Next installment (I've been distracted for the past week, our first grandchild was born a week ago Sunday!) Our original thinking was to head south through France to the Mediterranean for the winter with Barcelona being our preferred harbor. But we were open to other ideas. Other American friends had stayed in Valence France the previous winter (2003/2004) on the Rhone River, so that was one of the places we wanted to check out. We also talked to a number of other boaters; several were staying at Beaucaire (southern France near the Med), others had stay at Roanne (just north & west of Lyon) and one sail boat heading north had stayed at Barcelona the previous winter. He asked if we had a reservation yet - no we didn't - this was early August and he thought they would be full already. >From my cruising guide I picked several harbors around Barcelona and sent emails. One did not respond, another (our preferred choice) was full and the third would put us on a waiting list & sent a price sheet. We stopped for a week at St. Jean de Losne on the Soane River. This was the first town in France we found with "real" boat services, two ship chandleries, mechanics, haul-out facilities, etc. We did boat maintenance (oil change, fuel filters), shopping, cleaning etc., generally hung out for the week (the local cruisers have also organized a great book swap). While there I got a quote for a winter berth, quite a bit cheaper than the email quote from the harbor south of Barcelona. Several British cruisers like wintering in Beaucaire, roughly 40 km from the Med, but we heard some negatives from other cruisers. When we arrived at Valence (110 km south of Lyon and about 170 km north of the Med) we had decided to spend a couple of days to "check it out". The harbor is owned and operated by the Valence Chamber of Commerce. They had spent almost a 1M Euros the previous year expanding & improving the harbor and had added 3 new pontoons and 75 to 80 new slips. We like the city (population around 70,000) with a great shopping district in the old town section and pretty much all the services we would need. There is also a Geant super store (like a Wal-Mart + supermarket - they even stocked Old El Paso brand Tex-Mex!) near the harbor (easy bike ride but a 20 min. walk). The down side to the harbor is that it is a bit far from the stores & the city center but easy bicycling & had a bus stop about 1 mile away. So I asked the harbor master about a slip for the winter - the price clinched the deal, 874 Euros for six months, about 1/3 the cost of the Med harbors, water included but electricity billed separately (16 Amp & 32 Amp service). And "Legrace" would be in fresh water instead of salt. We weren’t the only ones to pick Valence, there were about 20 other non-French live-aboards who wintered with us, English, Dutch, German, New Zealand, Norway, Australian and us Americans plus several other couples (British & Irish) who left there boats in Valence and made trips back & forth every few weeks. Weather on the Med would have been warmer than Valence. Normal lows in Valence are around -1 C (about 30F) but this past winter was much harder than normal. But it wasn't too bad although the locals were complaining about the hardest winter in 50 years. The lowest temp was -4 C (about 25F) but that was only a couple of times at night. The water temp was never below +8 C (about 47F) and many locals don't winterize their boats because they run them on nice weekends all winter. So the Webasco furnace on "Legrace" got a workout keeping us cozy. We had snow 4 or 5 times but it melted quickly and was gone in the afternoon. The winter was hard because we heard that Barcelona even had snow. What was new for us weather wise, were the winds. They only blow from the north or from the south at Valence - no other directions. The Mistrals (north winds) start around Valence and follow the Rhone valley to blow out over the Med. These can be very strong and last for days. The locals say they blow for either 3, 6, or 9 days or perhaps longer. Generally there is no precipitation with the Mistrals, mostly clear skies and cold air. The other winds are from the south and bring moisture with warm temperatures and typically rain at some point. If the south winds blow strongly for several days you can get reddish dust from the Sahara. The Mistrals from the north were very different for us ex-Midwestern's. I am use to fronts moving through with strong winds but the winds change or die down as the front passes. But not the Mistrals, they do last for days and days. They also don't die down at night which is something else I am use to. The wind speed may decrease a little at night but not much. The constant low moaning of the Mistral did get on Lynn's nerves a couple of times. Overall we highly recommend Valence and several of our friends are planning to winter there again. Fuel & Prices & Cash vs Credit Cards We purchased fuel 7 times on "Legrace". Last year after breaking in the engine by running hard up and down the IJsselmeer we bought fuel for the first time in Stavoren, NL. at a gas station that serviced cars on one side of the pumps and boats on the other. They had the best prices in the area 0.813 Euros/Liter ($3.78/gal). But they would only accept cash or a Dutch bank debit card. That is typical in the Netherlands when buying fuel at marinas or bunker ships. Our next fuel purchase was in Liege Belgium. Belgium has the some of the best fuel prices for boats because you can buy un-taxed red diesel. We bought #2 Diesel for 0.425 Euro/Liter ($1.98/gal). The bunker ship accepted Dutch bank debit card. Along the French canals and some rivers, fuel can be hard to find and expensive. Sometimes the charter companies will have a fuel pump for servicing their boats and in a pinch will sell to other boaters. Many times the sail boaters will lug jerry cans back & forth from local gas stations but that is not an option for us when buying 600 or 800 liters. Over the winter we bought fuel twice in Valence at 1.02 Euros/liter ($4.75/gal) and they accepted all major credit cards. Just before we left Valence this past spring we topped up, at 0.99 Euros/liter ($4.61/gal). >From our past cruising on the Seine River, we knew there were bunker ships servicing barges but most of them only had un-taxed red diesel which is illegal for pleasure boats France. There is a bunker ship at St Mammes on the Seine, that sells "white" diesel in addition to red for the barges. Fortunately I asked the day before we planned to buy fuel about price and method of payment; 1.14 Euro/liter ($5.31/gal) and cash only! Lynn commented later that was probably our biggest cash purchase ever - we cut off the pump at 530 Euros. Our last purchase was in Dover, UK. (also red un-taxed diesel - legal for boats) £0.40/liter ($2.76/gal) and all major credit cards accepted. More Later, Bob & Lynn Williamson MV Legrace Aquanaut Drifter 1250 AK