It is by this basic question that Eric Loizeau invites us to take to the sea with him. This book is not a story, but a compilation of 17 nautical stories lived by the sailor. Eric Tabarly's team-mate on Pen Duick VI, skipper of the mythical Pen Duick III renamed Gauloise II, Eric Loizeau marked ocean racing in the 80s. Through his memories, he tells us episodes from that time, on which the current races were built.
Eric Loizeau is a writer, but above all a photographer. He has done reports for the Gamma agency and it is his photos that illustrate this book. If some clichés have already been around the world, others more intimate, open the door to another way of sailing.
Eric Loizeau does not hide his passion for this other navigator Eric Tabarly. He doesn't hesitate to call himself his mentor. And it was thanks to his relationship with the navigator who was entrusted with the helm of the Pen Duick III ketch. A boat that marked him forever.
Through the chapters, Eric Loizeau paints a portrait of Eric Tabarly, tells us about meeting dolphins, tells us how he gets lost at sea, fortunately guided by a submarine (!), describes his most recent sailings in the Far North, explains how he married in South Africa to offer an exit visa to a national, still tells us about stopovers at the end of the world..
This book is above all a beautiful story about the sea. A story that will undoubtedly have a retro scent in the eyes of the youngest, but that will revive memories for all fifties and more. A time when sailing competition was practiced between friends, when we slept on board at the stopover in the middle of wet spis, where the bottle of wine was more often embarked than food supplements..
I enjoyed diving into that book. There I found the events that shaped my childhood and forged my love of the sea. I also discovered facets of the great sailors Eric Loizeau met, appreciating the details he added for each one. A book to have in his sailor's library.
Why is the sea salty? And other stories from sailors
- Gallimard Publishing
- 15.5 x 22.5 cm
- 256 pages
- 25,00 €
