A completely refurbished sailing school base
Despite the constraints of insularity, the Glénans school has completed a thorough renovation of its base in Bananec, in the Glénan archipelago, between the fall of 2021 and the fall of 2022, in the space of one year. The 380 m² of historical buildings of the school founded in 1947 house the trainees' rooms, kitchens, a dining hall and sanitary facilities. During the works, all the premises were revised. New sanitary facilities were built, the old showers were transformed into a workshop, and the furniture was renewed. A wooden cladding covers the walls and a roof gives a shelter to the courtyard of the building.
The president of the Glénans school, Eric Perego, explains: "André Gomis, the original architect, was already concerned about sobriety with autonomy in water, electricity and waste, and we continued this with the architect Hervé de Jacquelot. This is important for us. God knows what the state of the archipelago would be if it had been left to consumerist tourism 75 years ago. That's why we want to be a major player in the future national reserve."
A complete network renovation
Les Glénans is working on the renovation of all its bases. A multi-year plan of 10 years links it to public financiers, the State, the Region of Brittany and the departments. The renovated base on the island of Arz had already been inaugurated before the 2022 season. In 2023, the mythical site of Fort Cigogne, dating from the 18th century should see its work completed. They will have required a budget of 5 million euros.
Educational and social projects around sailing
On the occasion of the inauguration, the Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville, who was present on site, announced the granting of 200,000 euros to the Glénans for the KISS project. Thanks to this grant, the dugout canoe, presented as a modern yacht, will be built from 2023 by 5 high schools in the framework of educational projects. A fundraising campaign for 10 other boats in 2023/2024 will be launched. The project is in line with the social projects carried out by the association, which welcomes every year children from the welfare system or chronically ill people to create links through sailing.
