FIRST TIME LOVE

The kids loved the spontaneity and after months of lockdown the freedom felt particularly joyous

There was a sweet fusion of nerves, exhilaration and freedom as we left the marina in Homps. For the first time in our lives we were motorboaters. Wispy clouds floated in the summer skies above us and the Canal du Midi rippled gently under the hull of our boat, a five-cabin Horizon 5 we had chartered from Le Boat that would be home for the next four nights.

I was on holiday with my parents, who are in their eighties, my husband and three children: Hugo, 7, Clotilde, 5, and Sidonie, who would be celebrating her fourth birthday during the trip. We were all on the sundeck keeping a lookout ahead with slight apprehension, as you might expect from people who had not even spent time in a motorboat before, let alone helmed one.

The famous blue bridge of Homps harbour was the first obstacle we had to tackle on our journey east towards Argens-Minervois. “I can’t wait to go under the bridge,” said Hugo excitedly. “If it’s too low don’t forget to duck.”

The 49ft Horizon 5 is a vast and spacious vessel for newcomers and the top deck feels unusually high for something designed for inland waterways. From where we were sitting the bridge looked alarmingly low but with the sun canopy folded down, we sneaked underneath it, relieved not to encounter any problems, and headed towards our first lock.

BEGINNERS ’ LUCK

If we had spent less time organising our kit on board before setting off and been more experienced boat handlers, we would