Ella has always been passionate about traveling. At the age of 26, tired of the Parisian life and of a job in which she does not flourish, she decides to buy a first sailboat to learn to sail, before investing in a bigger one to travel around the world. She then moved her whole life on board, in the port of La Rochelle, and changed her professional life to become an independent author and painter.
A sailboat bought to learn to sail
Ella did not have much marine experience: she gave herself a year to try life on board and learn to sail a sailboat properly. She chose a polyester cruising monohull, which she named Rio.
It is a Gib Sea 77, in a ballasted dinghy version from 1982 which she bought for 8,000 euros. It is one of 224 copies of this model signed by the naval architect Jean-Claude Meyran, produced between 1979 and 1984 by the French shipyard Gibert Marine.
The sailboat meets her meager requirements: the overall length of the boat of 7.68 m and the 2.80 m width allow her to live aboard and easily maneuver alone. The sheets and halyards are brought back to the cockpit, the height under the head of 1.75 m allows her to stand upright inside.
The boat's draught of 0.87 m to 1.77 m allows her to consider anchoring, even in heavy coefficients, in places where keelboats cannot pass. She is seduced by the pleasant and spacious cockpit. The boat can accommodate up to 6 people for the night, thanks to two cabins and a convertible saloon. There is an 80-liter fresh water tank on board, but no toilet or bathroom.
Aboard Rio, Ella will be trained to sail with a sloop rig in the head and a sail of almost 35 m², and an 8 horsepower engine.
Develop Gib Sea 77 to expand its navigation area
The following summer, when Ella felt ready to move to a larger boat, she was already too attached to her sailboat to part with it. She then made a few changes on board in order to consider longer crossings.
She changed the battery bank, bought an autopilot and a new anchor chain, installed a gantry and a 100-watt solar panel to be autonomous for several days. She also improved the interior spaces, rethinking the storage areas, lockers and cupboards, and adding two removable worktops in the kitchen. The yacht, which already had a good habitability, is now even more comfortable and adapted to life on board.
A ballasted dinghy ideal for coastal sailing and anchoring
It is said that the Gib Sea 77 is not suitable for racing. If the sailing capacities of a Gib Sea 77 in the ballasted dinghy version are not comparable to those of a Gib Sea 77 in the keelboat version, Ella confides to us that Rio goes relatively well at all speeds. It corresponds perfectly to Ella's cruising program, without any sporting ambitions.
After several discussions with other owners of the same model of sailboat, she suggests that the behavior of her particular sailboat is more related to her life on board: made heavier by the presence of all her belongings, the vessel would have a better stability.
If several users of the Gib Sea 77 in ballasted dinghy version report that the daggerboard regularly gets stuck, this mishap did not happen to him.
Since she discovered the joys of coastal sailing and the comfort her sailboat offers her in this sailing program, Ella has changed her plans. She confides to us: "there are already so many beautiful sails to do while staying in France, that for the moment, the transatlantic is no longer relevant."
He now has to add a bathing platform to compensate for the absence of a skirt on his boat and thus enjoy the anchorages even more comfortably.
