This morning started unusually when I thought I heard the sound of an alphorn in the distance. Since there are many Swiss boats moored on our pontoon, I thought that maybe one of them was playing inside their boat. But on further inspection I found that it was indeed someone on the far side of the Saone playing the alphorn. Not very well, but it provided an interesting start to the day.

Today we planned on going down to St Jean de Losne to catch up with Peter Vizzard and Judy Lynne. As we were leaving the Auxonne port parking area, we noticed a colourful display of Guild members marching towards the port for some Sunday festivities.

We drove over to SJDL and parked, and as we walked across to the Blanquarts marina where Peter and Judy were moored, we saw their old boat Zee Otter for sale in the H2O moorings. It was only listed as selling for 75000euro, which we thought was a bargain, given our previous times on the boat. But when we got to Peter and Judy they told us the full story of having sold the boat about six years ago, and since then the new owner had done absolutely no maintenance on her. Given the age of Zee Otter, that was a source of real trouble and the reason whey it was now being sold very cheaply. For someone who has the time and skiils to do the maintenance and repair work, it will be a real bargain.

When we got to see Peter and Judy, we learned about Peter's recent quadruple bypass operation. He was a lucky boy, but thankfully it has not slowed him down too much, as evidenced by his presence in France again and their plans for work on their boat. But he is not allowed to lift or push heavy weights for quite some time yet, so after a drink and some nibbles, Rita and I helped them lift some roof panels back into place in their living area (they had worked loose after the boat was empty for three years of Covid restrictions). As we left, we wished them well for an upcoming round of repair and maintenance work on their boat. We then retired to a cafe on the riverside for a cool drink, before returning to Auxonne.

The afternoon was spent reading and doing some minor jobs on-board, until the evening rewarded us with an Auxonne sunset.