We are John and Jane Rose, from Australia. In 2016 we bought a 100 year old, 19-metre Dutch barge, called Eben Haezer in Belgium and sailed her south into France.

We had limited experience with boats, almost no experience of extended travelling in Europe, and virtually no language skills.

We survived. Actually, we thrived. We had a bloody wonderful time, and will be returning for more in 2017 and, we hope, in years beyond that.

We wondered whether you and others might be interested in our story and the stories yet to come. So on that off-chance we decided to set up this little blog.

We hope you might find something in these pages to interest, delight and stir you. If you do, please let us know. If you have questions, please fire away. If you want to add something of your own experiences and thoughts, please feel free.

Why “scraping” through France? Our boat is about 19 metres long, nearly 4 metres wide, weighs 38 tonnes and travels at about 6-8 kilometres per hour (much more slowly when entering a lock). Locks in France, of which there are thousands, are mainly of the “Freycinet” gauge, meaning they are 5.09 metres wide (less any shrinkage over the years), and they are made of brick or stone. The wind blows, the current strikes, the skipper overcompensates, and there is the inevitable meeting of iron hull with hard lockside. Ditto when going through a dark, dank tunnel or coming alongside a quay, a dock or a bankside mooring on a countryside canal. Nothing serious, but it often leaves a little scar, so we always keep our paint pot handy. At first we felt shame and frustration at our bumps and scrapes, but that gave way quickly to a philosophical resignation…. c’est la vie sur les canaux!

Exploring France should never be hurried. On a big old boat, on a canal, there is no other choice. So we invite you to join us here as we scrape our way through the places we love and towards those we have yet to fall in love with…..