End of Season Gathering
While the Piper Dutch Barges in Saint-Usage on the Canal de Bourgogne have already settled into their well-earned winter rest, their owners celebrated an end of season party at Maison Piper with plenty of good humour, home-cooked food and of course good local wine from the Bourgogne region.
A fantastic evening was had by all, and it was good to meet some of the new owners of the Preloved Pipers. It was great to welcome Bob and Fritzie to the event. They are the new owners of Emily (49M).
It was also a very proud moment for Simon to welcome Dot (mother) and Jane (Aunty) to the Piper house. It is the first time that they have been to the house and experienced a Piper gathering.
Berlin Boot & Fun at the end of November was the busiest event ever!
WOW… Berlin Boot and Fun 2024
After attending the Berlin in-water boat show in September it was decided that we build an updated version of the popular 49M to take to the Berlin Boot and Fun boatshow.
Simon had some ideas he wanted to incorporate into the 49M where we could gain some more space on the stern deck and wheelhouse area. A new layout for the forecabin to make better use of the space available.
It was also decided that we would bring some of the premium upgrades normally seen on the larger boats into the new 49M. Essentially the boat is a 49M; but to differentiate Elixier from the standard 49M, we have designated Elixier as a 49Mx.
49Mx Elixier generated plenty of interest and was by far the most popular boat at the show!
Elixier is now moored in Berlin ready for Simon and Andrea to explore the German waterways in the 2025 season.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who helped out at the event;
- Roberto & Ursula (57N owners) – ever present and much needed helpers!
- It was a lovely surprise to see Stewart & Lesley (65N owners) arrive to help out with the show
- Andreas & Andrea who live in Berlin and whom we met at the previous show in Berlin earlier in the year and hope to become 49M owners in the very near future
- Roger & Glnwyn (previous Piper 55N owners) flew out at short notice to help us out over the weekend as they are both fluent in German and the event had been so busy!
Andreas and Andrea, being Berliners, arranged the evening dining experiences. It was almost a historical tour of the city via restaurants. It was fascinating to learn more about the history of the old east and west of Berlin from Andreas who was born in the east and was a young man when the Wall came down.
The morning after the show came to a conclusion, we launched Elixier at Teltow and cruised along the Teltow Canal, under the famous Bridge of Spies, along the Havel and to Stobensee. This is the winter mooring from where we will start to explore Berlin early in the new year.
