Le Boat operations at Hesse
One of the advantages of our delayed departure was that we were granted a late return time, round 11, and a free boat cleaning service. Both very much appreciated as it felt like we were still on holiday this morning.
Another chilly start so we enjoyed our tea in bed staying warm. The heating on this boat doesn’t seem to work at all well in the main cabin. So Mike did say this morning it is a good time to be heading home, even though the daytime temperatures have been very warm and for the most part we have had glorious sunny days. Today was no exception.
The picture to the right is of our mooring, and below as we cruised towards Hesse,
Getting there! Enjoying a morning cuppa.
Enjoyed our short cruise back to Hesse, it had warmed up, the birds were flitting across the canal and we both enjoyed our last stint at the wheel. The morning light was beautiful and loved the reflections in the canal.
I reversed the boat into a mooring we selected with Mikes guidance and we were doing very well until one of the boat staff asked us to move it one bay to starboard. Well the wheels came off a bit at that point as it all got a bit confusing.
As a postscript our visit to Henrietta went very well, although it was a foul day (raining and high winds) we really liked her and decided to proceed with the purchase. Now we just have to work through our sailing dates for next year as the ones Mike Bolton put us down for don’t really work for us. We also took the opportunity to meet up with Steve Mace and his wife Fiona in Gent, a lovely couple and hopefully we will see more of them in the future.
No harm done however, we got into our berth and go on with the last bits of sorting, packing up the car and making a picnic for our drive to Maastricht. The check out process was very smooth and we were on our way by 11.30. If we purchase Henrietta this may be the last time we rent a boat with Le Boat. Although our boat was 22 years old and showing some signs of age, she ran well, we got used to handling her and the staff at the base were excellent. All in all a very good experience.
