"Robert Larder" wrote in message
. ..

Vic wrote:
Can anyone point me in the right direction to find 'newsgroups'
relating to cruising on the French canals ?


Dunno if this is any help, but uk.rec.waterways - despite it`s name- does
stray as far as France on occasion.
Bob Larder

Here is one:

http://www.barginginfrance.com/cblhome.htm

Here is another:

http://www.canalboatholidays.com/can.../holland.phtml

Here's a book on the canal du midi, the major French system:

http://www.author.co.uk/smyth/

Here's a list of firms:

http://www.canals.com/hire.htm

Here's another site on the Canal du Midi, the site has a list of vendors.:

http://www.canalmidi.com/anglais/penicgb.html

The Blue Top Line, which LA Yacht Club used about 20 years ago seems to be
defunct but the canal is the most popular one. I have a book about the
canals called the Voyage of the Hebe, a bit dated. There was also an Irving
Johnson series in National Geographic in which he and his wife, Exy,
traveled through the canal du midi to the Rhine and North Sea in their later
Yankee. This was a 50 foot ketch with a tabernacle mast that could be
lowered for the canal trip. I had the pleasure of seeing them years ago when
they were still doing speaking engagements. I'm too young to have been crew
on the brigantine Yankee. Too bad.

Mike Kennedy