The Atlantic Journey leaves Brittany to climb north of Great Britain, reach Iceland before crossing to Greenland and then back down along Canada and the United States. Before joining the Caribbean Arc. A beautiful trip that has just started (May 27, 2019) and will last until December 27, 2019 with an expected arrival in Le Marin (Martinique).
A sailboat offered to the Glénans!
To do such a course, with sailings in the North Atlantic, it was necessary to have a well adapted boat. A former Glénans skipper will provide the solution. He owns a Petrel 46 that he had built in streap planking (epoxy wood) and which he no longer uses since 2013. Rather than sell it, he decided to give it to the Glenans Association. The school has finalised the preparation of the sailboat to put it in a "professional" configuration specific to this course.
Cut for the open sea
This Pétrel 46; designed by Dominique Presles, is fast with a lifting keel allowing the draught to vary from 1.30 m to 3.15 m and above all to be able to ground when landing on the keel and the 2 rudders. For performance, it is equipped with a carbon mast.
The boat is well equipped for cruises in cold countries (mixed heating, insulation, generator...). The only problem is that it has been designed for short-handed sailing with just 2 cabins. But it still has 8 beds using the saloon. Compared to the original, the Glénans added navigation electronics (AIS, Iridium, Maxsea TimeZéro) and deleted an old obsolete SSB.
On board, Glénans instructors are in charge of the supervision and not the owner (as was the case before on this type of course). It is the same captain who will be in charge of 2/3 of the course.
