Aconstant desire to travel
Originally from the south-east of France, I spent my childhood in Cannes, an area close to the sea where people liked to sail a lot. So I learned to sail, first on an Optimist, then with my brother on various dinghies. After that, I went to Toulouse to study audiovisual engineering, then worked in the film industry in Paris for a number of years, during which time I bought a boat, a First 32S5, which I put into port in Cannes. I sailed whenever I could, often with my cousin Jean-Philippe, who has always been my crew member. Corsica, Sardinia, Italy, Croatia... until the day when I was too busy making feature films after feature films.
Alas, at that point I gradually drifted away from the sea and sold my First, always with the idea that, when I had more time and means, I'd buy a big, beautiful boat. The desire to travel was always present in my mind. I met my wife Sandrine, and we had two daughters, Colomba and Charlize, who are now 11 and 10 respectively. My wife and I set up our company in Toulouse. We've worked like crazy for this company, and we've had the good fortune and the merit to make it a success,
About three years ago, seeing that the company's business was developing well, and that our Milan branch was also doing well, I started to think about what to do next. So I decided to slow down my professional life and gradually handed over the reins to Sandrine to devote a little more of my time to this boat project.
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Aproject: discovering the world
Even though my two daughters and my wife don't sail much, it's still a family project, since the idea was to have a boat on which we could get together whenever there was a school vacation, and at my daughters' age there often is, every six weeks or so. Our final destination is New Zealand, and we've been wanting to visit the country for a long time, so I needed a blue water cruising boat that could travel all the way there. The idea is to make the long crossings with an experienced crew, and to take the boat to destinations where the kids and my wife can meet up with us when they're on vacation. I wanted them to discover the world this way, visiting countries, meeting local people and cultures. I thought it was a great project, and I have to say that they immediately embraced it for their part. Then, of course, we had to find the boat.
Choosing the right boat
I quickly settled on an aluminium centreboarder , with all the advantages I felt this formula offered. Then the question quickly arose: used boat or new boat? So I thought long and hard about it. I said to myself that now was the right time to go for it, to live this experience, to have my boat built, this aspect of following a construction site, from the very beginning to delivery, that titillated me quite a bit. It was probably also linked to my state of mind, the desire to create something, or rather to build: that's what I'm all about.
I discussed this at length with my wife and daughters, with a view to discovering the world on each vacation by going back and forth. I've also tried to sail with them to show them what the sea is like, but not enough at this stage, and at the same time, the conditions in which we're preparing to sail as a family are peaceful, quiet conditions, they're not big sailings, unless of course one or both of my daughters, or even my wife, were passionate about ocean sailing, but for the moment that's not the case, they have their schooling to follow, and Sandrine for her part has her work which she's very passionate about.
"I've followed my dream to the end".
Of course, there were also a lot of exchanges and discussions with people around me, to define the kind of boat that would be suitable, so there you have it, it's clear that it's also a question of financial means, an aluminium boat is not the same price as a polyester boat. I quickly turned to Allures, and it was also through discussions, going to boat shows, meeting the Allures and Garcia boatyards, that all this matured.
I was quickly won over by the deck saloon in the Garcia's saloon, by the quality of the materials and the layout. Once again, I said to myself, "You're not going to buy 50 boats in your life, and this might be the only one you ever build, so I might as well go for something that represents what you're dreaming of".
That's it, I went for my dream, for what I wanted; I said to myself, "It would be a shame to be frustrated, to have regrets in short". And so I went for it, and for me, I took the boat that was totally in line with my dreams and what I wanted, and that's still the case now that I'm sailing it, all the more so after that first sail to bring it to the Mediterranean, I'm even more convinced of that. We saw each other at the Grand Pavois in La Rochelle in September 2019, we signed the contract in October, and right away, in March, the boiler making started in Condé-sur-Noireau.
Construction: a matter of trust
I went to visit the site over there in Condé at the beginning of July, and I was really impressed, really, by that stage. It was all very important to me, both the industrial tool and the associated skills. Antonio was so welcoming! He really took the time to show me around, to explain things to me. The boat was there, in front of my eyes, under construction, and it was really very interesting and exciting.
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I was also impressed by the environment, and by the aluminium boiler-making trades, which are hard and tough. In fact, I realized that my boat was going to be built by hands, by men. You don't imagine the details of things, you think "boats are built, then you see them sail, and that's it". But then I realized that they were built by passionate people, that these boats were the fruit of their know-how. Antonio was very attentive to detail, making sure that the hull was impeccable, that the welds were as perfect as possible. That's when I became aware of these things. I felt confident, thanks to the know-how expressed by the boiler works.
You ask yourself a lot of questions when you embark on a project like this, and here I was thinking "wow, this is big stuff, this is serious stuff": that's what I want.
Then came the assembly stage in Cherbourg. My relationship with the team essentially consisted of the one I had with Guillaume, who was in charge of following up the order and who kept me informed step by step of the construction stages; often available, he called me right back when I had the slightest question. You can never be sure of anything, you have to rely on your own experience and the advice you get from the site: that's why this advice is so welcome, and I've always found it to be accurate and unbiased. It all happened very quickly! When you sign the order form, you say to yourself "that's a long way off, it's a year away", but it all happened very quickly, and the boat took less than a year to build - I thought that was very quick! I know that I was one of the last to have such short delivery times, and that afterwards, the order book went into overdrive, but that's good for the shipyard, because it means that what you're doing is good: the number of orders you receive indicates that good choices have been made upstream.
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Reinforcing your choices
I'd heard all about the Garcia's reputation, which is already well established as I have hull no. 28 from the Exploration 45 series: a lot has already been said about these boats, and each time it's been very complimentary about their build quality and performance, it's fair to say, and also about the spirit of long-distance cruising and safety on board. After looking at Allures and then Garcia, of course I also looked at other competing builders and models.
Already, I really liked the deck saloon: and frankly, being able to keep watch when the going gets rough outside, being inside, in comfort, with a 180° view: I don't regret it.
There was also the question of delivery times, which were not the same for Garcia and its competitors. There was also the fact that the project seemed to be very strong financially; I had done some research on the subject, and saw that there were substantial financial resources: that's a reassuring factor when you commit yourself to a project, especially at a rather complicated time, with the global health crisis looming, and we didn't really know how it was all going to work out. As it happened, my choice had been made just beforehand, but it turned out that, in this totally unforeseen context, the site was able to keep to its deadlines, and I had no worries on that score. All this made me choose Garcia. I didn't see any points that would have made me doubt the quality of the site, the quality of the construction or its financial status. So there you have it, the lights were green.
Buying a boat, a global experience
Buying a boat isn't just a matter of choosing the right boat, taking delivery of it and sailing it for the first time. And so, for me, this experience also involved complementary aspects, such as training courses. When you place an order, you say to yourself: "I've got a year ahead of me to prepare my project". The boat is in the process of being built, and I follow it closely, spending time looking at the options and making my choices; I often travel, as much as I can despite the restrictions. At the same time, I also needed to immerse myself in the project itself, in what I would do with the boat. I thought it was a good idea to confirm my knowledge, let's say I needed to reassure myself by taking additional training courses.
Navigation training: a real asset
I started with a training course on the diesel engine, then went on to a training course on on-board electricity, and that's when I said to myself "I can finally ask questions about things I don't understand, or confirm things I already knew". Very concrete subjects, especially in electricity where it's a bit more complicated for me. I was more at ease with diesel mechanics, but with electricity I needed to understand how it worked. Then I did other training courses, in particular one on sail repair: here too, if you don't spend a bit of time on it, if you don't go to a Workshop, there are lots of things you hear about, vocabulary, ways of doing things, and all of a sudden it speaks to you and you know what it's all about once you've done the training. What's more, I'm talking aboutEscale Formation TechniqueI'm talking about Escale Formation Technique, with top-notch instructors who are good, professional people. I also took a course on on-board medicine, to find out what to take on board when you're going to be away for a long time, and how to react when you find yourself in the middle of the ocean. These courses were great.
A project rich in culture and discovery
The other stage was getting to grips with the boat, which isn't easy, especially when you find yourself in the middle of a health crisis in Cherbourg in January, with few sea outings and less-than-ideal weather conditions, as well as restrictions on movement and curfews. All in all, it was a bit complicated. It's true that I really wanted the boat to be in the Mediterranean fairly quickly, to take advantage of the season that was about to begin. At the very beginning, I had in mind to take advantage of being in Cherbourg to go for a walk in places where I certainly wouldn't go afterwards, and where it would in any case be more complicated to go. I wanted to go to Norway and enjoy the coming summer. And then, having thought about it, maybe it wasn't such a good idea for my children and my wife; maybe I shouldn't have taken the risk of putting them off sailing, even though I know that the July/August period is favorable in Norway. Maybe it wasn't the best way to get them interested in my passion. So I abandoned the idea. It was better to have the boat in the Mediterranean for the first summer.
What I wanted to avoid above all was the risk of disgusting my daughters, Colomba and Charlize, as well as my wife, by being too eager. I have a feeling that my youngest daughter will be quite adventurous... We'll see.
The idea at the moment is really to get them involved in the project and to put the boat in places that mean something to them, if possible in connection with their schooling, such as Greek mythology, which they've already learned a bit about, as opposed to Viking civilization... Not a bad excuse for a sailing destination.
Convoying, a 24-hour a day service
And so for me it was important that the boat reached the Mediterranean in early spring, because I needed to take it in hand and bring it closer to where I live. It takes a day to get up there from Cherbourg, where access is not easy for us southerners. Initially, we were going to do it with three crew members. Sanitary conditions being what they are, we had big doubts about how we'd be received if we had to make stopovers in Portugal or Spain; at the time, sanitary restrictions were pretty tough in Portugal. I was a little afraid of getting my crew involved in a program that would be too long - they only had three weeks to devote to me, which is already a lot, they had taken a break from their professional lives to be able to take the boat down - they're fully committed to the project and that's great, but I couldn't take the risk of seeing them stuck in Portugal for three weeks.
After checking with the authorities in these countries, the only way to convoy a boat in an authorized manner was to use a professional convoy. To do this, we had to ask the Garcia shipyard to validate the project with the participation of a professional skipper from the shipyard, Philippe. In fact, from a health constraint and a situation that was not initially envisaged, with an additional cost as well, this option became something that I am, in the end, very happy with. Not only did we benefit from excellent weather conditions, as we sailed downwind from Cherbourg to Gibraltar in 7 days, at an average cruising speed of 7.5 knots - great sailing in other words - but above all, getting to grips with the boat with Philippe was brilliant. I realized that the half-day sailings planned when we took delivery and got to grips with the boat were - for me at least - too limited by this time constraint. In half a day, you have an enormous amount to assimilate, all the documentation, the things to see on the boat, a huge amount of new information; it's all very well done, the yard does it very well, you have all the documentation and everything you need, but in fact you don't practice enough.
We took 11 days to get to Barcelona, and now we're dealing with the real thing, with constantly changing scenarios unfolding in front of us. We repeat the maneuvers, so getting to grips with the boat comes naturally and smoothly. It's just great! Now, I'm not saying I know the boat by heart - I've still got a lot of sailing to do to really master it perfectly - but I've saved an incredible amount of time in terms of getting to know it. If I'd gone out with my two crew members, we wouldn't have had the same source of valuable information so quickly.
The worksite, a reassuring presence
We had a few minor problems, which is normal, notably water seepage into the forepeak; to find out where the leak was coming from and how to repair it, Philippe, the skipper, who knows the boat well, was totally efficient, and also to repair it temporarily so that we could continue without having to divert. His knowledge of the boat was just superb. There were several small points like that, which aren't serious, but which are inevitable on a new boat. We were aware of this from the start.
It's precisely these first navigations that serve to detect these problems.
What's great is that behind him there's the shipyard, which reacts quickly, which is great, and then there's Vincent, who also has a wealth of experience, never gives up, never lets up. He doesn't hesitate to put his shoulder to the wheel, and I think he's one of the most valuable people in the yard. I really like this guy, he's very available, he doesn't give up. I'm a rather demanding person, but I'm totally satisfied with the relationship with the shipyard and its after-sales service.
Rich, shared experiences
So, to come back to it, I'm won over by the skipper, by Philippe, because not only does he know the boat really well and is an excellent navigator, but he also has rare human qualities, which are very important when sailing. During the delivery trip, I often caught him and my crew member Jean-Philippe with smiles on their faces, and we were really happy to be sailing together.
It was great, frankly; it ranged from tips on trimming, how to adjust the boat according to the state of the sea and the wind; he passed on all that to us in an extremely generous way, it was great.
Sylvain welcomed us to Port Camargue, so there's a real sense of continuity, with Vincent overseeing the operation from Cherbourg. The boat is still in good hands... I know I can count on GLS to take care of what needs to be taken care of, the boat is just being prepared, and in May she'll be ready to start her little Mediterranean tour, so that's great, I think that's really good.
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"Now it's your boat"
This delivery trip was perfect, it was really great sailing, and in the end it was also a good option. If you really want to get to grips with the boat completely, and feel autonomous, this is one of the best ways. Philippe said something to me at the end, as we were leaving Barcelona, which really impressed me: "Now you've got your boat, you've got it in your hands, you can sail it, it's your boat". And that made me happy, because that's how I felt too.
Well, I made a mistake on some options, on some equipment choices, and you realize it after the fact, but it's no big deal. For example, I took the option of a gennaker at the shipyard, but I don't think I should have; I don't think I'm going to use it, if I had to take another sail it would be an asymmetric spinnaker. During the delivery trip to the south of Portugal, we did a lot of downwind, downwind or broad reach sailing. We pitched the solent and put it in a scissor, which is very efficient and works very well when there's air. I've got another upwind gennaker that can be set at 50° to the wind, and it's been used in the Mediterranean and will be very useful in light airs.
Another image that comes to mind is our departure from Cherbourg, with everyone from the shipyard, Marc, Cyrille, Guillaume... I was really excited to leave, and I was very moved to see everyone come to greet us at the harbor, at noon, with a bottle of Calvados.
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Desenvies de bout du monde
As for how long I'm going to keep this boat, I don't ask myself any questions: for the moment, I'm very happy with it, and that's a good thing. Above all, I want to enjoy it, to share it with my family and the people I like to sail with. I have this idea of New Zealand, and of taking her there; but it's true that it takes time, that it's already a program in itself; as for knowing how long it's going to take to get her there, I don't know, it's going to depend on my family, on how they enjoy sailing, on which destinations we like more than others and where we're going to stay longer... I'm going to be going back and forth, that's what I know. Do you have to make a plan and stick to it? It's true that New Zealand makes us dream, and my wife and I often talk about it, but what could be better than visiting the country by boat? I haven't set myself a more specific project than just imagining New Zealand as a destination, that's all.
We're already going to enjoy the boat this summer in the Mediterranean, where I'll certainly leave it next winter, and from there we'll start our journey, crossing the Atlantic without dragging our feet too much in the West Indies to reach Panama the following season; and quickly the Pacific, but after that, in the Pacific, I don't know, we'll see. I don't know how long we'll keep the boat, but let's say as long as possible. We'll do the best we can, taking pleasure in the moment, but so many things can happen in life, some good, some not so good, and above all I'm not on my own, there's also the feeling of others which counts enormously.
Between ethics and aesthetics
The subject of my children is an important one, and it shows in the decoration of hull, which is clearly very marked. I wanted to highlight my two daughters. This is already reflected in the name of the boat, "Cochize", with the "Co" for Colomba and the "ize" for Charlize (with a z). Cochise (with an s) was an Apache chief whose values of living close to nature appealed to the youngest of my daughters, Charlize: "You give back to nature what you take from it" is a subject close to her heart, as it is to many children.
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The boat's name, Cochize, made sense not only as a contraction of my daughters' first names, but also in terms of ethics and our relationship with nature. The profiles of Colomba and Charlize's faces are depicted on either side of the bow. This really appeals to people. I didn't realize how enthusiastic people were about the boat when it was in Cherbourg, on the pontoon of the shipyard where there are mainly Allures and Garcias, and where not many people pass by in the middle of winter and in the middle of CoviD... When we arrived in Port Camargue, on the other hand, it was obvious: all the boats coming in and out of the harbor kept saying "your boat is beautiful! ... it's magnificent! It wasn't just the decoration of the hull , but also the overall look of the boat, and I'm very happy about that. It helps to identify the boat with a vision that's consistent with our family project, which is really all about sharing.
These are my impressions. Now there's a lot to live for, a lot of great things to do with this boat, which is a great boat!
