The whole point of this long journey to Castelnaudary (225 x 2 klms) is to scrape and paint our beloved "Body and Soul", thus saving her from any further rust. But there is absolutely no point in rushing things. We enjoy every minute.
Try this link above that I found on the web for a more detailed description of the Canal de Garonne. There's even a couple of snaps which include Body and Soul, so it must be quite recent.
The trip as far as Toulouse is outstandingly pleasant both in terms of the weather, the places we go to and the people we meet. However, carefully laid plans to pick up bro' Rob at the Toulouse Lock just outside the airport bus terminal at Toulouse, are thwarted by a strike by the French lock keepers.
So - cunningly - we decide to go through the locks at Toulouse early and stay the night upstream of the agreed lock / rendez-vous - thus avoiding the strike as much as possible. Frantic text messages instruct Rob to take a walk from the Bus Terminal upstream to where we are waiting, having returned to this spot early that morning after our night at Ramonville where we needed to check-out facilities.
The strike still affects us by half a day's sailing at least. We manage to do a mere 12 klms until being forced to stop at the next lock at Castanet (PK15). We have to stay, reluctantly, until noon the following day when the strike is over. But we have no trouble making the best of the time forced upon us. There's time to relax. But our appointment with the dry dock and our time with Rob's precious help is thus curtailed somewhat.
"Aurigny" tied up with us in the Port de l'Embouchure, (the big "pond" at Toulouse where the Canal Du Midi begins and is joined by the Canal Lateral a la Garonne)
Peter and Nicky invite us to celebrate the Royal Wedding which we watch, practically all day, on their huge screen. Then dinner, etc etc....Note the celebratory lights. What a wonderful occasion.
e, Nicky, Peter and their daughter Laura on deck of Aurigny having an aperitif after THE wedding (29th April).
A floodlit view of where the two canals meet
Arrival at Castelnaudary is windy but fine and we make it on May 5th, complete with Robert and despite the strike.
We steam in to the dry dock in the afternoon and fiddle about with ropes and barge-poles to get ourselves straight and well placed above the concrete plinths which we cannot see but we trust the markings, painted white, on the dock- side. Men from the VNF close the lock gate and lift the sluice gate at the other end, to allow the water to escape and for us to slowly settle down on to dry land. It's a strange and unnatural feeling. But this is it for the next week or so.
first look at the task ahead 
Ooer!
Ooer!
An even closer look
Floodlit, Le Port de l'Embouchure, Toulouse, where the two canals meet - showing the entrance to the Canal Lateral a la Garonne on the left - A bridge to the right of the floodlighting, unseen, is the start of the canal du Midi.
Click on any these photos for the full size
Hope we don't have a fire!
We're back at Meilhan right now and enjoying the place we call home, having been away for five months. Our project to repaint "Body and Soul" under the water line has been very successful but we have had some concerns about the rust which may have been caused by electrolysis.
We are seeking advice on the future prevention of this and have already added another magnesium anode which we have hung over the side and attached to the hull with stainless cable... But now it seems, according to admired experts, that we might have to invest in an isolation transformer (ie get rid of the galvanic isolator).... more on this later...but you can guarantee, it isn't all plain sailing, y'know!......