Windmills & wine

RTL, Why thank you kind sir.
3 of the books are up and running on Amazon and were beavering away getting the other 2 done. Were looking at Lulu publishing site for a print on demand service unless anyone knows of a better site.
Glad you enjoyed the trip with us.
Love the clips.

We're often asked why we chose Narbonne for a home port and after burning much midnight oil in research before I left Ireland I came to the conclusions listed below.
Micro climate, strategic location, cultural town with history are the three main reasons.


Just a few miles away to the South of Narbonne is the Mediterranean coastline which has a large bay in an approximately 30 kilometres radius, a combination of land/sea pattern and air pressure from the sea keeps inclement weather at bay giving us soft mild winters, in the heat of the summer the land mass to the North of us heats up with the sun, as the hot air rises it brings a cooling light breeze in from the sea.

From a geographically strategic point of view we're moored on the canal du Robine, 4 hrs cruise will take us to the Mediterranean port of Port la Nouvelle, from there Spain, Monaco and Italy are within easy striking distance.
6 hrs cruise North will take us to the junction with the canal du Midi, left will take us by canal to Bordeaux and the Atlantic whereas right will take us to the Rhone valley and access to the whole of the European canal system.
By road we have an AutoRoute junction just 10 minutes away to connect to the European motorway network.
The Spanish border is 40 minutes by car, Andorra 2 hours and the Cherbourg peninsula to catch the ferry to Ireland 12 hrs away.


Carcassonne, Vias and Montpellier airports are all within 45 minutes reach and offer low cost flights to UK, Ireland and internal European.
Major international flight hubs of Madrid, Paris, Schiphol and London are approx. 1.1/2 hours travel away, either by train or internal flight.

Narbonne was the largest Roman settlement outside of Rome and you can't fail but stumble over interesting artefacts from that era as you'll see over the next few posts.


Maps to orientate you as to the overall geographical position of Narbonne by land and sea and air.

1, Canal du Midi, Lateral a la Garonne to Bordeaux.

2, Access to the sea and the European network.

3, Road map, the black dot between Montpellier & Perpignan is Narbonne.
The black dot above Caen is the ferry port of Cherbourg for the overnight ferry to Ireland.

4, Overall position in European waterway network.

Irish Rambler said:

We're often asked why we chose Narbonne for a home port and after burning much midnight oil in research before I left Ireland I came to the conclusions listed below.
Micro climate, strategic location, cultural town with history are the three main reasons.

Click to expand...

Can you see Le Canigou from your location ? Or maybe it's hidden by Les Corbières ?
Picture : Le Canigou from my family property.

Bon Jour Pilou.
Unfortunately not from where we're moored.
However we'll pass Perpignan tomorrow as we travel to Girona,Spain to get dental treatment (much cheaper than France, if I don't keep up the treatment I'll be able to send them by post).
We pass Le Canigou regularly and call in at La Junquera for Paella and stock up with spirits, tortilla's and bacon etc..

Thank you for your reply. You are living in a quiet and privileged place, an outstanding choice of location. Please pass on my greetings to "my" Canigou where I was born and grew up at the foot.

Thank you as well for making others over here more knowledgeable about my country and its people.

Hello Pilou,
As a guest in France we're aware of many things that local people may take for granted.


Our mission is 3 fold.

1, Personal choice of cruising ground because no other country in Europe can offer a combination of leisure waterways blessed with such a climate.

2, To show other people from other parts of the world who may not be in a position to experience to do what we enjoy at the moment, and to show there's much wider experience to France than just the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame.
A whole new experience is there for their enjoyment from Ski-ing in snow to Ski-ing in the Med. These people are tomorrows tourists, some may retire here and all put money into the local economy.

3, Lastly, but probably the most important of all is to draw attention to the lack of a 'Grand Gabarit' (large gauge) waterway 'through route' between the river Saone and Luxembourg/Germany via the Moselle.
We believe this 'missing link' puts French industry at a severe disadvantage and would benefit both French exports and imports tremendously, by building modern hydro electric schemes into the locks it will also contribute enormously to France's electricity generation.

Bonsoir IR

Your view is generous, your motivations are altruistic, your vision is overarching and far different from the (too many) cliches. Thank you IR, I like that.

About hydroelectric power, your analysis is pertinent and correct. But let me provide a little bit of context :

In the 1960s this began with the choice of hydroelectric power (among there was the Rhone river), as well small hydro plants exploited the natural flow from smaller rivers and were referred to as "run of river" schemes. Moreover, hydroelectric facilities have fewer forced outages in general compared to facilities that are dependent on gas, coal or oil.

Then, some politicians said that hydropower installations often require the impounding of water by dams, raising increasing concerns for socio-environmental impacts, while in my opinion hydroelectric facilities - Long-life Assets - are among the most reliable sources of electricity.

Since the oil crisis of the 1970s when European economies came to an abrupt halt and unemployment soared, combined with a rapid increase in electricity sales, everyone was keen to guarantee the security of their own energy supply. From this oil shocks (of the 1970s) to the debt crisis of the 1980s, EDF (Electricité de France) redefined its industrial and marketing activities. The future role of nuclear or non-nuclear energy depending on political decisions, France decided to go nuclear.

Producing energy and goods at a lower cost was crucial then the goals - at this time- were to make production of energy faster and cheaper, as well that the costs of products and services, excluding oil, would be much less vulnerable to flip-flops in the price of energy assets and the ripple effect of a possible new oil shock on core inflation would be lower.

I meant "context", which is not my personal view. Indeed the nuclear choice is now difficult to justify because of the public's mistrust in its regard. But sometimes the politic has reasons that reasoning does not know .

Thank you Pilou.
I don't particularly wish to go into the politics, or indeed expound them here on TF. I think most people have a surfeit of politicians.
I'm simply an outside observer who has worked in/studied the European logistics industry,who can see the overall economic picture.
Unfortunately politicians decided to go nuclear, I've no objection at all to well managed nuclear power.
The fact is that France' EDF electricity industry's 58 old nuclear reactors are facing financial meltdown and a monetary drain on, not a contributor, to France's economy.
By opening the 'Grand Gabarit' route to link the river Saone into the Moselle, using the locks to provide electricity in exactly the same way as the Rhone, the scheme would recover it's costs by providing alternative 'green' source electricity. It does not need dams/barrages/reservoirs as there's a natural supply from the mountains.
France's manufacturing company's are at a severe disadvantage in trading bulk materials throughout Europe by not having a direct access to the heart of the European canal system. The alternative is by train, powered by ? nuclear produced electric.
It is economically unsound to transport containers (TEU's) on large ships via the Suez canal, straights of Gibraltar, bay of Biscay,English Channel to Holland/Germany before being transported right back into centre of Europe when the Mediterranean port of Sete is perfectly placed to accept cargo's and via the canal system deliver direct in the industrial heartland of Europe providing much needed employment in both the port and the logistics barge/road/rail industry and as well as saving the considerable cost/fuel/time of the much longer bay of Biscay route. IF only that short section were open.
I believe that put's France's manufacturing industries and import/export at a severe economic disadvantage compared to the rest of European manufacturing.
There is a 'Grand Gabarit' scheme being upgraded in the North of France which will in time go to Paris. But both you and I both know that the heavy industry is virtually all outside of Paris.
I'd be perfectly happy to discuss this conundrum outside of TF.

Talking of Logistics.
The name originated from Roman times, warehouses were called Loges and the people who operated them were known as logisticians.
The town of Narbonne (our home port) was the largest settlement outside of Rome and became a logistical centre for Roman forces in this area.
Regular boat services ran between Port la Nouvelle and Rome.
An army marches on it's stomach and the fertile alluvial plains around Narbonne provided food for both the occupying army and much was exported back to Rome.
Food needs both packaging and preserving. The answer ? build a factory nearby producing amphorae using local products of argile (clay). Water was needed for the process so an aqueduct was built to transport the water from the nearby mountains, these aqueducts were built with a fall of 2" in 10 ' which gave the speed of the water travelling along the aqueducts as 4 mph, walking speed, that meant the water engineers could walk alongside to observe any problems.

Photo's.
1, Giant amphorae, this is on a roundabout in Narbonne and simply illustrates what an amphorae is.

2, These amphorae were designed to be easily lifted and, when stacked horizontally, they would interlock together in the ships holds for stability while crossing the notoriously fickle Gulf du Lions.

3,Carving depicting river transport to a central Loges.

4, This is an actual preserved Roman kiln used for firing the clay pots, you can see how tightly they packed them in. The tunnels below were wood fired furnaces and the temperatures believe it or not had to reach 500 degrees centigrade to complete the firing.

5. There were 5 pottery furnaces on this site, these were built BC.

6, Various stages of Amphorae production.

7,8 This is the aqueduct that supplied the pottery site, it's workers and families.

9, Bio ? The Romans used herb gardens like this to produce herbs for preserving food, wine and alleviating medical conditions.

10, The infrastructure needed different tiles and drains which were also produced here.

Bonsoir IR

Please don't get me wrong when I mentioned the words "politics" and "politician" in my last post. I was not about "politicking", I was about the Sovereign State tasks and the decision making process involved in them, especially after the 1970s oil shocks.
In France, Education, Public Health issues, Security, Military, Energy, are matters of national sovereignty where the definitive decisions are made by the government which is accountable directly to both chambers of the French parliament elected by direct universal suffrage. In other words, this means that the fundamentally decisions are made by people representing the public. Even though I do not agree with all of the decisions, that's what politics is.

In my opinion it is nothing to be ashamed of talking about politics even in this forum, but let us not confuse "ideological politicking" with the fundamentally political questions that concern the grandiose functions of the State and its ability to assume these functions and to serve its citizens.

I have studied Latin scholar at school, I remember texts we had to translate where Romans wanted to connect Arles (Rhone) to North Sea via Saone - Moselle - Rhine but problems existed already at this time which were safety concerns and security issues !

I believe as well in the virtues of increasing the use of river transport for goods. This objective depends on the implementation of logistic facilities enabling development of shipping traffic and reducing goods feeder costs. A "Grand Gabarit" route to link the river Saone into the Moselle would be a great opportunity for progress and development, a real source of substantial savings by reducing costs, by significant saving energy, and to shorten delivery times. Moreover, proximity to the market, which can result in faster turnaround times, is always an important success factor.

In my opinion, if river transport was to compete, it had to modernize. I know the area quite well around of Sète, your idea is really excellent.

About EDF, I am less strict than you :

- The French government holds 85 percent of EDF whose nuclear is of major strategic, industrial, geopolitic importance to France, Europe and more. In my own opinion it is therefore difficult to assess the accuracy of data produced by media about the nuclear of EDF, & I have no competence in this matter.

- France is the third largest hydroelectric power producer in Europe, & the second largest renewable energy producer (and consumer) in Europe.

- EDF manages actually 75% of the surface water of France, in its dams and reservoirs. It is always possible to do better, but it's already no bad at all.

What will be the future here in France ? Renewable energy systems, including grid-connected windmills, decentralized wind-diesel systems and photo-voltaic devices ? hydroelectric ?
Natural river flows are critical to hydroelectric power production, climate change is critical to natural river flows... Energy produced in France with hydro-power was slightly less in the last year compared to 2013 (23 % less !) due to weather changes that have reduced precipitations in some regions of the country.
In 2012 I visited the China's Three Gorges Dam just 7 weeks after it was completed and fully functional, one of my questions to a technician was "What will be your main focus for the near future ?" the answer was : "It's global climate change, an important parameter to take into account."
Dropbox - Error - Simplify your life

IR, if you ask my friend Art here (I mean TF's member "Art"), you'll discover a vision of the future of new energy and one of the possible solutions to current problems. Art is brilliant.

I am ready to discuss this conundrum outside of TF

Bonjour Pilou.
The port of Sete is strategically placed.
The Rhone a Sete canal has already been upgraded to the 'Grand Gabarit' gauge and goes to within a 100 kilometres short of Luxembourg border.
Until the 'missing link' into the Moselle through Luxembourg is complete the French canal industry cannot expand/modernise/contribute/create employment because it's being strangulated by lack of access to the rest of Europe.
Records dating back to 1800's of the Royal Navy show that 'global warming' is not a new phenomenon, (a fact many choose to ignore) the slightest tilt on the earths axis is sufficient to cause change. The so called 'Global warming' has however given politicians an excuse to introduce carbon tax.
As you can see from your families home the Aeolian wind generators are an absolute eyesore and per $ invested are not efficient.
The fact that EDF is in extreme financial difficulties is not my concern. By using any new canal locks to the maximum efficiency by producing electricity can only help to ease a dire situation.
I envy you your visit to 'The Three Gorges' dam/lock, maybe next year when we go to Australia.
I'm a businessman and I only deal in cold hard facts, sorry to be so pragmatic.Before you build a dam you make (pardon the pun) damn sure it works 1, Has minimal impact on the environment. 2, Do the job it was built for with maximum efficiency for at least a 50 year projection. 3, Make a long term investment/profit.
On a much lighter note, we're already familiar with Mont-Redon (nice play on words) and enjoy the fruits of the land.

Bonjour IR

I am just wondering, perhaps it may seem boring for people here, let's keep discussing this great conversation by PM ?

Quite frankly, I went twice to China's Three Gorges Dam, 2010 & 2012.
First time in 2010, three weeks after the filling of the Three Gorges Dam was completed at a level of 174 meters (571') in the Three Gorges area close to the dam and locks. The dam has led to raise water levels along the length of the Yang Tzé river to almost the city of Chong Qing. At this time (November 2010), I have sailed the Yang Tzé river from Chong Qing to the Three Gorges Dam ( ~ 600 nautical miles) on a small motor vessel.

Even if it was an amazing trip, I do not want to cut off your great thread with the story and pictures of my journey on the Yang Tzé river then I have to stop here about that. If some TF members believe that it would be interesting to read my trip on the Yang Tzé, I may post some pictures on my blog here or create a new thread.

Greetings,
Mme. P. Ah, the Yangtze...We did it via 5 day river cruise in 2012 along a route similar to yours...

Bon Soir Pilou.
I'm happy to chat via PM.
I believe a new thread on the Yangtze river/3 Gorges project would be very interesting to many people and I look forward to following it.
I have experience importing industrial machinery from China, unfortunately although my girth is steadily expanding (courtesy of my French wife's cooking) there's still not enough of me to go around and do everything I would like to do.


And I thought retiring would be relaxing ! Sheesh ! I've never been busier.

Anyone interested in our last years adventure 'Ireland to the Mediterranean Part 1' can now see a updated bug fix version e-book on Amazon.

I spoke in an earlier post about our 'Home Port' of Narbonne.
I use the term port, not in the conventional sense as to what most people regard as a port i.e. a seaport.
In France along the canal are 'Halte Nautique's'. these are places to moor on the canal (sometimes with free water & electricity) built adjacent to villages to encourage tourists to visit, they are usually limited to a 48 hour stay.
Other towns/villages/ cities have mooring facilities on the canal and these are referred to as Ports, i.e. Port de Plaisance, for pleasure craft and Ports du Commerce for working vessels. The Port de Plaisance are run by a municipally appointed Port captain who is responsible for collecting fees, ensuring the efficient operation of the Port on behalf of the town/village etc.

Because Narbonne has a lot of historical connections to the Roman empire there are naturally artefacts still remaining which may be of interest to you in the following photo's

1, Roman mile markers.

2, This section of road and the stone bridge were carefully dismantled and reconstructed here in exact replica, the vertical stone is an actual Roman signpost.

3, A clearer photo of the bridge. Roman soldiers were ordered to 'Break step' when passing over bridges to avoid damaging then, British soldiers still follow this rule when marching 'in time' over a bridge.

4, Signpost dating BC.

5, This is a section of preserved via Domitia Roman road.
The street you see in the background is part of the shop lined via Domitia, much as it was in Roman times.

6, Roman galleys immortalised in stone.

7, Roman 'Fisherman's' anchor

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mme. P. Ah, the Yangtze...We did it via 5 day river cruise in 2012 along a route similar to yours...

Click to expand...

Monsieur RT F
Great ! How did you like the cruise ? Did you make it from Chong Qing to Yichang ? Or to Wuhan ?

Greetings,
Mme. P. Chong Qing to Wuhan to the best of my memory. Scenery, as you know was spectacular and daily side trips were the highlight. Quite disappointed in the food on board though. Not very much actual Chinese food offered. Dinner one night was lasagna...Ugh...and not very good lasagna, at that.

China is probably the most fascinating country I've EVER visited and I've been to a few...

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mme. P. Chong Qing to Wuhan to the best of my memory. Scenery, as you know was spectacular and daily side trips were the highlight. Quite disappointed in the food on board though. Not very much actual Chinese food offered. Dinner one night was lasagna...Ugh...and not very good lasagna, at that.

China is probably the most fascinating country I've EVER visited and I've been to a few...

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I'm truly sorry for your disappointment about food aboard. Chinese food - in China - is itself an endless voyage of discovery, definitely my favorite food (I apologize to my fellows French !).

Yes, it was such a tremendous journey. "China is probably the most fascinating country" : I'm happy to read that, I agree with you. I would say, however, China AND the USA. Both are very different countries, both are fascinating to visit.

Myself and Evelyne on board 'Snow Mouse' moored in Narbonne for the winter would like to thank the TF site team for being there, supporting us and allowing us to use the TF site.
We sincerely hope you enjoyed travelling with us on our adventure Windmills and Wine. We enjoyed having you with us and your supportive comments were kind and helpful when things didn't quite go to plan


MAY WE WISH EACH AND EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SAFE CRUISING NEW YEAR.


Were happy to say that Amazon seems to have redressed the problems of our e book sales 'How To Cruise Between Two Seas', The Wolf's Lair etc.
More importantly we have just concluded a deal with a print on demand company who will publish our paper back version via Amazon book sale.

Myself and Evelyne on board 'Snow Mouse', Patrick & Geraldine Butler who cruised in company with us on 'Cool Running's' ,are now safely moored in Narbonne for the winter.
We would like to thank the TF site team for supporting us and allowing us to use the TF site.
We sincerely hope you enjoyed travelling with us on our adventure Windmills and Wine, we certainly enjoyed having you along with us in mind and spirit and your supportive comments.

MAY WE WISH EACH AND EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SAFE CRUISING NEW YEAR.

We're happy to say that Amazon seems to have redressed the problems of our e book sales 'How To Cruise Between Two Seas', The Wolf's Lair etc.
More importantly I'm happy to say we've just concluded a deal with a print on demand company who will publish our books via Amazon paperbacks. An e book & paperback version of Windmills & Wine will be on sale shortly.
IR.

Irish Rambler said:

Myself and Evelyne on board 'Snow Mouse', Patrick & Geraldine Butler who cruised in company with us on 'Cool Running's' ,are now safely moored in Narbonne for the winter.
We would like to thank the TF site team for supporting us and allowing us to use the TF site.
We sincerely hope you enjoyed travelling with us on our adventure Windmills and Wine, we certainly enjoyed having you along with us in mind and spirit and your supportive comments.

MAY WE WISH EACH AND EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SAFE CRUISING NEW YEAR.

We're happy to say that Amazon seems to have redressed the problems of our e book sales 'How To Cruise Between Two Seas', The Wolf's Lair etc.
More importantly I'm happy to say we've just concluded a deal with a print on demand company who will publish our books via Amazon paperbacks. An e book & paperback version of Windmills & Wine will be on sale shortly.
IR.

Click to expand...

Happy Merry Christmas to you and your family, I wish you the best for 2017.
Warm thanks for your wonderful thread. Looking forward for your next travelogue.
Cheers,

Merci Beaucoup Pilou.
Tres Bon Annee.
Votre Mt Canigou est magnifique adjourdhi avec une couverture de niege.

For any one still following the thread I'm happy to announce that a print on demand company in England has agreed to print four of my books, they cover an earlier single handed adventure from Ireland to the Med via Paris. How to enjoy cruising in retirement.That was my first attempt at writing as friends kept urged me to do it, I think they were curious and wondered if I'd make it, I got the researching writing bug.
How to cruise between two seas (Canal du Midi) Atlantic to the Med.
The Wolf's Lair which is all about the key part played by logistics in modern life, it's interesting, honestly !
'Encore' covers the trip from Ireland to Dunkirk, posts shown on TF as 'Ireland to the Mediterranean part 1)

These will be available shortly from Amazon as print on demand.
The 'Windmills and Wine' thread you're reading now is also morphing into a book, between catching up on admin and believe me that's no easy task in France, the beaurocracy here would make a bloody Saint swear, changing the car etc, Xmas holidays, trip back to England, sorting out the medical side before bits start to droop or drop off, planning a holiday to Australia (by air).
I'm a bit slow but I can assure you I'm on the job.
The main aim of the books is to act as inspiration to others and serve as a reference for future planning.

I'm pleased to say that the e book version for Kindle readers of 'Windmills and Wine' is now available on Amazon.com if anyone's interested
I'm still waiting for the paperback versions but it takes time to register copyrights and the books with the British library, will update you as we make progress.

Irish Rambler said:

I'm pleased to say that the e book version for Kindle readers of 'Windmills and Wine' is now available on Amazon.com if anyone's interested
I'm still waiting for the paperback versions but it takes time to register copyrights and the books with the British library, will update you as we make progress.

Click to expand...

I already bought it. Quite frankly, very interesting book, fascinating travelogue, style is fine, lots of stunning pictures, rounded out by great & comprehensive historical stories, and 735 pages ! Very good job, a must read. Only 9.40 euros !

Thank you for your support and kind comments Pilou, Merci Beaucoup j'ai enormement apprecie votre commontaire.
As you'll know from your own experience it takes an enormous amount of time in the planning and execution, amazingly we took over 5,000 photo's during the journey as we we're passing only once just to get the 'right' photo with a little 'feeling'.
We didn't go for crowd funding for our adventure because I'm an old fashioned guy and like to work for any rewards that may come from any book sales.
A five star rating and a good review on Amazon would be helpful and I thank you in advance.
I offer humble thanks to all who followed the blog.


We too look at the other TF blogs to increase our knowledge base and appreciate eveeryones efforts for the good of the TF forum and all it's members.

You are welcome IR, I just expressed my sincere appreciation of your very interesting book.

I already leaved a well deserved 5 stars feedback but that was on amazon.fr from where I bought your electronic book.

I understand what you meant about the enormous amount of time and numerous photos to orderning and sorting out. I am still far behind the writing of my travelogue in Scotland - Caledonian Canal - Loch Ness which was a much shorter journey than yours.

Good luck and best wishes !

I've just been checking on Amazon Kindle and 'Peter from Athlone' bought one of my books 'How To Cruise Between Two Seas'.
Apparently his Kindle download was faulty, if he contacts me via a TF private message I'll send him a plain cover DVD replacement FOC as a gesture of good faith. The fault has been rectified to the best of my knowledge.

Just serve me the wine, please.

We live in the largest vineyard in the world and even export some to give the California reds a little 'body' and your welcome to share a bottle of super smooth 'Faugere.'