This weekend was tough for two reasons. The first, and most obvious is that it was very hard work hauling furniture and belongings out of my (now former) barge in Belgium. I have finally managed to sell it to a young Belgian man who has become quite a friend in the last few weeks, so I can say with honesty and from my heart that I wish him years of pleasure and happiness on the Ténacité. It is a friendly, homely boat and I'm sure it will embrace him kindly.
The other tough part was saying goodbye to my barge. This picture was taken the weekend I first saw it, and I fell in love with it despite the decrepitude. It's been a lot of work to scrape and paint the hull, strip and sand the wheelhouse and build in a bathroom, bedroom and kitchen, but the result was a boat that many say is beautiful, even though I know it isn't really. The Ténacité has given us three years of wonderful holidays and weekends; endless opportunities to explore the Belgian countyside and towns; countless days of enjoying just being elsewhere on a boat that you can also call home. I'll miss it both sadly and badly, but it was time to go.
This weekend was tough for two reasons. The first, and most obvious is that it was very hard work hauling furniture and belongings out of my (now former) barge in Belgium. I have finally managed to sell it to a young Belgian man who has become quite a friend in the last few weeks, so I can say with honesty and from my heart that I wish him years of pleasure and happiness on the Ténacité. It is a friendly, homely boat and I'm sure it will embrace him kindly.
The other tough part was saying goodbye to my barge. This picture was taken the weekend I first saw it, and I fell in love with it despite the decrepitude. It's been a lot of work to scrape and paint the hull, strip and sand the wheelhouse and build in a bathroom, bedroom and kitchen, but the result was a boat that many say is beautiful, even though I know it isn't really. The Ténacité has given us three years of wonderful holidays and weekends; endless opportunities to explore the Belgian countyside and towns; countless days of enjoying just being elsewhere on a boat that you can also call home. I'll miss it both sadly and badly, but it was time to go.
