Thank Peter! The next two videos we're planning are also on the French Canals so stay tuned :-) It would be interesting to go UP the Rhone. We came down the Soane and Rhone on our trip and I think the reverse trip might be fun (so long as there wasn't too much current)
We did this exact route last year, from Le Havre to Port St Louis, and before we made the journey, we had watched one of your videos entering such a small lock! We thought if a large yacht like yours can go down, we surely would be ok. You made it look so easy! (Also The Frenchwaterway site below is a wealth of info!)
Hi guys, I arrived in Paris with my motorcycle as a youngster in 1995. Went around France starting in Normandie (50 th anniversary of ''D DAY'' without knowing), followed the Castle wine road to bordeaux and then the Riviera. Got back to Paris via the Napoleon route though the Alps. Best trip of my life. I highly recommend visiting France.
Awesome video. Who knew that canal was there. Loved watching Ruby Rose adventures through France and i know they were inspired by yours. Very pleased to see you have videos of your yours too.
Just a great video, I've been to Paris many times and I never knew about the canal , my wife if from paris he he, I have motored a bit of the Sein great clean marinas and great food and wine , yep the french know how to live , looking forward to the next episode x
My wife and I hope to buy a canal boat one day, retire and live and travel through France and other parts of Europe our boat will take us. This was one of our favorite travels with you when it first came out. Nice to see it again in it's newer form.
Lovely video. I've been to Paris probably more than 10 times and didn't realise these underwater canals existed. I've heard of many cruisers going from UK to Med via the French canals. Seems like a wonderful way to travel; so serene!
I must say it's as if I was watching it professionally done documentary. Kudos to both of you you should be very proud of the work that you have done not only on your boat but with the production of your videos. I am a new fan and will continue watching.
Thanks for this great video. We are in Dover currently awaiting the new season, and contemplating the trip down to the Med via the French canals. Our concern about our 1.8m draft is the main thing we need to work through. You guys' narration is really good.
You seem to have inspired Nick and Teresa over on the Ruby Rose channel...... ! We're all still waiting to hear about their travails in and on the canals of France, no doubt inspired by you two. Love these archive films by the way.
Paul and Sheryl have been hugely inspiring to us and yes, we never would have thought to do the French canals if it weren't for these videos, which we watched many years ago while we were living in London and still in the preparation/dreaming stage!
Thanks to you, my bucket list just got longer! You've also made a powerful argument against me getting a catamaran. Your thoughts on this? How does that shallow draft work in heavy seas?
You guys look great, so relaxed. I wish you had more new shows, I miss the weekly shows. Your French Canal Series is one of my favorites and it's #2 on my bucket list. Keep making great videos!
Always love your channel for all the thoughtful insight and technical aspects.. since we can't travel you provide our vicarious need to get away with you from the comfort of our home
6:58 "Now top heavy with a mast... ...on deck." Isn't your mast always on deck? And doesn't laying it down instead of standing it up lower the center of gravity? You're less top heavy than usual.
That must have been amazing. I just visited London and Paris for the first time almost one year ago. I can imagine that it must be even more exciting to visit by boat.
@ Cale You're right, of course, the boat would have less roll imparted due to the mast mass being lowered, and it's righting moment increased dramatically. It's just the perception of the boat being different, because they're not used to having it all down at just above deck level.
Don't forget that the keel would have been raised for this trip and that would have raised the center of balance as the lowering of the mast would have reduced it.
You are right Cale. The centre of gravity of the boat is lower with the mast and rigging down.That mast is pretty heavy and it sure felt a bit unsteady balanced on my mast supports and like it might try to break free when we rolled.
Thanks for all the great ideas guys. I was in Dublin a few weeks ago, didn’t do the Guiness factory (season 8) thought of you as I passed by and then sailed back up the Irish Sea. You have been to so many wonderful places but the one that stands out for me is Syria. You captured it on film before it was destroyed, so sad what a great loss to civilisation. Most places you could go back to but not that one. Keep up the good work, I’m looking forward to the new season DVD, can I pre order?
I've lived in Paris for the last 9 years and I've never seen a commercial barge (Peniche) in the Canal Saint Martin. I thought that they were all diverting from the Canal Ourcq (from the River Marne by the NE) to the Canal de Saint-Denis (to join the Seine to the NW) at La Villette, thereby bypassing the center of Paris. I'm happy that you proved me wrong. great video. I haven't seen yet seen the continuation of this series, but I saw what appeared to be an overview video of your entire journey through the canals. I do hope that in upcoming videos on this tour, that you have been more specific in identifying your route and where you are at different points for those limited few of us who are familiar with the localities. I think that you may have departed the Seine at Saint Mammes (near Fontainebleau) and followed the Canal du Loing south from there. If so, that must have been spectacular. I've bicycled its towpath many times... Cheers!
Thanks Mason! We did indeed travel through the Loing-Briare-Lateral a la Loire route canal route to Chalon sur Saone then the Saone/Rhone to the Med... And you're right it was spectacular!! 👍❤️
Well I am intregued by what you did..when you lowered your mast.. surely this would have been extra weight this increasing your diesel costs ?? I would love to know the cost of transporting a mast..it would make an interesting comparison.. And just for the record I'm Keen to do the same thing..I have spent the weekend perusing boat's from 35 feet...
First of all congratulations, I've neve wounder how spectacular one trip like this could be, thank you very much for sharing. Would be very nice if you share the amount of money you are spending in this journey. It would help our plannings.
What a neat passage, thanks for putting this on youtube!! Isn't there a place where we can buy y'alls content? I can't remember the name of the site for the life of me... But you used to sell all the content in a package.
Interesting video - Thanks.... Btw, with the mast down in the position you fixed it, its more stable then having up right, as you lowered the centre of gravity...
Well done with this presentation. I found it disconcerting going along the underground canal. Not a time for lack of attention. Living in southern California I found myself wondering what would happen should an earthquake make its appearance with all those bricks overhead.
very enjoyable, thank you! but. . . and i am sure i speak for many on this, but it would be nice to have a more leisurely sail down the seine from the le havre all the way to paris. this condensed version is nice, but the sense of landscape is lost when you cut from le havre to chateau gaillard to the eiffel tower. for those of us who have sailed, a really long - and perhaps boring to others - video would be sublime!
It just dawned on me..did the boom go with the mast on this journey ?? Obviously the boom is an important piece of rigging and I I only saw the mast in the footage..
Yes, you can charter a boat - many sizes/types and bases through out the 10,000km network. www.french-waterways.com/boating-holidays-vacations/hire-boating-holidays/ You don't need qualifications, but obviously knowing how to handle a boat helps a lot!
It was fine and just smelled like the river until our boats were all milking around waiting for the barge at the end. Then the diesel fumes from the boat motors started to be noticeable. 😅
U.S. Marines guard American embassies around the world and I was one of those embassy Marines during the time-frame '71-'73 assigned to L'Ambassade des États-Unis after my stint as a personal guard to the American ambassador, Ellsworth Bunker, in Saigon (now named as Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam. In the video, above, and at 1:09 just beyond the bridge you see in the foreground, there to the right is a street named Rue Rouelle. The Marine House for the Paris Detachment was a shanty built atop the embassy warehouse and was numbered 3 Rue Rouelle (enter grid coordinates 48.851163, 2.285760 into Google Maps and click on the spy glass). If today (May 19, 2020) you enter the address, 3 Rue Rouelle, Paris, France, into Google Maps, the pointer will be placed at 25 Rue Rouelle because 3 Rue Rouelle does not exist any more. Buildings at the end of Rue Rouelle intersecting with Quai de Grenelle have been torn down to the left and right of Rue Rouelle and Rue Rouelle has been widened to accomodate a park dedicated to Bela Bartok, a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. The grid coordinates, provided above, point to the approximate location of the single metal door which provided, something like 67, steps leading up to the Marine House. Each Friday night we would host a TGIF (Thank Goodness It's Friday) party and, those in the know--French citizens et al., would traverse those 67 steps, pay a low admission fee, purchase our reduced booze prices (5 New Francs ~= $1.00 USD in those days), and dance on our dance floor to our new juke box containing the new/current American hits recorded on 45 RPM records--those charges/fees we collected paid for our yearly birthday balls celebrated on 10 November each year. I, regularly, ran in shorts and combat boots the length and breadth of L'Allée des Cygnes (Path of the Swans) on Île aux Cygnes six times, three roundtrips equalling roughly 3 miles, and salute the Statue of Liberty replica as I ran by each time. It was great fun back in those days. The Marines guarded five (5) buildings in and around Paris during my years there, one of which was the Tallyrand Building (48.866653, 2.324175), now referred to as Hôtel de Talleyrand and/or as Hôtel de Saint-Florentin. During 1972 shortly after a bombing campaign waged by the U.S. in Vietnam and during strikes by the Metro (subway) system and taxi companies in which the whole of Paris was gridlocked into one big traffic jam of non-moving cars, the Tallyrand Building was attacked by several hundred communist sympathizers following a well-coordinated plan. The secured gates prevented entry so, an American flag (theirs) was burned suspended on one side of the gates and the effigy of Nixon was hanged by the throat and burned on the other side. Four (4) demonstrators climbed over the tall spikes of the gates/fence-line, removed the chain wrapped around the large door knobs (there was no lock, per se, just a chain we Marines wrapped in a figure 8 format around the knobs) and allowed a bunch of demonstrators into the interior lot. They began smashing windows, using the metal, portable, parking signs for designated embassy vehicles, and throwing baggies of red paint against the exterior walls. The front door of the building looking out into the court yard was pretty much all glass and some of the demonstrators ran up to the front door and windows and smashed the glass. One Marine in his Dress Blue Delta uniform presented himself within the foyer in plain view of the demonstrators with his right hand on the pistol grip of his revolver still in its holster ready to pull and use it if necessary. I wasn't about to let anyone in without a fight. I dodged baggies of red paint as they sailed over and past me coating the walls behind me with red paint. As quickly as it started, all demonstrators retreated through the gates then two photographers raced back into the court yard to rhe steps of the front door, turned facing the gates, and positioned their cameras. One, lone demonstrator with mid-length black hair and dark beard raced towards the front door carrying the North Vietnamese flag high overhead shouting as he ran and slipped the flag staff through the door handles of the front door while the cameras flashed repeatedly taking pictures of him charging and positioning the NV flag in the door handles which were immediately below the American Embassy Seal above the door. Then they all retreated towards the gate. I reached out through the broken windows of the door, pulled the NV flag staff from the door handles and flung it onto the steps. There was no retaliation by the demonstrators who had, already, begun to exit to my right towards Rue Saint-Honoré. Just another interesting evening. I have more tales to tell: I and three other Marines expelled communist demonstrators attempting to disrupt the November 7, 1972 election results being celebrated in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel (I think it was the Hilton); Barney-the-brick takes out a cop car; a delightful, funny fight at Bar les pirates; Danny Pardean badly cut from a brawl at a local bar and the Marines retaliated by destroying the bar; and there were some more, gentler occurances. Then I and others were assigned to augment the Helsinki Marine Detachment for several months providing security for the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks). Then off to Brussels, Belgium and Frankfort, Germany. What an era that was. I apologize for going astray. A flood of memories poured over me after seeing the Statue of Liberty replica on the tip of Île aux Cygnes.
I am a grumpy 60 year old man with a lot off humor. The only thing I could do on a boat is cook (very bloody good) take a watch now and then and fix your PC lol ! Hard work is not for me by docters order. Do I have any chance of evr crossing an ocean?
LOL if you don't get seasick cooks are always in high demand on offshore passages (that's if you aren't really too grumpy :-) There may be an ocean crossing in your future!
So... part 1 is called Sailing Destinations - Paris and the French Canals . Part 2 is absolutely logically called Sailing South through France, and part 3, quelle surprise, is called Part 3. 😀 You should probably rename a few videos for smoother viewing by people who just accidentally bump into your channel.
One of the best french canal cruising videos I found on UA-cam, maybe we start our own journey next year the Rhone up with our boat
Thank Peter! The next two videos we're planning are also on the French Canals so stay tuned :-)
It would be interesting to go UP the Rhone. We came down the Soane and Rhone on our trip and I think the reverse trip might be fun (so long as there wasn't too much current)
We did this exact route last year, from Le Havre to Port St Louis, and before we made the journey, we had watched one of your videos entering such a small lock! We thought if a large yacht like yours can go down, we surely would be ok. You made it look so easy! (Also The Frenchwaterway site below is a wealth of info!)
France is my favorite episode
Hi guys, I arrived in Paris with my motorcycle as a youngster in 1995. Went around France starting in Normandie (50 th anniversary of ''D DAY'' without knowing), followed the Castle wine road to bordeaux and then the Riviera. Got back to Paris via the Napoleon route though the Alps. Best trip of my life. I highly recommend visiting France.
That would have been wonderful and a great way to see France Marc! Nice!
Civilisation, friendly polite people, gorgeous countryside and wonderful 10,000km of canals to explore, wine, bread, cheese . . . Brilliant!
Awesome video. Who knew that canal was there. Loved watching Ruby Rose adventures through France and i know they were inspired by yours. Very pleased to see you have videos of your yours too.
Just a great video, I've been to Paris many times and I never knew about the canal , my wife if from paris he he, I have motored a bit of the Sein great clean marinas and great food and wine , yep the french know how to live , looking forward to the next episode x
I would love to travel along the Seine river. What a great idea.
Very nice. And excellent comments.
At 07:32 you see a little red ferry. That's Duclair where we lived when I was little.
What a gift it is to find you guys!!!!
My wife and I hope to buy a canal boat one day, retire and live and travel through France and other parts of Europe our boat will take us. This was one of our favorite travels with you when it first came out. Nice to see it again in it's newer form.
The world's oldest temporary structure. Well done, Gustave.
Lovely video. I've been to Paris probably more than 10 times and didn't realise these underwater canals existed. I've heard of many cruisers going from UK to Med via the French canals. Seems like a wonderful way to travel; so serene!
I must say it's as if I was watching it professionally done documentary. Kudos to both of you you should be very proud of the work that you have done not only on your boat but with the production of your videos. I am a new fan and will continue watching.
Thanks for this great video. We are in Dover currently awaiting the new season, and contemplating the trip down to the Med via the French canals. Our concern about our 1.8m draft is the main thing we need to work through. You guys' narration is really good.
You seem to have inspired Nick and Teresa over on the Ruby Rose channel...... ! We're all still waiting to hear about their travails in and on the canals of France, no doubt inspired by you two. Love these archive films by the way.
Paul and Sheryl have been hugely inspiring to us and yes, we never would have thought to do the French canals if it weren't for these videos, which we watched many years ago while we were living in London and still in the preparation/dreaming stage!
Thanks guys 💕❤️🇫🇷 it looks like you had a great trip in the Midi and we’ll look forward to seeing your videos when they come out!!
Cool video... Had to take a break from traveling in France... I do nothing but eat to much when visiting.. get hungry just watching this.. 😊
haha yes we had similar problems. We even bought bikes to get more exercise but then I'd ride from the boat to the patisserie :-)
Beautiful xx
First time on the channel. VERY impressive subject mater and nice video work.
Thanks Gary and welcome aboard :-)
I always love your videos but this one leaves me in awe,,, WOW...
Thanks J Mo! I was a very fun trip for sure! Glad you enjoyed it. We're doing a "Part 2" next week :-)
@@DistantShoresTV looking forward to seeing it. Thanks
Wow, what a special experience. Man, the list builds up!
Thanks to you, my bucket list just got longer! You've also made a powerful argument against me getting a catamaran. Your thoughts on this? How does that shallow draft work in heavy seas?
I believe they had a swing keel.
You guys look great, so relaxed. I wish you had more new shows, I miss the weekly shows. Your French Canal Series is one of my favorites and it's #2 on my bucket list. Keep making great videos!
Always love your channel for all the thoughtful insight and technical aspects.. since we can't travel you provide our vicarious need to get away with you from the comfort of our home
I would love to do this one day - looks adventurous!
Danny, it was a great voyage. I hope you get the opportunity to do this one day.
Nice Trip down memory lane .
How cool was that
Really glad you decided to create this content. Thank you!
Your French canal and Erie Canal videos were my favorite.....I liked the old Two Step episodes too.
Great job...Thanks for info....Thanks for sharing...
What an incredible journey through the canals. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to the continuation of that adventure.
6:58
"Now top heavy with a mast... ...on deck."
Isn't your mast always on deck? And doesn't laying it down instead of standing it up lower the center of gravity? You're less top heavy than usual.
What a wonderful trip!!!
Have so enjoyed watching you through all your travels. You are inspiring, educational and entertaining! Thank you-
Great video as always. I sure wish new episodes were on TV (AWE Channel). 👍
I love your videos because they are so exquisitely filmed.
Wow such a cool experience
Your videos are really inspiring! Thanks for sharing.
Ok, that was cool and I had no idea of the beauty of it all, but seeing so close is amazing. Thank you for sharing. :)peace
Great video, thanks! If I don't end up going cruising, this is my fallback!
Nice trip in France...Looking forward to seeing the next episode DS TV :-)
Oh THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I've wanted to see this for years :)))
Glad to help!
love your videos, as always. before finding your series we'd no idea you could traverse France by boat. Someday.
Great to see another series coming out!
What an awesome trip! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Just amazing!
A very nice report,, thanks for sharing ..well done
Awesome job fellow Canadians!
Awesome! I wanted to travel the rivers of Europe since my youth. What a beautiful experience and thank you for filming it to share!
Awesome 👍👍
Yep, definitely want to do this one day. Glad you did it because I'd never even heard of it before this... Cheers for now... ;-}
Wonderful, I do admire your courage and breathed again when you were through it.🇦🇺 cheers.
You guys are amazing! What a way to see Paris! Thank you so much for sharing. Enjoying your videos.
Glad you enjoyed the video Timothy!
Fantastic!
What a unique trip!
love the video
That must have been amazing. I just visited London and Paris for the first time almost one year ago. I can imagine that it must be even more exciting to visit by boat.
seines mouth is quite far from london . you could also go from netherlands and belgium canals to paris
I have never been to France but would like to explore the country in this manner of transportation.
Turns out you can travel France and also Holland and Germany with the canals!
@@DistantShoresTV Wow, it seems to be such a tranquil way to explore the world.
@@TheErricBrown It is. Wonderful.
How can your boat be more ¨top-heavy¨ with the mast laying on deck instead of standing up??
Give 'em a break- they're sailors, not engineers!
@ Cale You're right, of course, the boat would have less roll imparted due to the mast mass being lowered, and it's righting moment increased dramatically. It's just the perception of the boat being different, because they're not used to having it all down at just above deck level.
Don't forget that the keel would have been raised for this trip and that would have raised the center of balance as the lowering of the mast would have reduced it.
@@trialsport While they may have raised the keel for the actual canals, they had no reason to do so in the Seine.
You are right Cale. The centre of gravity of the boat is lower with the mast and rigging down.That mast is pretty heavy and it sure felt a bit unsteady balanced on my mast supports and like it might try to break free when we rolled.
Hi from rainy Switzerland!
Thanks for all the great ideas guys. I was in Dublin a few weeks ago, didn’t do the Guiness factory (season 8) thought of you as I passed by and then sailed back up the Irish Sea. You have been to so many wonderful places but the one that stands out for me is Syria. You captured it on film before it was destroyed, so sad what a great loss to civilisation. Most places you could go back to but not that one.
Keep up the good work, I’m looking forward to the new season DVD, can I pre order?
I can't wait for the next episode! You two do wonderful video documentaries! Thanks!
Thanks so much for the kind words Dean!
France has fantastic canals. We also sailed over the former Canal de l'Est. But if you can't speak french it is sometimes very difficult.
I've lived in Paris for the last 9 years and I've never seen a commercial barge (Peniche) in the Canal Saint Martin. I thought that they were all diverting from the Canal Ourcq (from the River Marne by the NE) to the Canal de Saint-Denis (to join the Seine to the NW) at La Villette, thereby bypassing the center of Paris. I'm happy that you proved me wrong. great video. I haven't seen yet seen the continuation of this series, but I saw what appeared to be an overview video of your entire journey through the canals. I do hope that in upcoming videos on this tour, that you have been more specific in identifying your route and where you are at different points for those limited few of us who are familiar with the localities. I think that you may have departed the Seine at Saint Mammes (near Fontainebleau) and followed the Canal du Loing south from there. If so, that must have been spectacular. I've bicycled its towpath many times... Cheers!
Thanks Mason!
We did indeed travel through the Loing-Briare-Lateral a la Loire route canal route to Chalon sur Saone then the Saone/Rhone to the Med... And you're right it was spectacular!! 👍❤️
Amazing.
Thank you so much, really inspiring. Amazing. Great Video.
Well I am intregued by what you did..when you lowered your mast.. surely this would have been extra weight this increasing your diesel costs ??
I would love to know the cost of transporting a mast..it would make an interesting comparison..
And just for the record I'm Keen to do the same thing..I have spent the weekend perusing boat's from 35 feet...
Nooooo that was good, wanted to see more of Paris.
It's on my bucket list with my Aquarius 21 swing keel.
First of all congratulations, I've neve wounder how spectacular one trip like this could be, thank you very much for sharing. Would be very nice if you share the amount of money you are spending in this journey. It would help our plannings.
incredible footage and travels!
What a neat passage, thanks for putting this on youtube!! Isn't there a place where we can buy y'alls content? I can't remember the name of the site for the life of me... But you used to sell all the content in a package.
It was wonderful then (2012) and it's wonderful now.
Interesting video - Thanks.... Btw, with the mast down in the position you fixed it, its more stable then having up right, as you lowered the centre of gravity...
Correct. The boat is more stable but I did feel the mast itself was a bit wiggly with the temporary lashings and wooden horses etc...
I have a Cornish Shrimper 19 I would like to do this trip in it. Now to sail it from Spain or trailer it to France.
Amazing ! What an experience, I wanna do 2 ! lol
Would love to do the canals on our narrowboat. 63ft x 6.10 ft
Awesome vidéo... Thank youuuuu....
Well done with this presentation. I found it disconcerting going along the underground canal. Not a time for lack of attention. Living in southern California I found myself wondering what would happen should an earthquake make its appearance with all those bricks overhead.
Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing.
very enjoyable, thank you! but. . . and i am sure i speak for many on this, but it would be nice to have a more leisurely sail down the seine from the le havre all the way to paris. this condensed version is nice, but the sense of landscape is lost when you cut from le havre to chateau gaillard to the eiffel tower. for those of us who have sailed, a really long - and perhaps boring to others - video would be sublime!
Как с другой планеты!...
I wonder why you would not turn the boat to cross the wakes at a more perpendicular angle and reduce the side to side action of going straight.
It just dawned on me..did the boom go with the mast on this journey ?? Obviously the boom is an important piece of rigging and I I only saw the mast in the footage..
Yes, the boom is lying on the deck so is not always in view.
Any other countries and waterways?
Thanks for this inland tour, on a sailboat no less! Is it possible to charter a canal boat? What kind of licensing is required?
Yes, you can charter a boat - many sizes/types and bases through out the 10,000km network. www.french-waterways.com/boating-holidays-vacations/hire-boating-holidays/ You don't need qualifications, but obviously knowing how to handle a boat helps a lot!
That would be a dream. Dutch houseboat through paris.
i'm actually 1.85m draft.. can i cross it??thanks
What was the smell like in the tunnel?
It was fine and just smelled like the river until our boats were all milking around waiting for the barge at the end. Then the diesel fumes from the boat motors started to be noticeable. 😅
Notre Dam. You must have filmed before the fire ?
Well NO SHIT?!!
Well that was different from the plethora of yachting vids.
Why the flag of Canada is too small?
Totally remember that thumbnail from the last mission impossible movie.
Yes we saw that one too! Probably many who saw MI thought they'd made up a set for it and that it wasn't a real place :-)
U.S. Marines guard American embassies around the world and I was one of those embassy Marines during the time-frame '71-'73 assigned to L'Ambassade des États-Unis after my stint as a personal guard to the American ambassador, Ellsworth Bunker, in Saigon (now named as Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam.
In the video, above, and at 1:09 just beyond the bridge you see in the foreground, there to the right is a street named Rue Rouelle. The Marine House for the Paris Detachment was a shanty built atop the embassy warehouse and was numbered 3 Rue Rouelle (enter grid coordinates 48.851163, 2.285760 into Google Maps and click on the spy glass). If today (May 19, 2020) you enter the address, 3 Rue Rouelle, Paris, France, into Google Maps, the pointer will be placed at 25 Rue Rouelle because 3 Rue Rouelle does not exist any more. Buildings at the end of Rue Rouelle intersecting with Quai de Grenelle have been torn down to the left and right of Rue Rouelle and Rue Rouelle has been widened to accomodate a park dedicated to Bela Bartok, a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. The grid coordinates, provided above, point to the approximate location of the single metal door which provided, something like 67, steps leading up to the Marine House. Each Friday night we would host a TGIF (Thank Goodness It's Friday) party and, those in the know--French citizens et al., would traverse those 67 steps, pay a low admission fee, purchase our reduced booze prices (5 New Francs ~= $1.00 USD in those days), and dance on our dance floor to our new juke box containing the new/current American hits recorded on 45 RPM records--those charges/fees we collected paid for our yearly birthday balls celebrated on 10 November each year. I, regularly, ran in shorts and combat boots the length and breadth of L'Allée des Cygnes (Path of the Swans) on Île aux Cygnes six times, three roundtrips equalling roughly 3 miles, and salute the Statue of Liberty replica as I ran by each time. It was great fun back in those days.
The Marines guarded five (5) buildings in and around Paris during my years there, one of which was the Tallyrand Building (48.866653, 2.324175), now referred to as Hôtel de Talleyrand and/or as Hôtel de Saint-Florentin. During 1972 shortly after a bombing campaign waged by the U.S. in Vietnam and during strikes by the Metro (subway) system and taxi companies in which the whole of Paris was gridlocked into one big traffic jam of non-moving cars, the Tallyrand Building was attacked by several hundred communist sympathizers following a well-coordinated plan. The secured gates prevented entry so, an American flag (theirs) was burned suspended on one side of the gates and the effigy of Nixon was hanged by the throat and burned on the other side. Four (4) demonstrators climbed over the tall spikes of the gates/fence-line, removed the chain wrapped around the large door knobs (there was no lock, per se, just a chain we Marines wrapped in a figure 8 format around the knobs) and allowed a bunch of demonstrators into the interior lot. They began smashing windows, using the metal, portable, parking signs for designated embassy vehicles, and throwing baggies of red paint against the exterior walls. The front door of the building looking out into the court yard was pretty much all glass and some of the demonstrators ran up to the front door and windows and smashed the glass. One Marine in his Dress Blue Delta uniform presented himself within the foyer in plain view of the demonstrators with his right hand on the pistol grip of his revolver still in its holster ready to pull and use it if necessary. I wasn't about to let anyone in without a fight. I dodged baggies of red paint as they sailed over and past me coating the walls behind me with red paint. As quickly as it started, all demonstrators retreated through the gates then two photographers raced back into the court yard to rhe steps of the front door, turned facing the gates, and positioned their cameras. One, lone demonstrator with mid-length black hair and dark beard raced towards the front door carrying the North Vietnamese flag high overhead shouting as he ran and slipped the flag staff through the door handles of the front door while the cameras flashed repeatedly taking pictures of him charging and positioning the NV flag in the door handles which were immediately below the American Embassy Seal above the door. Then they all retreated towards the gate. I reached out through the broken windows of the door, pulled the NV flag staff from the door handles and flung it onto the steps. There was no retaliation by the demonstrators who had, already, begun to exit to my right towards Rue Saint-Honoré. Just another interesting evening.
I have more tales to tell: I and three other Marines expelled communist demonstrators attempting to disrupt the November 7, 1972 election results being celebrated in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel (I think it was the Hilton); Barney-the-brick takes out a cop car; a delightful, funny fight at Bar les pirates; Danny Pardean badly cut from a brawl at a local bar and the Marines retaliated by destroying the bar; and there were some more, gentler occurances.
Then I and others were assigned to augment the Helsinki Marine Detachment for several months providing security for the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks). Then off to Brussels, Belgium and Frankfort, Germany.
What an era that was.
I apologize for going astray. A flood of memories poured over me after seeing the Statue of Liberty replica on the tip of Île aux Cygnes.
Awesome!!! Canting keel power!!
Their boat has a swing keel, not a canting keel.
@@HarmanRobotics True!
I am a grumpy 60 year old man with a lot off humor. The only thing I could do on a boat is cook (very bloody good) take a watch now and then and fix your PC lol ! Hard work is not for me by docters order. Do I have any chance of evr crossing an ocean?
LOL if you don't get seasick cooks are always in high demand on offshore passages (that's if you aren't really too grumpy :-) There may be an ocean crossing in your future!
No not to grumpy, a bit of sarcastic humor mostly.
im in
they built a rocket in that tower, dont believe me! watch, Tomorrowland :-P
So... part 1 is called Sailing Destinations - Paris and the French Canals . Part 2 is absolutely logically called Sailing South through France, and part 3, quelle surprise, is called Part 3. 😀 You should probably rename a few videos for smoother viewing by people who just accidentally bump into your channel.
beats a backpack