Lieutenant engineering officer: that has been my role ever since I climbed aboard that legendary three-masted schooner one sunny day in Paris…heave ho!

And what a journey I’ve been on since then. Not in terms of distance of course (for the time being) but rather in terms of work accomplished and of reappraising my job and my speciality.

I am a naval engineer and I’ve worked on all sorts of boats from small speedboats to large diesel-powered boats with a brief period in between (still a good 3 years though) working on old steam ships.

And now here I am on La Boudeuse. She is a ship on which you have to be very versatile, to be able to carry out or at least help with all jobs (in fact I’m sure her engine becomes “temperamental” just to make sure I remember what my main job on this ship is). And there is a long way to go before I can say I know how to sail this type of ship well. That has been my challenge and one of the main reasons behind my wish to join the crew here.

Can you imagine an engineer being able to plot a point on a map, navigate using a sextant, take on the role of quartermaster with his eyes closed whilst preparing tasty little titbits! The guy who can do all that would be king of the oceans. One of the major benefits of this boat is this sharing of knowledge. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” (Lao-Tzu)

For the time being my job can be summed up as a trip down the Seine and a 4-month stint in a shipyard in Le Havre, but now the real adventure is about to begin with an Atlantic crossing en route for the Amazon, a part of the world that is totally new to me. All the mysteries that it holds draw me to live that experience, one that provokes that little shiver of excitement and the feeling that you are experiencing something unique. Of course, I’m not kidding myself that it will be a bed of roses every day. I’ve done enough sailing to know that there will be hard times ahead; but that is also part of the beauty of our mission.

Anyway, on that note, it’s time to get back to work…

If someone had told me when I joined the French National Navy in 2005 that my first posting would be on a three-masted schooner, I would probably have looked at them like they were crazy. At the time, I was dreaming of serving on the legendary “grey ships” or on submarines. I was just returning from my training on the helicopter carrier Jeanne d’Arc, when I came across this new opportunity that the Navy was offering: the chance to join the long list of sailor-explorers, to set out to conquer a continent. And not just any continent, but one that, for many people, is still shrouded in a great deal of mystery – South America. I made an on-the spot decision and my efforts bore fruit a few weeks later.

22 June 2009: Second meeting with Captain Franceschi. Within a few minutes he informed me that I would be leaving immediately for Le Havre, where the ship La Boudeuse was being repaired, and that I was being assigned to the post of on-site manager. This provoked a rapid internal debate:
“My God, why me? I didn’t sign up for this!”
“Well, what’s the problem, you volunteered didn’t you? The adventure begins right away. It’s what you wanted isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I’m a sailor! I wanted adventure on the high seas: sails flapping in the wind, the wind whistling in my ears, my ears soothed by the sound of the lapping waves, all under the warm rays of the sun. I don’t know anything about shipyards!”
“The unknown, now that’s adventure! Forget your romantic visions of taking a cruise on a sailing ship. Grab your oilskins and your overalls and you’ll just have to grin and bear it … a shipyard means hard work”.

Thus warned by the captain and my intransigent conscience, I took on my first duties with the partially formed crew and faced up to the minor challenges and obstacles that all shipyards present. I would like to step into the captain’s shoes (temporarily of course) and offer my heartfelt praise to all those people, and especially the crew, who played their parts in the repair works day after day. Although most of the tasks may seem thankless, they are absolutely essential in terms of preparing La Boudeuse for the new adventure that awaits her. Away from the routine of our daily lives, we are relentlessly preparing for the departure: putting together, amongst other things, an arsenal of WMM (Weapons of Mass Maintenance) such as paintbrushes, pick hammers and various chisels. As for me, I’m learning “Boudeuse speak”: blocks, jaw of a gaff, peak halyard, arrow tack, fiddle, running backstay and my all-time favourite, the “baggy wrinkle” (a sort of twist of old rope designed to prevent the sails from rubbing on the rig).

Can you smell it? The scent of departure…I’ve waited for it, looked for it, sniffed in each and every corner of the boat for it (yes, even in the engine or in the waste water tanks) and for the last few days, it seems to be getting stronger. The masts are in place and so are the yards. Loading of the equipment has begun. At night I check the moorings, as I have the distinct impression that all that life that has been pumped back into La Boudeuse is making her tremble with impatience. Once night has fallen, I dream once again of being assigned to deck watch, when only the wind and the sea spray answer my call for the open sea and my desire for the immensity of the ocean.

On board the TGV (High Speed Train)
Paris-Toulouse
Tuesday 25 August 2009

Personally, I like catching trains – it makes me feel good. I like the idea of setting off with a purpose in mind, whether professional or personal. Train journeys expand my imagination; they allow me to be in a space where I can dream without constraints. I like being immersed in this self-contained version of society and of the human behaviours that surround us day after day.
This journey today holds particular significance for me, as it offers a foretaste of another imminent departure: a departure that has not been straightforward to achieve, a departure for which I have no ticket, a departure for which I know the exact time I will be leaving but not when I will be returning.
This train journey, which is taking me to Toulouse and more precisely to the National Centre for Space Study, gives me the opportunity to tell you all about this new departure but especially about the two years prior to the departure.
These were two years in which our only orders were to “keep moving forward,” “keep the faith” and “persevere”.

La Boudeuse, a never-ending story…
Having sailed 51,000 miles across the world’s oceans and seas in search of the water people, La Boudeuse arrived back in her homeland at the end of 2007.
She finally came to the end of her journey after a tour of the main ports in France, and docked for an indeterminate period in Paris.
Such a wonderful contrast to find ourselves here, moored along the Quai de Bercy facing the great National Library. In fact, La Boudeuse could not have had a better mooring place, as she is so close in spirit to the hundreds of writers who spoke of adventures, passions, philosophy and longing through the written word.
I really enjoyed living in Paris under these circumstances: coming back on board late at night, stepping over the Seine to find myself in the calm atmosphere of my cabin, waking up in the morning and walking barefoot on the decks, contemplating, on either side, the tide of thousands of people sitting at the wheels of their cars on their way to work.
However, I did find it unnerving for the first few moments on the first day, when I found myself wondering where my real place was.
I like waking up in the middle of the night, feeling the cold winter air surge into the boat; a boat that had only known some of the hottest places on earth.
Selfishly, I liked living almost alone on board the ship. La Boudeuse has, above all, become my home, my den and my point of reference; I know each of its sounds, each of its smells
We were there not only to let her rest but to let the crew rest as well, especially the men and women who had come from further afield. But, above all we needed to prepare the next chapter in her life, as whatever the future held for La Boudeuse, she could not stay in dock.
Her vocation was to roam the world, go on great adventures, to open discussion and allow people to bear witness.
So, it was up to us to ensure that we did not break this subtle pledge made with La Boudeuse. We would never have let such a thing happen.

La Boudeuse, a history of Mankind…
She has never, absolutely never left anyone indifferent. Thousands have been able to glimpse her soul, even though it may have just been for a moment when stepping aboard, and feel in her, just as they feel in themselves, that calling, so clear at times though unfortunately so hard to fulfil; that calling to live your dreams.
How many men and women who have come to dine, to spend a night or just a moment on board the ship, have told us that they felt good, found a moment of escape, forgot their stresses, their financial worries, rediscovered a poem of youth, and even found the courage to write more…
But there is another side to the coin: on the flip side of this ideal picture, La Boudeuse also represents financial pressures, an idle ship with cobwebs accumulating in her corners and a beauty that was becoming more and more obscured, day by day, under a black veil of Parisian pollution.
It was time to leave. But unfortunately, we did not have a clean slate – that would have been too easy. La Boudeuse was weighed down by trail of debts and loans which hung like a dark cloud over us, dampening our enthusiasm for the departure.
But just like the Captain’s motto “never for me the lowered banner”, we will do everything necessary, or at least everything possible, to ensure our departure.
It is imperative that La Boudeuse set sail again, as after all, she has an important role to play. She represents authentic values: the seeking of new challenges, non-conformity, positivism, the spirit of adventure. La Boudeuse is six kilometres of rope and over two hundred pulleys, all hand-made; she is an “esprit de corps,” a team working shoulder to shoulder, moving forward together. She is a school of life.
La Boudeuse stands for the idea that whatever happens, whatever problems we may face, we will always find a solution; and at the same time, that nothing should ever be taken for granted.
Over the last five years, whenever young people have come on board La Boudeuse, either at sea or in Paris, our standard line would be: “Get moving! You’re 18 years old – quit wasting your time wishing for a PlayStation, a car and a little apartment. If you have a dream, if you want to study, to travel, to set up a company, do it. Don’t be afraid to fall or to take knocks – you’ll get up again every time, and every time you’ll be stronger.”
So press onwards, but be careful! Of course you must take risks, but only necessary risks, never unnecessary risks. Above all, think and weigh up the issues – it only takes a minute – and then take action.
La Boudeuse has good reason to set sail once again: she is the only three-masted schooner in the world that travels here, there and everywhere to study people, the environment and the issues that they face.
But the essence of La Boudeuse is contained in the men and women who, one after the other, choose to join the missions. Men and women who come from renowned scientific institutions or from cultural spheres ranging from literature to philosophy; a melting pot of characters, personalities, from different career paths, creating a microsociety that is able to meet the adventures it encounters head on.
Over these last two years in Paris, we put our heads together to plan her future. The fact that we were in the French capital, at the centre of the world of politics, finance and media allowed us to present La Boudeuse and its missions to a great many people.
Although we were right at the heart of the system, we chose to meet with people by invitation only, as even in Paris, La Boudeuse remained true to its spirit: the crew retained its freedom of choice and therefore only met with whom they chose.
We hosted a great many dinners that often finished late at night, and, always, our guests left delighted: convinced by the authenticity of our ship and her projects. They were ready to sell their grandmothers in order to make the next chapter in the history of La Boudeuse happen.
But human beings have their limits, and unfortunately, most of the pretty speeches and promises were forgotten almost as soon as our guests left the table.
Maybe I am painting too dark a picture, as there were, and those are the ones that count, many men and women who were true to their word, many loyal men and women whose support, amongst others, has allowed La Boudeuse to set sail once again.
I will not bore you with the ins and outs of what took place over those two years, as ultimately what matters is that we succeeded.
La Boudeuse left Paris three months ago. She had been stripped back to her bones, reinforced and fitted out with the finest of trappings, and is ready to take on whatever round-the-world mission she would be assigned in the years to come.
The departure of La Boudeuse is imminent – and she will be leaving with the official blessing of the nation! As of today, La Boudeuse, backed by a mission letter from the government – just like the one received by Louis Antoine de Bougainville from XV – will be representing France on issues such as sustainable development, biodiversity and cultural dialogue.
This new government-backed mission will also be supported by significant coverage in all medias, even appearing in the Paris subway system and in many exhibition halls. Thousands of people will be able to follow this mission from day to day and some will even experience it first-hand.
A page has turned for La Boudeuse, but the story of its future has only just begun…