Gard - a world heritage
site containing a beautiful three-tiered Roman bridge and viaduct.
Well worth the visit. The second detour was to the Cave Cooperative in Tain
L'Hermitage to sample, and buy, some North Rhone wines.
 We have now arrived home with a small shopping list
and a short list of jobs to be completed when we return to the boat. We
have booked a flight to Marseilles airport on Friday 6th May and the relaunch is
scheduled for Tuesday 10th May. Our plan is to sail along the French
coast, visiting Marseilles, Cannes, St Tropez, etc. providing the mooring fees
are not exhorbitant. We will then progress to the Italian resorts and then
island-hop across to Corsica. The Navigating Office thinks this will take
us all summer and we will then return to France to lay the boat up for next
winter (probably at Port Napoleon, again).
If you fancy a visit, keep an eye on this blog and
email us.
Best wishes for a good summer, Ron &
Elizabeth.
Ron & Elizabeth HOWARD
Eliza B, Moody 36
+ 44 7768 816 579
+ 33 (0)6 11 66 79 08
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