Here are some of them:
"I was sixteen years old and had just entered the mousses school in Brest (...) On that first day, I wondered how such a complex machine could evolve with such lightness and elegance."
" I was then 6 or 7 years old. My mother and I had come to join my father, a merchant sailor on his cargo ship that was to take us from Marseille to Dunkirk. I discovered during these days at sea this ever-changing landscape of the sea as far as the eye can see. "
" In August 1966, on a catboat, I was 14 years old, and it was the great exhilaration: the first solo crossing from the beach of Suzac to Port-Bloc, a beautiful summer afternoon accompanied by a nice sea breeze.
To discover all your answers to question one, go to the weekly vote next Saturday. And now, let's continue the journey with the second question: your first boat ...
Click here for the description of the "Atanahoué Journey".
Chapter 1, question 2: my first boat
It is a very special relationship that a sailor builds with his boat and today, it is to this relationship that we are going to focus in order to imagine, from your testimonies, the Atanahoué boat.
More than a simple boat, it is a true companion of road that we choose, name and cherish during our navigations...
"It is the love story between me and my boat with the emotions the emotions born of this long companionship, that I will tell", Eric Tabarly confided Eric Tabarly in Mémoires du Large.
And you, what is the story behind your first boat?
➡️ To answer, click here.
Story of the day: The Hermione, Frigate of Liberty
Because the first boat that made us dream is not always the one we owned, we are going to focus today on an exceptional ship: the Hermione.
L'Hermione was able to unleash passions. In 1778, the Hermione was born at the Rochefort Naval Arsenal, designed by the engineer Henri Chevillard. She is part of the family of "12-pound frigates" (light frigates equipped with cannons firing 12-pound cannonballs) including La Concorde and La Courageuse.
The " Frégate de la Liberté " owes its fame to its illustrious fellow traveler, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, who left the Arsenal on board in 1780 to go to the United States, which was in the midst of a war of independence against England.
In 1980, a group of passionate friends took the crazy gamble of bringing this legendary ship back to life on the very spot where it was designed 200 years earlier: this was the birth of the Hermione-La Fayette Association. In 2015, after 20 years of work and 30 million euros of investments, the Hermione follows the path of her illustrious predecessor by sailing to Rochefort and Boston.
Today, it is possible to visit her in Rochefort at the Arsenal des Mers, or to see her on certain occasions, like our sailors from Port Adhoc Soubise who were able to sail alongside her on the Charente.
And you, what is the story of your first boat? Tell us by answering the second question.
To go further
🎧 LISTEN:
"Sur la route... de l'Hermione" by Julie Gacon, France Culture podcast available for listening here
📺 TO SEE:
"L'Hermione", Private Visits presented by Stéphane Bern, in streaming here
📚 READ:
"L'Hermione: the conspiracy for freedom", comic book by Jean-Yves Delitte, download here
Photo credits: Association Hermione-La Fayette - Glénat BD