Wharram Builders and Friends

A Photo & Discussion Forum for Wharram Design Enthusiasts

Some notes in case  any one else follows in our footsteps:

1. the french Biscay coast is a wonderful cruising ground

2. a tiki 30 fits through the canal du midi and garonne (but having more than 2 people on board would make it an easier passage

3. vitrezay is a wonderful stop on the gironde

4. it is VERY  windy in the golfe du lyon

5. safe anchorages in all conditions are rare in the western med

6. a tki 30 is too small for cat berths and too big for monohull berths in  most marinas in the western med

7. it is very pleasant transiting the canals

Views: 572

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

if you take " canal du Midi" send me message , you are welcome to share some "corbieres" wine . I leave just around ...

i wanted to say : "i live just around " ...

if you climb on the top of the roof of the boat on my photo you can see the " canal du midi "

Hi Laurent,

Thank you very much for the offer. We may come back through the canal in the autumn, if so will drop you a line.  We have had 2 holidays on the canal as well as taking Mango through in 2011 and have enjoyed it each time; it is a tragedy with the trees dying though.

Robert

hello Roger, tragedy is the word, dont rise the topic around , you ll make cry the strongest rugbyman or wine cultivator . i cant think about it without a rush of tears. how weird it is to feel that the death of trees can be sadest than the one of  my best friend..

To explain the 40000 trees called  " Platane" along the  "Canal du Midi" are condamned to irreversible death due to a mushroom within  20 years . If trees was animals this one is like a teddy bear for us and it is the symbol of all the France south ouest . Of course they will be replaced by some resistant other essence but it will take take long long time.

http://www.google.fr/search?q=platane+canal+du+midi&hl=fr&t...

laurent    

Hi I've heard 2 weeks is a reasonable time to allow for the trip from the Gironde to Sete, does this sound about right??
Also heard that fuel is very expensive on the canal?
Thanks
Alan

You can do it in 2 weeks from Paulliac in a monohull if you go stop for nothing and are out of season so that you are not held up in any locks (we met someone going the other way who had done just that).  You are constrained by the tide as to when you can get into the lock at Castets and the Bezier flight is restricted in when you can transit it so if you miss your slot you will lose half a day.

We used petrol so were filling up cans at supermarkets so did not notice fuel being particularly expensive.  However, there are not many outboard engineers on the canal as we found out when we broke down not far from the only one for miles.

Taking Mango through was slower as we stopped to look at places and, because of the width, we did not move when it was very windy and we were slow getting in and out of locks and some bridges as we only had a bit over a foot on either side.  We left Begles on the the 22nd Sept (or thereabouts) and got to Agde on 17th Oct.  

Reply to Discussion

RSS

© 2024   Created by Budget Boater.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service