You are leaving for 2 months, will you live alone?
Yes, totally. We will fill up the reserves before because there is nothing there, neither water nor electricity, neither heating, nor installation. There is only a house with some dilapidated rooms where we can settle, but we have to bring at least the basic furniture: bed, chair, table. We are still in extremely precarious conditions.
Can you be contacted on site, do you have means of communication?
We're going to set them up, but yes, there will be a satellite link that will allow me to check in at times that are scheduled, or that are being arranged.
Is the period of October and November related to the planning necessary for the implementation of the operation?
No, it is a voluntary choice. It's a bad time, but it allows us to know Tévennec in what we call hell. When there is bad weather, the waves go over the roof of the house. It is to be at the heart of the event, something that the old guards, from the end of the 19th e and until the 1900s have known. I would like to follow in their footsteps, very modestly, and live what they lived.
We have photos of the heavy weather that were made in Tévennec, but they were taken by helicopter. No one has immortalized the scene from the terrace or at home or described what she sees, what she hears, what she feels.
You have to be there, so I'm going to get the impressions of the guards like in 1900 and above all I'm going to take pictures or videos that nobody can do since you have to be there.
What happens in case of a strong swell or storm?
You have to be very careful. There is a small terrace around the house and it stops there. You must not go out around it. Anyway, in case of heavy weather, you have to stay in the house. The waves pass over the house and flood the terrace, carrying rocks. It is dangerous. We shouldn't lose our lives with this kind of nonsense.
We remain in a human, technical, but also physical, geographical or maritime adventure. We are never safe from a major blow or the unexpected. Don't forget that in 100 years the roof of Tévennec has blown off three times, torn off by a wave. So I don't know if it will happen when I'm inside, but it has already happened and the roof is not in a very good condition. You have to remember that I'm on a lighthouse, located on the water, anything can happen. The house has stood for 140 years, but there have been several keepers dead or swept away by the sea.
The only thing that has changed is that today, in case of problems, we use the VHF and the helicopter is there within half an hour. The methods of intervention are radically different.
Have you thought about the possibility that you might not feel comfortable on this lighthouse?
It's still feasible of course, but I'm naturally determined. And I have been sailing for a long time, in conditions that are not always easy, so I have some experience, but I remain modest. It is not an adventure, which in principle frightens me, but which of course still has its difficulties, some of which I am aware of, probably not all.
Well, physically and mentally I think I'm at 93%, after that there's always a part of unknown. But I feel ready, solitude and determination are not something that scares me. I'm not the kind of person who breaks down, but I'm not saying that I won't break down because I don't know the extreme conditions. It is also by remaining modest and attentive that we go through the ordeals.
