Having returned to Australia following our 'shopping and checking' expedition to La Rochelle in March, we have found ourselves in a dizzying spin of 'to do' lists, boat registration, MMSI application, completing of a multitude of forms and of course packing!
Trying to obtain our Builders' Certificate and Bill of Sale so that we could start our registration process proved challenging (although it should not have been) and then we were hampered by Easter Holidays followed by the ANZAC Day long weekend. Delays always seem to crop up when one is most impatient. MMSI application lodged still requires the boat registration to be complete, so that is another 'pending' item. Updating important documents such as Wills, personal information*, Power of Attorney, Power of Enduring Guardian (all those wonderful legal things that no one likes to think of should the 'unthinkable' happen, but which must nevertheless be faced and completed so that the mourning loved ones do not have to deal with them!), completing tax statements for the previous financial year, and the list goes on.
In the midst of all this, Tad 'officially' retired from working for 'The Man' and has no more commutes to Sydney. He can now focus all his time on his pet project for "Bisou" which is the solar array which will be our source of independent power - this has necessitated consulting multiple 'experts' on solar power for the marine environment; sourcing solar panels and assorted accessories from both Australia and Europe and finally calculating a format that will not only 'fit' our boat but also provide enough energy to power our various electronic devices on board. Tad doesn't want a petrol generator and we do not feel the need for a wind generator at this stage, but time will tell!
As the day approached for the official 'handover' of "Bisou" to our agent, we could hardly wait to hear the news and receive photos of our 'baby'. Ironically, it was an internet friend and fellow Helia purchaser from Australia, in La Rochelle to collect his own boat, that sent us our first photos. We had done him the courtesy of sending him photos of his boat from the factory when we had visited in March, and now he was returning the favour. Thankfully, a couple of days later we had the 'all clear' from our agent who stated that the yacht was in perfect condition and ready to have the canvas cockpit enclosure and radio installed. We are still on track to receive our boat on 8th May.
Did I mention travel arrangements in the list of things to do? What is it that they say about builders' houses? Accountants' books? Travel agents' self travel? You guessed it - what is more difficult for a travel agent than booking their own travel - answer - nothing! We dithered over dates: the agreed date of handover by our agent had been 7th May, however 8th May is a huge holiday in France (VE Day) and we wanted to be able to rent a car/van and collect our items from storage as soon as possible after arrival which would not have worked on a public holiday. In addition, in looking at the seat availability of flights departing on the 6th (in order to arrive on the 7th) the seats we like on Singapore Airlines were not available....and so on. So we agreed to leave on the 7th, arrive on the 8th (less traffic in Paris that morning due to public holiday so easy trip on the bus from the airport to the train station); cheaper seat reservations on the TGV to La Rochelle (due to it's being a public holiday); arriving into La Rochelle early evening in time to have a good night's sleep and be ready to finally take possession of "Bisou" Friday morning 9th May, a work day, and also rent a car/van to collect our possessions from the self-storage and begin work on the boat! Phew! But wait, there's more!
Initially planning to purchase a round-the-world airline ticket as we would be departing from Istanbul in October to fly to the USA for various family visits across the North American continent, and from there to head home to Australia, I found that in fact the round-the-world option was going to cost about AUD $2000 more than simply returning to Australia from Istanbul and then flying out to the USA again from there! OK, I hear you say, but what about all that flying time? You are right - it's way too much time in the air and too many miles, but we are now retirees and $2000 per person is still $4000 in our pockets and one thing we do have now is TIME! Thank goodness I have all the travel agents' tools still in use on my computer until the end of the month and have been able to take advantage of gazillions of frequent flyer miles (for flights and hotels), tricky flight schedules and routes, and much more.
We are still trying to find the best way to purchase items in Europe and avoid paying VAT, however this is proving tricky as we are not officially leaving the EU when we sail out of France (since we are heading to Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar). We will obtain the necessary 'detaxe' documents from the suppliers and we have been told that there is a customs office in La Rochelle where the tax refund can be processed. More on this to come!
We are also still planning to airfreight some items to France, although when we find out the cost we may change our minds. We have been given the details of a an excellent freight-forwarder but will refrain from including the details until we have ascertained that he is as good as we have been assured. You will laugh, but one of the things we are taking from Australia is a BBQ - why? Because the ones we have seen in Europe are rubbish and we all know that there is nothing like fresh fish cooked on a barbie (or any other food for that matter). We sourced a wonderful local manufacturer who has been making marine and camping BBQs out of stainless steel for over 30 years (www.marinebarbecues.com.au) of a very good quality. Andrew is a nice guy, makes great BBQs and we feel it is worth every penny to buy it here and airfreight it over to France! We have even used it a few times to give it that 'used' look so we don't get slammed by French customs for a new item being imported (hope that works!).
A big weight on our shoulders was the dilemma of what to do with our beloved chocolate labrador Tim Tam. He has been an important part of our little family for over 5 years and it breaks our heart to give him away, but although we looked at taking him to Europe with us, it proved to just be too difficult and we felt that it wouldn't be fair on him either. We had started 'advertising' him before Christmas but rather half-heartedly, and although we had several people lined up to take him, they all fell through. So now with two weeks until departure we are a little desperate. A lovely young couple who live up the road have a one year old chocolate labrador male and are keen to have another and have agreed to take Tim Tam on a temporary basis with a promise to re-home him if they find they cannot keep him. He is to have a 'playdate' and a sleepover with them next week to see if he 'fits' their family. They are labrador-friendly people and would be an ideal home for Tim Tam so I really hope it works out.
Today we were advised (finally!) that our choice of boat name "Bisou" has been officially registered! YAY! Such a relief as although we knew that no one else had used the name in Australia, we were worried we might have to go through the ordeal of choosing something else. This was AFTER we had caps embroidered, designed the name to be placed on the boat, etc. Taking a risk? Maybe, but we were fairly certain that no Aussie would choose a French name for their vessel.
The countdown is now on for our grand departure - just two weeks to go. I will attempt to post more regularly now that there will be something to say once we arrive in France. Here is a photo of Bisou taken by our agent on handover from the factory. Wish us well!
* Personal information: if you haven't done this already, it's a good idea. Make a list of all your bank accounts, important people (eg. accountant, solicitor, doctor, etc. and their contact details), assets, liabilities, credit cards, etc. and either give it to your solicitor with your Will or to your executor/power of attorney. It will save them heaps of time when/if your demise is sudden and help get your estate sorted much more quickly!
Trying to obtain our Builders' Certificate and Bill of Sale so that we could start our registration process proved challenging (although it should not have been) and then we were hampered by Easter Holidays followed by the ANZAC Day long weekend. Delays always seem to crop up when one is most impatient. MMSI application lodged still requires the boat registration to be complete, so that is another 'pending' item. Updating important documents such as Wills, personal information*, Power of Attorney, Power of Enduring Guardian (all those wonderful legal things that no one likes to think of should the 'unthinkable' happen, but which must nevertheless be faced and completed so that the mourning loved ones do not have to deal with them!), completing tax statements for the previous financial year, and the list goes on.
In the midst of all this, Tad 'officially' retired from working for 'The Man' and has no more commutes to Sydney. He can now focus all his time on his pet project for "Bisou" which is the solar array which will be our source of independent power - this has necessitated consulting multiple 'experts' on solar power for the marine environment; sourcing solar panels and assorted accessories from both Australia and Europe and finally calculating a format that will not only 'fit' our boat but also provide enough energy to power our various electronic devices on board. Tad doesn't want a petrol generator and we do not feel the need for a wind generator at this stage, but time will tell!
As the day approached for the official 'handover' of "Bisou" to our agent, we could hardly wait to hear the news and receive photos of our 'baby'. Ironically, it was an internet friend and fellow Helia purchaser from Australia, in La Rochelle to collect his own boat, that sent us our first photos. We had done him the courtesy of sending him photos of his boat from the factory when we had visited in March, and now he was returning the favour. Thankfully, a couple of days later we had the 'all clear' from our agent who stated that the yacht was in perfect condition and ready to have the canvas cockpit enclosure and radio installed. We are still on track to receive our boat on 8th May.
Did I mention travel arrangements in the list of things to do? What is it that they say about builders' houses? Accountants' books? Travel agents' self travel? You guessed it - what is more difficult for a travel agent than booking their own travel - answer - nothing! We dithered over dates: the agreed date of handover by our agent had been 7th May, however 8th May is a huge holiday in France (VE Day) and we wanted to be able to rent a car/van and collect our items from storage as soon as possible after arrival which would not have worked on a public holiday. In addition, in looking at the seat availability of flights departing on the 6th (in order to arrive on the 7th) the seats we like on Singapore Airlines were not available....and so on. So we agreed to leave on the 7th, arrive on the 8th (less traffic in Paris that morning due to public holiday so easy trip on the bus from the airport to the train station); cheaper seat reservations on the TGV to La Rochelle (due to it's being a public holiday); arriving into La Rochelle early evening in time to have a good night's sleep and be ready to finally take possession of "Bisou" Friday morning 9th May, a work day, and also rent a car/van to collect our possessions from the self-storage and begin work on the boat! Phew! But wait, there's more!
Initially planning to purchase a round-the-world airline ticket as we would be departing from Istanbul in October to fly to the USA for various family visits across the North American continent, and from there to head home to Australia, I found that in fact the round-the-world option was going to cost about AUD $2000 more than simply returning to Australia from Istanbul and then flying out to the USA again from there! OK, I hear you say, but what about all that flying time? You are right - it's way too much time in the air and too many miles, but we are now retirees and $2000 per person is still $4000 in our pockets and one thing we do have now is TIME! Thank goodness I have all the travel agents' tools still in use on my computer until the end of the month and have been able to take advantage of gazillions of frequent flyer miles (for flights and hotels), tricky flight schedules and routes, and much more.
We are still trying to find the best way to purchase items in Europe and avoid paying VAT, however this is proving tricky as we are not officially leaving the EU when we sail out of France (since we are heading to Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar). We will obtain the necessary 'detaxe' documents from the suppliers and we have been told that there is a customs office in La Rochelle where the tax refund can be processed. More on this to come!
We are also still planning to airfreight some items to France, although when we find out the cost we may change our minds. We have been given the details of a an excellent freight-forwarder but will refrain from including the details until we have ascertained that he is as good as we have been assured. You will laugh, but one of the things we are taking from Australia is a BBQ - why? Because the ones we have seen in Europe are rubbish and we all know that there is nothing like fresh fish cooked on a barbie (or any other food for that matter). We sourced a wonderful local manufacturer who has been making marine and camping BBQs out of stainless steel for over 30 years (www.marinebarbecues.com.au) of a very good quality. Andrew is a nice guy, makes great BBQs and we feel it is worth every penny to buy it here and airfreight it over to France! We have even used it a few times to give it that 'used' look so we don't get slammed by French customs for a new item being imported (hope that works!).
A big weight on our shoulders was the dilemma of what to do with our beloved chocolate labrador Tim Tam. He has been an important part of our little family for over 5 years and it breaks our heart to give him away, but although we looked at taking him to Europe with us, it proved to just be too difficult and we felt that it wouldn't be fair on him either. We had started 'advertising' him before Christmas but rather half-heartedly, and although we had several people lined up to take him, they all fell through. So now with two weeks until departure we are a little desperate. A lovely young couple who live up the road have a one year old chocolate labrador male and are keen to have another and have agreed to take Tim Tam on a temporary basis with a promise to re-home him if they find they cannot keep him. He is to have a 'playdate' and a sleepover with them next week to see if he 'fits' their family. They are labrador-friendly people and would be an ideal home for Tim Tam so I really hope it works out.
Today we were advised (finally!) that our choice of boat name "Bisou" has been officially registered! YAY! Such a relief as although we knew that no one else had used the name in Australia, we were worried we might have to go through the ordeal of choosing something else. This was AFTER we had caps embroidered, designed the name to be placed on the boat, etc. Taking a risk? Maybe, but we were fairly certain that no Aussie would choose a French name for their vessel.
The countdown is now on for our grand departure - just two weeks to go. I will attempt to post more regularly now that there will be something to say once we arrive in France. Here is a photo of Bisou taken by our agent on handover from the factory. Wish us well!
* Personal information: if you haven't done this already, it's a good idea. Make a list of all your bank accounts, important people (eg. accountant, solicitor, doctor, etc. and their contact details), assets, liabilities, credit cards, etc. and either give it to your solicitor with your Will or to your executor/power of attorney. It will save them heaps of time when/if your demise is sudden and help get your estate sorted much more quickly!
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