On 22 October 2020 in Saint-Malo, the outside temperature is around a dozen degrees, humidity flirts with 100%. The atmosphere of this autumn is... autumn. Fortunately, tonight we have Isabelle and Jean-Benoit to talk on the phone and share their conditions with us. These two Malouins have decided to retire at the age of 53 to set off on a world tour.
At anchor in Porto, in the middle of the Ribeira, we meet these two yachtsmen. The temperature is 23 degrees in this early evening still bathed by the Portulan sun. They left the corsair city in mid-September.
Isabelle begins by introducing herself, " Isabelle, 53 years old. Retired from the public service, I was lucky enough to be able to stop young and embark on this adventure with my husband. "She goes on," I love freedom, I love to travel. I've practiced a lot in the mountains, I learned to live with little, like on a boat. "
The difficult question of comfort
On the subject of comfort on board a sailboat, she explains, " Both family and friends, especially women, are afraid of life on a boat, because it is too small, because there is little comfort, and this is totally unacceptable for many women. Living on a boat is a special lifestyle ", she adds, " Filled with freedom, but with constraints, this narrowness is an important one. "When the need for a little more comfort is felt, Isabelle explains." Marinas are a solution, they offer the minimum comfort and allow you to settle down a little bit. "
No lack of equipment on board
For Isabelle, nothing is missing on board." Social relationships are lacking, but nothing material. I have the minimum, but I have the essentials. "To add" I don't have the little coffee with the Friday morning girlfriend. I make up for it by realizing how lucky I am compared to my old life. "She concludes" And the girlfriend, she'll come to spend a few days on board, we'll do better than just drinking coffee on board! "
A well-organized life on board
On board, life as a couple is organized. " JB as captain? I can't complain ", explains Isabelle, " He doesn't boss me around, we work together. When there is an urgent task to be done, he explains to me the urgency. I'm not a sailor, so I do things and then he explains to me where I could have done better or differently when he couldn't explain before. "Isabelle draws on her mountain experience." At altitude, when an action needs to be carried out in an emergency, one should never rush or want to go fast, that's when accidents happen. The same is true at sea, rushing or running means heading for an accident. As a former Paris firefighter, Jean-Benoit is used to dealing with stress and tension and knows how not to pass them on to others. When we have time " explains Isabelle, " we prepare the maneuvers through explanations and dry runs. The better I do, the more I progress. "Their secret?" We know each other and know how each of us will react in a given situation. This helps to keep stress to a minimum. "
A safety-conscious organization
Prudent and far-sighted, the couple has established safety standards to which they adhere as much as possible." Neither JB nor I ever go out on the forward deck alone at night. If necessary, we wake the one who is not on watch to keep an eye on the other. And, at night, the vest is permanent, whatever the weather. During the day ", explains Isabelle, " as soon as either of us feels the security's a little tight, we strap on, lifeline to post, vest on our backs. If safety isn't an obsession, we make it an automatism "she adds.
Another approach to time
" Time management is reviewed. We have no obligation, except great ideas for destinations, Cape Verde in 2021, Brazil in 2022. For the rest, it will be according to our desires according to the weather, according to our families and our desires to see the land again, to see familiar faces again. "In everyday life, too, time takes on another dimension." If bad weather is given on a planned route, we stay where we are and postpone the departure. It's not 2 or 3 days of postponement that will change anything on the scale of ten years of dreams! "
Life on board close to life ashore
"The ship's roles are akin to life on land." I'm in charge of the galley and stewardship on board. Jean-Benoît is accustomed to medicine and injuries. I took an emergency medicine course before boarding. You never know which one of them can get hurt. "This internship, by the way, Isabelle strongly recommends it," It is organised in competition with the Centre de Consultation Médicales Maritime de Toulouse, which publishes the products and accessories useful on board and to whom it is recommended to communicate the composition of the on-board pharmacy. In this way, the doctors with whom we may be put in contact know precisely what we have on board. "A real security asset there, too.
Tips for candidate sailors
For women who also have this dream and would like to make it come true, Isabelle recommends: " Prepare to live summarily. Above all, don't think about living from one day to the next or on a whim. Analyze your consumption habits on land (water, household products ...) and transpose this consumption to what you could have in the middle of the ocean, without the possibility of refuelling. You will quickly realize that there are a lot of accessories in what we consume. "To prepare for the real thing, Isabelle gives a tip to other adventurous women." Go camping and see if you can stand the crowding, lack of comfort and temperatures. I think it's an excellent training for life at sea. "
All in all, Isabelle is happy, fulfilled and she sails with the man who shares her life. She explained to us that friends and family are undoubtedly missing. That there are and will be moments of cockroach, missed moments. But that in any case, she and her husband are convinced they made the right choice. And that they did it for them.
