For one - our ducks. They had built a nest in one of Betty's flower-pots (usually a capital offense) and today the mother duck finally decided that it was time to leave.

That is easier said than done as the pot was on the deck, the deck about 2 meters above the water. But with some help (a little nudge from behind) all 9 ducklings managed to get safely into the water.

Unfortunately the story doesn't have a happy ending. A day later only 5 little ducklings were left and who knows how many survived. Two weeks earlier we counted over 30 ducklings in the Beaucaire harbor, but due to natural predators like rats, cats, dogs, magpies, eagles and humans a week later none were left. We hope that some of our ducklings had more luck.

So finally we are ready, but likely we would still be in Beaucaire had it not been for Betty's brother Thomas. Thomas and his wife Gisela are our guests and teacher. Thomas is by education a Rhine-Captain and will guide us through our first two weeks of cruising, but even he had to sweat to get us out of our stretch of the harbor.

By not being used this leg is so silted up that we our screw was beating more mud than water. Backing up between the other moored boats (some had doubled up) with so little water isn't easy!