Bénédicte and her husband arrived in Les Sables-d'Olonne in 2013 for professional reasons. However, neither sailors nor navigators, it is by chance while strolling around the port that they discover the pontoon that brings together the people of Olonne. Accompanying these friendly sailboats, they come into contact with a lively and dynamic community.
The Olonnois is a small sailing canoe built in the 1960s by Clément Dubernet. If it looks like a work sailboat, it was designed for pleasure boating. This 5 m long open canoe is rigged with a horn. It was later equipped with a small cabin. From 1960 (date of its first presentation at the Paris Boat Show where 25 copies were ordered!) to 1976, nearly 150 Olonnois were built.
For Bénédicte, it was the friends of the association who surprised her to find an Olonnois in the state of a wreck, sunk in the port of Ars-en-Ré. They brought it back to her garden on a trailer in February 2017. This canoe which was called Reine des Anges will end up named Guet Apens. Indeed, it is almost a poisoned gift, because this boat has to be completely rebuilt before it can be enjoyed.
It is in the workshops of the association, helped by a marine carpenter and by the knowledge (and the help of all the members) that Guet Apens will be able to find its original line. In the evenings and at weekends this merry crew meets up for the renovation.
Finally Guet-Apens will be equipped with an in board engine (a Renault Couach as on some original models). The wooden parts will be redone according to the templates present at the site. Some are steamed to find the curve of the plans.
Finally the Olonnois n°109 joins its fellow boats at the Sables-d'Olonne pontoon in July 2017 after 6 months of construction and about 1500 hours of work with 5 people. The bow as well as the transom have been replaced, some planks have been changed, the keel or other parts of the deck are brand new ... Finally only 20 to 25% of the original boat are still there. This is the case, for example, of the mast and boom, which are still original.
Now in her new yellow and black livery, Guet Apens is gently pulling her moorings in Les Sable-d'Olonnes on this pontoon, which welcomes around 50 fellow competitors right next to the Vendée Globe pontoon.
This small boat is very pleasant at the helm, lively but also heavy enough to take on the sea. It takes part in local outings as well as in some old rigging gatherings. For the happiness of Bénédicte and her husband who are now addicted to this beautiful yacht.
