DISASTER AFTERMATH AND PICKING UP THE PIECES

Daisy at "Le Chateau  Barreau" the new B&B

Saturday 19th May.
At this point I must beg our readers indulgence in accepting a few inaccuracies and quite possibly reporting events out of order or even not at all. We were, and remain as I write this blog some two weeks later, somewhat in shock which I suppose is not altogethet surprising.
During the previous evening I had telephoned our Insurance Company, GJW Insurance and spoken to the boss Geoff Bradshaw, himself an ex barge skipper and long term member of the DBA. I aslo spoke to both my daughters Lulu and Laura and we had sent e amils to Charlyn's family as well as to friends in the locality and around the world.

Early inspection of JC showed that she had settled considerably overnight (see photo in previous post). The pompiers returned and managed to rescue our passports (including Daisy's) and a very few other essentials including our medication. The police came back and "invited "me to make a statement. Not a problem and they were charming and supportive throughout. The VNF were equally friendly and the main problem worrying all the authorities was the possible damage to the environment caused by diesel fuel leaking out. The police did arrange for a local garage to pump our or main tank, but to this day I am unaware as to how successful he was.
My son Charlie, who had been watching cricket at Lords on the day previously and to whom I had not spoken, had beeen contacted by Lulu and arranged to come out immediately. He arrived mid afternoon and immediately took charge of the situation, coming up with several ideas that would never have occurred to us. He was a huge star throughout the whole period. He and I visited Simon Evans and arranged to borrow a dinghy, we went to the local sports shop and bough him a wet suit ans planned to visit JC the following day to retrieve what ever we could manage.
A good dinner at our favourite "Le P'tit Bersaude" and a comfortable night at the local Mercure Hotel

Sunday 20th May
The posessions salvage operation went as well as it could. Charlie inside JC in his wet suit and me on top. We managed to save a certain amount of (very) wet clothes, John Pawle's paintings and one or two small pieces of furniture, plus our new binoculars, my paint stuff and not much else. It was very difficult and cold for Charlie, particularly in our bedroom where the water was about waist deep. A long search for Charlyn's precious cross stitch (she had been working on her latest piece for about two years) was unsuccessful and our "haul" pitifully small.
We moved ourselves (with enthusiastic police help) from our expensive hotel to a really nice B&B in the next village, Chemilly, where we stayed until our departure to England.

Not a lot to show for Charlie's efforts

Monday 21st May

Quite a significant day for decisions (if not action). The insurance assessor Balliol Fowden sent by GJW arrived and we met him together with Simon Evans from the boat yard. Clearly Balliol can make no recommendations until he has been on board, and this can't happen until the barge is raised and taken down to Migennes - some 5 locks further down river. It seemed to be accepted by all that Simon is the man to take charge of that part of the operation and he came up with a plan involving  a diver to stop up the holes, not just the one that caused the sinking (More on that later) but also the throughhulls for the loo, the bath, basin and sink outlets etc. Following that the operation - from another barge- of a massive pump to pump out the water and (hopefully) raise JC to the surface, then a towing operation and finally lifting her into Simon's dry dock which would need yet another crane. All quite complicated.

We managed to locate a diver and Simon reckoned he could rent the big pump - HOWEVER - more rain ensured that the river would rise again and be closed once more and the diver said that conditions were too dangerous for him to work at present.

So now we enter the waiting period - nothing more can be done until JC is moved

Tuesady 22nd May

Charlie's work is done and he and I drove to Roscoff with a Peugeot full of wet clothes, paintings and bits of furniture. The idea was to take the ferry to Plymouth, unload into Charlie's car and ferry back to Roskoff. Not good enough for my resourceful son! He had a quiet word with who ever at the port and they agreed to unload the stuff on to  pallet, ship it to UK and take him as a foot passenger - all for the princely sum of 25 pounds - a saving of probably over four hundred pounds.

I simply turned round and headed back to Gurgy, spending in all some 14 hours in the car - thank goodness Charlie drove to Roskofff!

Wednesday 23rd May

Well it might have been the day before.  Balliol, the assessor, and I visited the lock where we presumed the damage had been done. This damage had been described to us by the pompiers' diver as  a slit some 6 inches long by two inches wide. Here we discovered that there was a sharp piece of steel at the very upstream end of the protective wall. It was agreed between us that JC had actually hit at the end of the wall, not bow on, but (as we were being pulled sideways by the current), at a point just by the watertight bulkhead between the forepeak and the main hull of the barge. This had caused a "Titanic" type slice in the hull, probably just above water level. Thus, when we entered the actual lock the hole was above water and doing nothing. It was only when we moved forward, creating a bow wave, that the bow wave itself started to fill the boat. Eventually we took on sufficient water by this intermittent means that the hole became below the water line and JC filled rapidly. This is the most logical explanation of why it took us so long (3 locks, 2 and a half pounds and about and hour and a half, to sink.

By now it was clear that nothing more was going to happen for some days and that there would be little point in hanging around. We decided to return to UK and wait for the call. Laura initially offered us the use of a house that she has for sale in Arundel. but although this was a fantastic opportunity it became clear that it could not work with Daisy as the place had to be kept immaculate for any potential buyers. She would instead let us use her own house for  a week while they were away on holiday.

Thursday 24th May

We left the Chateau and drove to Calais to spend the night in a hotel close to the ferry.

Friday 25th May

By now Charlie had come up with yet another brilliant plan. A friend of his has a mother who was living in Much Hadham (my old stamping ground) some 25 miles north of London. She had been taken to hospital recently and was not expected to return. Paul Jackson (the son) very kindly offered to let us live in the house for the duration of the summer, while the family were making up their minds as to what to do.

Here we have really fallen on our feet. The house is very pretty,has 4 bedrooms and a small patio garden where Daisy can run and is in an area which not only I know well, but where we also have a number of friends.

So we drove from Dover straight to the house and moved right in. Just like that!!!

"Batemans", High St, Much Hadham

Wednesday 29th May

We have been here for almost a week and beginning to settle in and relax. Yesterday we collected the (now dry) clothes from Gatwick Airport, where Lavinia (Charlie's wife) had left them for us when she  went on holiday.

We have acquired a new UK mobile 0044 (0) 7949568529 and have a house phone as well 0044(0) 279842885 as well as getting a dongle for the internet, which only works upstairs with an extension hanging out f the window.

I spoke to Simon Evans yesterday evening. The Yonne is in flood again and he has no plans to do anything until next Tuesday at the earliest.

As soon as we hear more I will update this blog

"Cheers!"

Thank you all again for your many messages.We do appreciate them so much and hope you will keep "abreast" of our progress by reading this blog

Daisy's patio garden

That's it for now!

Friday 31st May

Our 15th Wedding Anniversary!. Somewhat better news today. Simon E is going to try to raise JC next Monday. I will croos channel, leaving Charlyn and Daisy here, and should arrive on site Monday morning.

More news then!

Friday 7th May
Much has happened since my last entry on 31st May. I duly returned to France on Monday 2nd, arriving on site at 4.00pm that day. Plans were well in hand for towing JC down to Migennes, but although the pumping out and raising was successfully completed that day there was still a delay waiting for the necessary permit to tow from the VNF.
Consequently I took the opportunity on Tuesday to board JC and with the excellent help from Roger (of Simon's yard) and Richard Pearson of Ettie I managed to rescue a considerable amount of our belongings. These filled some 15 large plastic boxes and the same number of plastic bags. The bags contained almost all our clothing, shoes etc and the boxes some china, glass, table silver, DVDs, ornaments, photographs and (most importantly) our stock of Champagne and wine which had been "laid down" for the cruising season!
This was a pretty unpleasant task, carried out in horrid conditions as you can see from the photographs below

our bedroom

The China Cabinet

The kitchen (I think)

...and the awful mess of the guest bedroom

The desk was here!

...and worse

It was  a miracle that I managed to find anything at all and an even bigger one that (after spending some 80 euros and 6 hours in the launderette that afternoon and the following morning) most of our clothes seem to have survived in spite of spending over two weeks under water and being covered in mud!

Balliol and I also took the chance to visit once more the lock where the damage took place. We managed to satisfy ourselves that our original suspicions were almost certainly correct and that the gash in the hull (which neatly covered both the forepeak and the main bedroom thereby rendering the  watertight bulkhead useless as the gash was either side of it) had indeed taken place at the end of the wall dividing the barrage from the ecluse.. At this stage I will comment no further as the whole matter is so to speak sub judice.

On Wednesday 5th June JC was pushed backwards by Simon's tug down to his yard at Migennes, passing a further 5 locks without incident and without taking more water on board  - the gash having been temporarily filled with quick setting concrete.

I returned to UK while that operation was going on, with our little Peugeot loaded to the gunwhales with some 13 large plastic boxes and as many plastic bags (now filled with dry and clean clothes). I will return on Thursday next for the remainder, as well as for a last search for other, still missing, items.

We now wait in anticipation of the decision by the insurance company, which I am assured by Balliol Fowden will not take too long.

More next time

Tuesday 18th June
I duly went back to Migennes last Thursday (only 69.00 pounds return due to pre-booking!) catching the 8.30 am ferry to Calais and arriving Migennes at about 4.00pm. Found Richard and Julia there, busy with the re-painting of Ettie. 
Both Roger and Katie, from the yard, had done a lot in my absence. Katie had found more tablecloths etc and, bless her, washed and ironed them. Roger had put almost everything in the back of Simon's truck - so it was an easy job for me to load up thr Peugeot again. One final visit to Joli Coeur, where I found Charlyn's precious wooden teddy bear which had been made for her by her father **** years ago.
So, refusing Richrad and Julia's kind invitation to supper I hit the road again at 5.15pm and made it to Troyes where I found a hotel for the night.
Friday morning I set off in good time and arrived at Calais at 11.10 am, being booked on the 1.30 pm ferry. I asked if I could switch to the 12.30 and they replied  "Wouldn't I prefer the 11.30?" Yes please!!!
So I was back at Much Hadham shortly after 2.00pm, having eaten lunch on the ferry at 10.30am UK time!!!
More unpacking and more washing and now we have just about done everything except to clean the BBQ grill.
From here on we wait for Simon E to prepare an estimate for the complete repair and refurbishment of JC. As said befoe everyone is convinced that the cost will be more than the insured value - so we are confident that  a CTL will be decalared and that we will receive a cheque for the full insured amounts of both the hull and the contents.
It looks like we will be looking for a small cottage or bungalow somewhere in Somerset, Dorset, Devon or Cornwall. Much will depend on the exact settlement as well as our skills in driving a hard bargain!
For the moment we are off on our UK travels tomorrrow, visiting Lulu to watch Jude play cricket and then on to Charlie in Cornwall to help out with the Rock Oyster Festival.
Look out for more when we have a final decision (and hopefuly the money) from the insurer.

July 9th

It's been a long time since my last entry, and much has happened. All of it good! We duly received the written estimate from Simon Evans, which, as expected, showed that the cost of repairing JC would be greater than the insured value.
So, without delay or problem, our insurers GJW agreed to settle in full and we received the money into our bank account last week.
I cannot speak too highly of the team at GJW, both Geoff Bradshaw and Mike Sylvester, the director who handled the claim were sympathetic, understanding, helpful and got on with the job with the minimum possible delay. I thoroughly recommend GJW to any barge owner who may not be entirely satisfied with their current arrangements. In particular, I would warn anyone against making use of a Dutch insurance company. Our experience there was disastrous. Thank goodness we switched in time.
I would also like to mention the tremendous co-operation that we received from Balliol Fowden, the assessor, who smoothed the path for us in the most efficient, business like and friendly way.

We have now found a house in North Devon, in a tiny village called Yarnscombe which can only be approached via the narrowest Devon lanes and is so small that is does not appear on regular road maps (but fortunately Tom Tom can find it) The village is just a few miles from Great Torrington and not many more from Barnstaple - so we will be well within reach of water - as well as the Great Torrington Golf Club. Golf was my sport before we took to sailing and barging and the Torrington club is a joy - just 9 holes but very pretty and quite challenging enough for me in my old age. The members seem to be charming and welcoming - so I can't wait to get there.
The house is a semi-bunglaow, that is to say a bungalow with two bedrooms and a bathroom in the roof. Consequently it is deceptively big, giving us a sitting room, a dining room a kitchen and utility room together with the main guest bedroom and an office for me on the ground floor, with the master bedroom with en suite and a small single bedroom that Charlyn will use for her computing and cross stitch upstairs. The garden is smaller that I would have liked ( but the bonus is more time for golf!) but the view over the Devon countryside is absolutely stunning. This is one of the prettiest parts of England that I have ever visited, and although we don't know it at all, let alone anyone who lives there, I know we will be very happy in our new home.

We hope to move in at the beginning of September, but it might be a week or two later

So one chapter in this adventure that we call life closes and another, just as exciting begins.

We will miss our barging life where we have made many good friends, but they all know that there is now a big welcome waiting for them in Devon whenever they choose or need to take a break from the water

This will be the final entry in the Joli Coeur blog. Thank you for being part of our lives.

Written with love to you all from Simon, Charlyn and Daisy May.

God Bless