How it started - 9:15 PM, Jun. 20, 2005

Here I am, new to sailing; + new to blogs.

Married a sailor / mountaineer, and spent most of the  next 26 years not participating in husband's (aka Popeye)  activities, due to children, job etc.

2002: 2 kids have flown nest, the 2 others are able to fly -  we plan reccy visit to Croatia in September. Daughter number 2 throws a wobbly about starting higher education, so Croatia replaced by Ardèche ( have an excellent address BTW).

2003: Get "parental authorisation" ( kids authorise parents ) to go for it.Research shows that campsites are  mainly the size of industrial estates, and fairly nudist.Too prude to do nude, so look at renting a lighthouse. Lighthouses are all extremely remote, fine for a honeymoon, but don't forget, Popeye + I have been together for 24 years , so we go for a "boat".

Next episode (if I can keep this up):

How "galèretours" got its name

The "boat"

Hints on emptying the slop bucket in a town harbour with a minimum of discretion

The broken rib