Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th April 2004 Visé.

Saturday 17th April 2004 Visé.

Rosy moored at Vise (picture taken in 2005)

3.6° C overnight. A sunny day after mist over the river burned away. Mike took a walk into Visé to try the cash machines. The only card which worked was Lloyds! He didn’t get money out with it though. I got on with my chores. When Mike returned from Visé, he and Bill went in the car to get Bill’s gas cylinder refilled. He went in a Fortis bank and, from their inside cash machine, he obtained the first cash from a Belgian bank! Hooray for that! It was a cash machine like no other he’d ever used, it had got a keyboard like a computer and he’d had to ask if it was a cash machine before he used it! Bill bought two containers of cheaper Belgian white diesel to store on Rosy. When they got back we sat outside on the front deck and enjoyed the sunshine for half an hour. 

Egyptian geese at Vise (picture taken in 2005)

I made us all a cup of coffee and we sat chatting with Bill. The local boaters asked all the usual questions as they passed by en route to their boats. They told us that the port is due to be refurbished, with electricity and water posts to be installed next year. Mike went next door to help Bill sort out the problem he was having with his Morse control box, which kept dropping off in power on its own. He added a washer to cause extra friction and that appeared to cure it. He also tried jacking up the engine to see if that would make the vibration less - it did - so now they will have to sort out a permanent solution to the problem before it shakes all the pipes and connections to bits. Mike lit the BBQ for the first time this year. I scrubbed some spuds and we had pork chops and sausages. When we were ready to eat Bill brought his dinner over (he’d cooked enough curry for two meals the day before and said it would go off if he cooked something else on the barbie and left his curry until the next day) and sat outside with us to eat. 

Vise. (picture taken in 2005)

We had a few beers and Bill drank the last of his French red wine. We chatted and got Fanny to collect twigs to make more charcoal. The weather turned as a front advanced, bringing rolling grey clouds, wind and spits of rain. We packed up and retired indoors to watch TV.

Sunday 18th April 2004 Visé.

Glad we decided to stay put over the weekend. First because the weather was rough, grey and very windy, then because Mike discovered a problem with Bill’s exhaust system. I decided to use the excess of eggs we’d got (couldn’t get them all in the ‘fridge door) and made a chocolate chiffon torte. After lunch Mike went to make an extra engine bearer to support Bill’s engine and discovered a break in his exhaust. Out came the welder and Bill set to work making a new flange. Mike said if they hadn’t spotted the break in the exhaust it could have blown apart while Bill was steering and (very probably) flames would have been coming out of the open end! Peter sent an SMS to say he’d made a new antenna for HF but the band appeared to be dead, the weather was dull and wet so he was going out, we’d have a go at trying out the new antenna next day. Mike lit the coal fire as the temperature dropped.