A post-war world tour
Marcel Bardiaux is a seasoned sportsman, a champion kayaker, who was not on his first adventure when he set out on his first solo round-the-world voyage in 1950. The man, who had already sailed around Europe in a canoe, built a 9.38 m sailing boat. Started during the Second World War, the construction lasted eight years until the launch in 1949. At the time of departure from Paris, the boat was not yet completely ready, but the sailor set off all the same, sailing down the Seine to Le Havre.
From stopover to stopover to Polynesia
Marcel Bardiaux then embarked on longer and longer crossings, gradually breaking in his boat and gaining experience. He sailed along the French coast, then Spanish and Portuguese, until he reached Casablanca in Morocco. He then reached the Canaries, then Dakar. He optimized his rigging with twin jibs, before attacking the crossing of his first ocean, the Atlantic to Brazil.
The sailor then sailed along the coast of South America, until he passed Cape Horn, before sailing up the Chilean coast and heading for French Polynesia.
The book alternates between long accounts of stopovers and the evocation of sea events and storms, especially in the South Seas.
The pleasure of another time
The reading of 4 Winds of Adventure plunges us into a navigation and a vision of yachting, but also of the society of another time. This immersion is certainly enriching, notably thanks to the period photos and the accounts of the ports of call, where we can see the nascent place of yachting, which is struggling to make its place in the ports. The stories of navigation and food management also remind us how modern boats today offer all the comforts of home, far from the reality of the pioneers.
Unfortunately, this story nevertheless struggles to embark. It is polluted by the author's numerous value judgments, on the inhabitants of the port of call, on the countries, but also by the resentment that is constantly coming out against the other sailors of his time and the institutions. The rather macho vision of the society is also heavy.
Those who are passionate about the history of yachting will want to read this story. For the others, they will probably choose other, lighter readings...
Aux 4 Vents de l'Aventure, 1 the Cape Horn challenge
- Marcel Bardiaux
- Editions Arthaud
- 14,5x20 cm
- 476 pages
