‘Your boat is famous!’ The couple said. They were cycling along and skidded to a halt right next to us. ‘Your boat was called Lionel.’
We knew our boat ‘had a past’, we discovered it by finding a poster that was buried in the deepest, darkest cupboards on board. The picture on the poster is our boat and turned out to be a book cover.
The poster found on board.
At this point, as we are talking about boat names, I should say that the current name of our boat, Marie Suzanne, will very soon be changed to Rouge Corsair (RC). Yes, we are fully aware it is bad luck to change the name of a boat. However, we already have the champagne to appease the relevant gods and we have planned a neat little name-changing ceremony.
The name Rouge Corsair was the name of a wonderful little horse I owned some years ago – it is in honour of him.
Bear with me, this IS all linked!
It turns out that a Canadian couple owned our boat and in 1997 they traversed the canals. Rouge Corsair was called Lionel at that point. They wrote a book about their escapades, Travels with Lionel – A small boat in France, by Hart Massey
We know a few people who have read the book, with differing opinions on the content. Our copy is on order and we are looking forward to finding out a bit more about Rouge Corsair’s history!
Jackie Parry - author 
August 25, 2014 at 8:58 pm
How exciting – a boat with a past! Our barge is also famous, it appeared in a film called Young Adam showing Ewan McGregor – I have looked in all our cupboards but I cannot find Ewan tucked away unfortunately! X
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August 25, 2014 at 9:20 pm
Love it Fran! I’d be searching for Ewan too! Have another look, just to make sure! lol!
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August 26, 2014 at 3:21 am
That’s fabulous. It’s why we bought an old barge – ‘character’ does not adequately describe what they possess. It’s a vessel carrying the good times, the challenges, the laughter and tears, the experiences of all those who sailed in her – to which we want to add our own little contribution. But how fortunate you are to have a part of the soul of your barge on paper. Enjoy!
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August 26, 2014 at 5:19 pm
Thanks Ian, those are lovely thoughts and so very true!
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August 26, 2014 at 5:27 am
Rouge Corsair is a wonderful name! I can’t imagine a boat being called Lionel! But I am a closet Lionel Ritchie fan, so perhaps it was named in his honour? Either way I look forward to hearing what adventures Lionel got up to!
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August 26, 2014 at 5:21 pm
Thanks Viki – I love the name – it evokes such wonderful memories for me!.. And, No . . . Lionel . . . yikes!!! ha ha! With you on the closet bit too – shhhhh! We’ve just found out the Lionel was up to some major mischief in the Canal du Midi – which may alter our winter plans!
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September 10, 2014 at 1:32 am
I really like the font you have chosen – it is strong and bold and a good choice. I notice that in the commercial world of peniches in France a Corsair (but with the French spelling) is the owner/driver of a boat and they use that word often to refer to the professionals.
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September 10, 2014 at 1:52 am
Thanks for that Carole – it took a lot of decision making! A lot of people have commented on the French/English spelling, but I just couldn’t change it, as that was how it was spelt for my horse – however, I do like your translation – mine was a ‘sanctioned’ pirate – it has so many meanings and memories for me – I can’t wait to put it on tomorrow!:-)
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September 10, 2014 at 7:05 pm
Spelling of a barge name is very personal and I like your accurate reference to your dear old horse!
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September 10, 2014 at 7:17 pm
You’re so right Carole and will mean we meet more people as they ask why we have spelt it “wrong” – ha ha! 🙂
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September 10, 2014 at 8:22 pm
….and that will be a conversation starter bringing more interesting people into your lives…. like having a dog or a cat or a small child but with less responsibility 😉
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