On a cruise-expedition ship, each day is a succession of intense moments and rigorous work to meet the demands of the mission. In this 2nd installment, Margot Sib opens the doors to her daily life as a photojournalist aboard the Le Ponant boats, revealing the pleasures and difficulties of her job.
How would you describe a typical day on board, between navigation, observation and photography?
As on-board photographer, it's important to know the start time of operations, which is set by the captain and his crew. At around 6 a.m. the same day, we'll scout out the location of the landing to find out if it's passable for passengers or if there are any animals in difficulty.
When the weather is bad, we have to change our plans. At 8 a.m., passengers begin their excursions. The photo-video team has free access from 8am to midday to the landing . We're autonomous. We make raw, untouched images when the passengers aren't present. It's very beautiful, because there's the silence of the morning, the animals waking up. These are special moments!
At lunchtime, we unload the first part of our morning images. We recharge our batteries over lunch. If we have time, we take a micro-nap, because rest time is extremely important given our work rhythm. Occasionally, we've taken the semi-rigid out into the fjords for a scenic sail during lunch.
In the afternoon, we're back on patrol before the passengers. We stay as long as we want, depending on what's going on and a whole host of other factors. When we come back in the afternoon, we're on call because we're in charge of an on-board store where we sell our images. We have to deal with passengers who have questions about the products we sell.
Ideally, in the evening, we have to show the day's images, so we can easily work until 11pm. In this case, it's usually because you've seen incredible things. When we do whale watching for example, this can last for hours, with whale breaths that you just don't know what to do with! From the moment you have animals, you know you're shooting in bursts, and for the photographer this is the most intense workload, because then there's the editing, the selection of images that will go into the best-of and touch-ups...
Between long voyages and timeless stopovers, how do you find your balance on board?
It's complicated because you end up in a downward spiral. What was most difficult for me was the first landing. At that moment, I really felt like I was leading two lives: my life on board and my life ashore. Anyone who hasn't lived through this journey with me will never understand what it feels like, never really.
We can talk about it, but people tune out because they don't identify with your experience, they don't connect with what you're going through. To them, you're just an adventuress. I don't see myself as an adventurer at all, because I don't do anything really exceptional. I don't go sailing on my own. If I'd gone to Antarctica on a sailboat, I could say it was a real adventure. But here, I'm in a cocoon of comfort. I have hot water, heating, food... and I didn't even prepare it myself! I'm leaving in conditions that are certainly extreme, polar, but in a very comfortable setting.
I had the advantage of leaving my family very early on. I have a very close bond with my father, but it's still quite distant. In other words, we can go months without seeing each other and still love each other just as much, there's nothing to worry about. As for the other part of my family, I don't have any great family ties. So it's never been a heartbreak from a family point of view. I know it's more complicated for other people who are very close to their families.
What links are forged with the crew, passengers and scientists?
It's very complicated to live self-sufficiently and in close proximity to the crew, all together. We live in shared 8 m2 cabins. You have to realize that you're working with people who are part of your daily life. You have breakfast with them, you work with them, you have lunch with them, you work again in the afternoon, you have dinner with them, you have parties with them... And sometimes you even sleep with them, like my roommate with whom I lived for a whole season. You get intimate with them very quickly.
I met people I would never have met in everyday life. It was incredible! And that's what life on board is all about: living with people you didn't choose, and making sure that things run smoothly, that operations move forward, and that passengers don't see what's going on in our private lives. Sometimes we like to joke and call what happens on board Love Story .
We're all suddenly on our own, and for some it can be very violent, because we don't have much of an internet connection, only 2 hours of free access. After that, you have to pay. In fact, we're reconnecting with people, and I think that's great! Inevitably, it creates stories, exceptional love stories, exceptional entanglements, and everything is extremely intensified. In my first season, I went from one extreme to the other, between happiness, unhappiness, sadness and anger, everything was amplified! That's what makes it one of the most beautiful memories of my life. It's also where I met my husband at the time, who's in the merchant navy.
We live on board with at least 15 different nationalities, with drastically different ways of thinking. We work with Russians and Ukrainians at the same time, who are often artists; they work in association with each other. So it's very interesting. You discover incredible worlds, and then there's very little time for idleness on the boat. That's why we talk about gears. You take the wheel, you walk to the end, then you get dizzy, and you say to yourself: "J i'm glad to be here, I needed to get some sleep. the greatest joy when you arrive is turning off your alarm clock!
Is there a ritual you've developed at sea, a habit you can't give up?
I'm very ritualistic, for practical reasons. I have a big problem with schedules. I'm often late, I miscalculate, I think everything will fit into a time limit, and it never does! I forget how long it takes to get there, how long it takes to get there... In fact, to make things easier for myself, over the years I've built up a number of automatisms so that I don't have to concentrate on trivialities. As soon as I wake up, everything is timed. I get up, shower, have breakfast, go to the office, read my e-mails, put on my suit, pack my gear and off I go. There's no time for relaxation.
I have a friend who used to get up earlier to do yoga in the morning, stretch, drink her coffee quietly, read the news. As for me, I don't have the time, out of the question. My sleep is too precious. In the mornings, I had these automatisms for not thinking too much and, in the end, I really woke up once I got to the RIB or the landing stage. The cold wakes you up anyway!
You've already sailed most of the globe. Is there anywhere you still dream of sailing and photographing?
This summer, I'll be doing part of the Northwest Passage. We'd already turned back before the last section, as it's particularly complex. So from July onwards, I'll be covering the Baffin Sea, everything west of Greenland. It's going to be great!
What I miss and would have loved to do is Alaska. It's a place rich in flora and fauna. Because of the new regulations imposed by Trump during his first term, it's become more complicated to go there. I would have loved to go and photograph grizzly bears fishing for salmon, it's a childhood dream.
My very first dream was to become a wildlife photographer specializing in felines. I'm passionate about these animals and I wanted to go and photograph the Bengal tiger. It used to be a financial problem to travel to India, pay for a guide and photograph the Bengal tiger. Now I just have to do it, but it's true that it's hard to take my eyes off my partner's shoulder!
Another dream would be French Polynesia; we should have gone there, but Covid wouldn't let us. It's a bit like a postcard, in a way. In reality, I'd like to discover it by sail! In fact, I've never been able to get on board the Ponant sailboat because the crew is so small. For my part, I'm starting to do a bit of sailing because my husband is a professional regatta sailor. He's pushing me, but gently, as I'm still seasick!
Do you have any personal projects connected with your sea voyages?
Yes, I have several projects in mind. I'd really like to do an exhibition. I'll have to find places to host it and apply... But the idea is there: to exhibit my images in Saint-Malo or the surrounding area, it doesn't matter, it's a real objective. At the same time, I've also been thinking about a book; that would be a must. I haven't yet decided what angle to give it: do I concentrate on the poles, Arctic and Antarctic, or do I propose something more global? I'd like it to be a beautiful, high-quality book. Self-published, if possible, to keep control of the project. Both projects are close to my heart, but the exhibition seems the most feasible at the moment.
If you had to express your feelings at sea through a single image, which one would you choose?
I'd probably choose a picture of the waves or an albatross in flight. I have a fascination for these birds, their freedom, their longevity in flight, their wingspan... It's an image of pure beauty. In fact, I love standing on the side of the boat, looking out to sea, watching us move forward and watching the seabirds take advantage of the currents and winds. They seem so at ease with the elements, it's fascinating to see how they cope. The image that immediately springs to mind when I think of my sailing experience is that of the horizon, with these birds dancing in the wind. They move together, creating a kind of natural choreography. It's a magnificent sight, really.
The polar regions, with their extreme landscapes and majestic fauna, are thus an inexhaustible source of inspiration for on-board photographers. However, we'll see in a later section that life aboard a boat in these environments is not without its constraints, and every day can become an adventure in itself.
