We have now taken up our winter quarters in the heart of Marseille (Vieux Port) at the CNTL Club. We have been guaranteed a berth until February so now the priority is to get a job so as to ensure that Caryn’s pension is paid out at 60 by the French. She has signed on at temp agencies, internet sites and goes through the papers every day for anything suitable as well as calling on contacts who may know of anything going. Plans for Xmas are starting to come together. Caryn`s mother is going to stay with here sister-in-law in Lot et Garonne and we are going to join them for the festivities. We shall take the train and they will meet us in Marmande. It should be fun as that side of the family has not been seen for many years. In addition to Mary other members of the Irish side of the family also live in the vicinity and some of them have not been seen since 1978. We are enjoying life here at the pace of the South of France however this can be quite frustrating when it comes to finding a job!!!!! The months seem to fly by and in February we moved to another harbour East of Marseille. It is a new harbour and is only taking large boats so we managed to negotiate a rental contract without having to pay the introductory fee! Although Caryn has been for several interviews she did not find a job until April 2005. The job is working for a UK brokerage company that has just opened an office in Port Napoleon. Within a week of our arriving in the harbour Svein had also got a temporary job with a maintenance company so life was looking up again as our resources had been running very low and we would now be able to built up the savings again with the aim of not having to look for work once we left PN. Caryn s new work is extremely interesting as she looks after the Administration for the company and has to get her head round the different EU and tax rules for the different boats that are sold amongst the different nationalities that come to PN to by or sell their boat whether they are EU or non EU citizens. Alex, Caryn`s son, had decided to spend a year in Canada so he was intending to rent out his flat in Tignes during his absence. Consequently some handiwork needed to be done and Svein and Alex travelled up in the car and installed a new kitchen. Luckily whilst there they also discovered that a water tank had leaked during his absence so the floor had to be completely changed. Alex left for Canada in October 2005 We finished the year by spending Xmas in the UK with Caryn`s mother and the New Year at PN with Anne Laure, Laurent and Anne Laure`s parents. Early in 2006 Svein got the offer of a job to restore a motor yacht that was based in Aegina. The boat had been for sale at Port Napoleon and had been bought by a Norwegian. So Svein accepted the job and spent 5 months down there working on the boat. He returned to PN for a short visit in February when our friends from Denmark Ellen and Nils came to stay. In May Svein returned from Greece and Alex made a short visit from Canada so Caryn travelled to Paris to meet up with everyone. We also took the time to visit the AES show and meet up with old friends and working colleagues. Throughout the year we had some visitors and we in turn visited people. Ronny and Lisa from Sweden came as did Caryn`s son Alexandre. We house sat for Genevieve in her house in Apt, went to visit Jenny and Joseph in the Jura, went back to Norway for different family occasions and went to the UK to visit Caryn`s mother. There were also some convoying jobs where we brought a Fairline Squadron 58 back from St Jean Cap Ferrat to PN, a Gb Sea back from La Grande Motte, Svein helped someone take his boat from PN to Cogolin and we also had some outings with friends on their boat when we went to Saintes Marie de la Mer. We also took time off to explore the area. The Camarque is a nature reserve and the home of bulls, horses and pink flamingos. It is a fascinating and beautiful area and there is always something to see. In addition we are not far from Arles and Martigues. Both are interesting towns with great historical interest and always some new area to discover. We have seen Irish dancing in the antique theatre and bull fighting in the Roman arena amongst other. In August we took the plunge and completely refurbished the seating in the saloon and deckhouse. We splashed out on the material and we now have Alcantara in the saloon and a waterproof material in the doghouse. It has really given the interior uplift. In September Caryn went on a sailing course (paid for by the company) and spent one week out at sea and the second week doing only harbour manoeuvres!!!! We also had the visit from Jan Erik a distant relation who was looking for a catamaran. He and Svein travelled to Spain and also Greece to try and find what he wanted but with no success. In November and December we visited both our families in UK and Norway together with the friends there and we had Christmas in PN with Alex (back from Canada) and New Year in Port Camargue with Anne Laure and Laurent. 2007 started with a visit to the UK to celebrate Caryn`s mother`s birthday. This was followed in March by a visit from Anna Merete and Bente from Norway. We also had a visit from Leif to visit the boat show that was being held in the harbour. He bought a small sail boat that he had trucked up to Lubeck and then Svein and he sailed it up to Norway later in the year. Svein brought a boat back from Pise for Ancasta and in May we returned to Apt to look after Genevieve`s house once again. This time we explored the area and found some beautiful villages. During April Caryn`s mother came over to visit Mary and Caryn travelled up to see them both. On the return to the harbour we lifted the engine and Svein took it apart. After more than 2 months of the engine hanging in the doghouse he put it together and we are now back on track. Svein had travelled up to Norway several times to see the family and its new members. We also convoyed a boat from Cogolin to PN and as per custom had engine trouble but were able to have it repaired and continue on our way with a 24 hour delay. Whilst Svein was sailing to Malta Caryn travelled to the UK and drove a TR4A back to PN for a friend stopping off to see Mary on the way back.
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