Thierry Dalberto tells us about his holidays in a boat-stop during the summer of 1963. This story that takes us along the Mediterranean coast takes us back in time. A past however close where the ports did not have a pleasure pontoon, where navigation still had the taste of discovery.
18 years old (not yet the majority at the time...), strong of his BAC in pocket, our writer takes the road hoping to exchange his mastery of seamanship against embarkations. And it works!
Splices against heel and board
Thus, he began his sailing with an English couple who made him connect Nice to Corsica. On this little sharpi, he will sail in the wind with this couple, just for the pleasure of sailing. For a week, without even touching land, the sailboat will head for Naples to finish in Corsica at Ajaccio!
There, he embarked on a Yacht (still English) 18 m long: Elna II. He will love the boat as much as its owner and will follow the crew to Menorca before returning to Corsica to anchor in the bay of Girolata.
That's where he'll meet Jean Merrien (known for his marine dictionary) and especially Bernard Moitessier. With him, embarked as a cook on Joshua, he will cross the Mediterranean again to land in Spain in Alicante before returning to Marseille to finish the cruise.
This simple tale that takes us from island to island has a charming old-fashioned scent. It propels us into a forgotten pleasure, when the maps were not precise and the anchorages often unknown. The story is rhythmic enough for the reader to follow the adventures of this young man, told with incredible precision, who discovers both life and navigation.
Sailing with Bernard Moitessier
But above all, Thierry Dalberto has the honour of having sailed with Bernard Moitessier on Joshua. The red ketch was just coming out of the Meta yards and had just come down the Rhône to reach the sea. Barely, Finite Moitessier took advantage of this cruise to develop it under the eyes of our young sailor for whom the man becomes his mentor. The author writes of him:"He spoke slowly, with the tranquility of someone who had eternity before him. This guy fascinated me."
The chance to sail on this boat with its owner designer makes Thierry Dalbero today a specialist of Joshua. A skill that he puts to good use by helping the Friends of the Maritime Museum of La Rochelle who still sail Joshua.
Girolata Cruising with Moitessier
- Éditions Ancre de Marine
- 192 pages
- 15.1 x 20.9 cm
- 20,00 €
