Laurent Cordelle is a bit of a man in the shadows, the team-mate. And yet this sailor has practically raced almost everything that floats. Being 20 years old at the end of the 70s, he participated in the development of the yachting industry by being at the same time a racer, a naval architect, a master sailmaker and finally a marine surveyor. A very rich nautical life which necessarily favoured exchanges.
It is precisely about these encounters that he talks about in a book "100 encounters at the Fleur de Sel". For each of the characters he meets, he draws a quick portrait illustrated with an anecdote. It's short, it's precise, often incisive and always tasty (normal for this lover of cooking). Through these portraits, Laurent Cordelle paints a portrait of yachting. He will look in his memory for encounters with racers, sponsors, but also workers who participate in this passion. Indeed, these portraits are not limited to the stars. If Tabarly and Kersauson are among them, Laurent Cordelle quotes for example the life lesson of a forklift driver who was gloating in front of a well-made palette.
In the end, the 100 encounters ended with nearly 110 portraits. No doubt this is due to the generosity of the good man, because one thing is sure, this man who drew boats before the computer knows how to count! And yet this man of numbers can handle letters as well. Texts are fun and always pleasant to read. A real breath of fresh air that smells like salt spray.
100 meetings at Fleur de Sel
- Laurent Cordelle
- Éditions Ancre de Marine
- 230 pages
- 15 x 22 cm
- 22.00 euros
