When Gerard Petipas talks about Mr. Tabarly, don't get me wrong. We are not talking about the famous ocean racer. It's about the racer's father, Guy Tabarly. The same one who put his son, then aged 7, on a boat for the first time. For the man who wore the sailor's uniform, Eric calls Tabarly.
Their paths first crossed for the first time in the early 1960s, somewhere between Saint-Malo la Bretonne and Granville la Normande, at the chance of the pontoons of a Cowes-Dinard, which was quickly led, certainly won by the Nantes native.
Almost chance encounter
Gérard Petipas, Tabarly's navigator for 15 years, explains to us " In the 1960s, there were no more than 5 or 10 boats that would race in England. We ran the Cowes Dinard. Fascinated by all the boats he could come across, Éric came to observe the old 6 m on which I was running. That's where we met for the very first time. Then we met again for the race, running against each other. After the race, I had to take the boat back to Granville and I had nothing planned for the rest of the race. Neither did Eric. We exchanged our lack of plans and Eric offered to take me for a ride at sea with him. We set course for the Channel Islands. Jersey, Guernsey, Sark and the Minquiers. We got along around these piles of rocks. "
An easy everyday life with the runner
Living with a competitor, skipper and expert on a daily basis could be a challenge. What is it really like? That's what Gérard Petipas tells us" Daily life with Eric was easy, extremely easy even. Eric didn't know, he couldn't help but trust 100%. If he trusted you, then he trusted you completely and without restraint. But you couldn't cheat his trust, because you would lose it 100% in that case, too. "He goes on," Eric had the talent to know how to surround himself with the right people, to create an emulsion between beings. His crews were thus, a joker (Kersauson), a manager (Petitpas), a technician (him). All these talents together balance the functioning of a boat which, as a result, was never too much of a thing or not enough of something else. "
Surprisingly, the conductor Éric Tabarly represents a leader of men, a conductor capable of organizing people to make them work in concert, to motivate and train them. A manager before the term is fashionable, perhaps. Fine tactician, no doubt. Confident, obviously.
Never a single argument
Éric Tabarly's confidant continues: " I was on board with Eric for 15 years, then we founded companies: Pen Duick and others. Some of our companies have been real successes, others smoking failures. Eric and I have had our differences of opinion, in business and on the water, but never an argument, never one word higher than the other. Eric knew how to be attentive to others, how to listen to them and how to make the most of what they gave him. He respected all points of view and all people on an equal footing, without ever denigrating anyone. "
Confident, always
There's no shortage of anecdotes about the way Tabarly did business. Gerard tells us: " One day, board of directors of one of these companies. Eric and I were there. He was reading his newspaper, totally absent from what was going on or being said around him, absorbed in his reading. At one point, one of the lawyers called him and asked him if he was not interested in these cases. Éric looks at him with this powerful look and answers that he has fully grasped his explanations, but Gérard is there and knows how to manage. "That was Tabarly, an ability to delegate with confidence as well as conscience. He adds, " By the way, asking Gerard this question will soon become his standard answer, including sometimes for just about anything and everything! "
Manager often
The world of business and its operation by delegation is decidedly extremely close to the way the skipper led his crews. We can see that the attentive delegation, the supervised trust, the professional benevolence and concept seen so innovative today represented the reality of this forerunner. There are reasons for that, as the partner of the company founder explains: " There's less Tabarly in the corporate world today. In the past, the CEO of Fleury Michon would make a phone call to Poupon to talk about sailing and partnerships, just as the Chairman of Crédit Agricole kept in touch with Jeantot. With a few notable exceptions, there is no longer any contact between the two people. Whether they are skippers or customers, the chairmen of these vast groups are cut off from the world by the ladders they have set up between them and the base. The communication department, the press team, the marketing team and other structures are all filters which, like distorting mirrors, project to the managers the only image they imagine these investors expect. "It is somewhat disillusioned that Gerard expresses his regrets before concluding: " Today's world has no room for a Tabarly. Maybe it doesn't need one? "
Obstinate sometimes
The idyllic picture is to be nuanced nevertheless " Tabarly's only real flaw? When he didn't want to do something. A real mule, stubborn and stubborn. If he decided not to do anything, you could try anything, you could try everything, he wouldn't do it, not today or a year from now, even if you could prove him wrong. "The corollary to any defect is the corresponding quality:" On the other hand, when he had won a subject's case, he could return from the mountains. For example, in the case of the Musée de la Marine, [editor's note: In 1996, President Chirac was planning to move the Musée de la Marine out of the Palais de Chaillot and install the Musée des Arts Premiers in its place, which Tabarly firmly opposed] Éric called me one night and explained this fight. He asks me to help him. He wanted to be at the 8 p.m. of PPDA the next night. He was, he pleaded his case and he won. As he usually knew how to do. "
Will we ever finish writing about Eric Tabarly? The veil has not yet been lifted on all his secrets. In 2020, many seafarers are claiming the sailor's legacy. Few have been close to him. And of those who have, we must safeguard and pamper the memory.
We thank Gerard and his wife for these words, for sharing these emotions.
