Adventures!

 For reasons which we can't fathom, but have something to do with having great company and daylight until almost tomorrow, we never seem to be in bed in time for a sensible amount of snooze, so when we arose with the sun high in the clear blue sky the mist had long gone from the water.  

Clearly the mist was still alive and well in my head though, as when I tried to follow exactly the hot wiring procedure that Michel had demonstrated, I got it exactly wrong and blew the tip out of my second best screwdriver.  In my defence it has been three decades since I last short-started an engine, and on the second attempt it burst into it's smoke belching song.

Thankful for their company during our shake-down, and confident that only one blank stare would be sufficient henceforth should there be further mechanical mishap, we bade farewell to Jack and Brii who watched as we descended into the bottomless pit that is the lock, off on our first "solo" voyage, and thankful for their company during our shake-down.

As we descended, with concern for the safety of all aboard, I suggested that perhaps the deck crew, now working  solo, should wear foot attire with a certain degree of toe protection, adding that over the years, I have been made only two well aware of the prospect of digital damage while jumping on and off boats.  Being a person of such extensive experience, and an expert in dreaming up new and ever more wonderful ways of injuring myself, it didn't occur to me that being actually barefoot is probably not in conformity with my own advice, and so it came to pass that when we eventually and uneventfully arrived in Lagarde, my big toes had but one nail to share between them and I had discovered that the BandAids here have a silver gauze in them.

This being France, and we having some repair work to arrange, we thought it best that we pass the rest of the afternoon by practicing waiting, which we managed to do quite satisfactorily with our eyes shut.