A desire for adventure
In 2020, Anaïs Billot and Louis Monzies have been living in Tahiti for several years. Anaïs is a nurse, and Louis shoots documentaries on the mountains and the sea. He works for the television channel Polynésie La 1ere, for whom he has already directed two seasons of the program Bleu Océan Mag.
But shooting episodes on Polynesian islands is complicated: inter-island exchanges are long, expensive or simply non-existent when the atolls are too little frequented or far away.
Anaïs and Louis, who are thirsty for adventure, make an unusual proposal to the channel: to take to the sea so that the organization of the reports is easier and the islands more accessible. Their idea was accepted.
A sailboat to travel
In Papeete, Anaïs and Louis have a crush on a sailboat that seems robust and well thought out, named Maoti.
It's a Joubert design, an El Rapid: a ballasted dinghy for travel made of aluminum, built in Brittany at La Trinité-sur-Mer. Launched in 1999, the boat is 42 feet long.
The exterior spaces and the cockpit are spacious, the interior is well organized with plenty of storage space. There are no specific arrangements to be made, except for the construction and installation of a large rigid bimini, designed to protect the crew from the sun and collect rainwater.
The couple buys the sailboat and from the very first sailings, they are confirmed in their choice: Maoti is a fast and solid boat, easy to steer. Anaïs takes a leave of absence without pay, trains to become a drone pilot, and they both embark on a big change of life.
Visit while working
Louis and Anaïs set out to explore the immense territory of French Polynesia. In two years, they visit ten islands of the Tuamotu archipelago and five islands in the Marquesas, bringing back each time testimonies of little known civilizations and territories.
They easily adapt to life on board. Louis tells us that they fish a lot while sailing: beyond feeding them, this allows them to be taken seriously when they arrive on a new island, and makes the population interested in the reports. Anaïs specifies: "we also sometimes trade fish for fresh fruit and vegetables!".
On the spot, Louis also integrates quickly by practicing underwater fishing with the inhabitants.
Passing on discoveries
On a daily basis, on board the sailboat, Anaïs captures aerial images, while Louis produces the films, from shooting to editing, including the voice-over. The finalized episodes are sent on hard disk, in air freight, before being broadcasted by the TV channel to the general public.
So far, the couple has been able to produce 23 episodes of 13 minutes each.
