A witness of the association since its creation
While walking in the bay of La Forêt, around Concarneau, one comes across a royal blue hull, topped by a wooden main mast, and a mainsail with a characteristic red stripe: it is Sereine. Built by the naval architect Henri Dervin, this 12.50 m long Bermuda cutter was commissioned by the couple Hélène and Philippe Viannay, as well as a small group of fellow members of the Glénans association. Very quickly, this sailboat became the property of the association, and integrated the sailing courses that it proposes.
âeuros¨ The sailboat, of 12 tons, is initially built without engine: the maneuvers of port are done with the sail. It will be necessary to wait several decades before seeing a mechanical propulsion appear on Sereine.
A blue shell that has seen all the colors
If the sailboat is still in great shape and sails regularly, she has experienced many ups and downs with the association. Struck by lightning in 1958, only her bow fitting really took a hit: Sereine held on.
Later, a heeling on the Petit Taro rock, at the entrance of Concarneau, shifted her ballast, but again, she held on.
The misadventures of the Sereine go as far as kidnapping: in 2007, the cutter is reported missing by the association, before being found at anchor on the island of Ushant three days later, and returned to the Association.
But she has also known glorious days: from the Azores to the United Kingdom, at the rhythm of a semi-high speed program, she has welcomed trainees since 1952 and participated in races and classic sailboat meetings, becoming such a mythical figure that she was declared a historical monument in 2001. She then found a new youth between 2004 and 2005, when she was completely restored by the Chantier du Guip, in Brest.
A sailboat at the rhythm of the quarters
The yacht was initially designed to be able to sail around the world, which explains the interior layout: after a navigation station with two coffin berths often occupied by the navigator or the skipper, there is a rather small galley, then a large saloon with 8 berths on two levels around the table. At the back, the sail locker, where you also find the toilets, and the two anchorages.
If the interior layout of Sereine is not optimal for a coastal cruise where the crew calls at the port every evening, it is perfectly adapted to a longer navigation where each one comes to find a space to himself in his berth closed by the anti-roll cover when his watch ends.
Sereine has definite seaworthy qualities, accompanied by her complete set of sails in the forepeak: a large genoa, three yankees, a storm jib on the main forestay, and a genoa staysail or a traveller staysail for her staysail stay. In addition to the main sail, there is also a symmetrical spinnaker with two massive spinnaker poles. The teak deck makes sailing comfortable for the crew, who can easily fit up to 8 people without stepping on each other.
Freshly armed with a new engine, Sereine is about to start a new season with Les Glénans, where she will continue to introduce adults and teenagers to semi-offshore sailing, starting from Concarneau.
