A sailboat to live in
At 18, Thomas is in maritime high school and plans to enter a BTS in Saint-Nazaire, but in a work-study program. Originally from La Rochelle, he sails a lot in windsurfing, and with his parents on Impulsion, the family quarter-tonner. To find lodging during his studies, he went looking for a sailboat to move between his place of study and Lorient, where his work-study company is located. At the beginning, his choices are around 30 feet sailboats. He visited several of them, notably a First 31.7 which he liked, but he discovered behind the advertisements, sailboats in poor condition. Finally, it is on a Bavaria 38 from 1987 that he will stop. This sailboat, certainly bigger, is at the same price and has only a tired engine.
A cooperating banker
To finance the 35,000 euros, Thomas took out a loan at a bank. The student loan is not accepted, but backed by the wages he will receive from his work-study program, the banker follows him for a traditional loan. In May 2020, at 18 years old, he is the owner of Obsession, even though he has not yet started his BTS !
A sailboat that can be sailed
The boat is ready to sail. Helped by his dad, Thomas will start the engine again. " These were just small problems with porous hoses that needed to be replaced and a slight oil leak, for which we changed a spinnaker seal. "
As for the rigging, Thomas prefers to replace the standing rigging. The sails are good with a Hydranet genoa, a correct mainsail and a staysail on a removable forestay. A Triradial spinnaker completes the wardrobe.
On the electronics side, he installed a NKE control unit and kept the Autohelm autopilot. " I was able to make these choices because I borrowed a little more than the purchase price of the boat. "
Living on board, a plus for your training
Today, Thomas lives aboard his Bavaria 38 and enjoys the duality between his theoretical training and the reality he encounters on his boat. " Living on board, you have to count on one shit per week. I had a fire on the pontoon which created a power surge on board and fried the fridge. So, I looked at the 220 V circuit and I recreated a clean and protected installation. Same thing with a fresh water leak under the kitchen sink, an old pipe that cracked. I found the 350 liters of the hold in the hold. But most of all, I discovered that the fridge compressor is just under the sink, obviously well watered in case of a leakâeuros¦ "These small ups and downs make him think when he draws plans for his training.
A very comfortable Bavaria 38
Thomas likes this Bavaria for the life on board. The huge L-shaped galley is very comfortable, with nice spaces for cooking. His Bavaria is in a 2-cabin version, which provides a very large locker in the cockpit: " Ideal for storing windsurfing equipment! "He also really likes the engine access from the aft cabin. But above all, he considers his sailboat to be a real "safe". Very seaworthy, he is not afraid to face bad conditions.
On the other hand, this boat is heavy: " The last weighing under the crane announces 9.5 tonsâeuros¦ So in light airs, we often use the Volvo reef. Below 10 knots of wind, we have to rely on the engine. "
Another drawback is that the rudder is deeper than the keel. It plunges to 1.80 m, while the keel is at 1.70 m. This gave Thomas a bad surprise during a heeling, when the rudder broke in 2: " There was only 50 cm left under the hull. The port maneuver was a bit hot! "
Thomas likes to eat miles
Today Thomas lives on board, but above all he sails. He has his monthly 50-mile delivery trip, which he does in about 10 hours. Sometimes alone, sometimes accompanied by friends or parents. He has no assigned berth and moors as a visitor in Lorient and Pornichet.
Thomas likes old-fashioned navigation. If he has a GPS and a VHF on board for his safety, he practices dead reckoning with a Cras ruler on a paper chart. It is his pleasure. In addition, he participates in many regattas as a crew member on series such as the 8m JI, the IMOCA, the Mini 6.50 and even windsurfing. Moreover, it is in the regatta that he builds his future at the end of his training in the fall of 2023.
Indeed, Thomas is officially a crew member on Neptune, a competitor boat of the OGR, a replica of the Whitbread. Each crew must have a young person under 24 years old at the start of the race. Thomas will only be 20 years old!
