A new start

Since I'm a little boy, I dream of boats.

To go far away, to be free, unlimited, pushed by the winds, toward adventure. That was my childhood dream.

I had the immense chance to grow up by the sea in Brittany and to set foot on a boat from the age of 8. I remember it was an Optimist; You know these little nut shells that just allow a child to sit on board. And precisely I was as tall as three apples at 8 years old and it was the perfect boat for me. My first rounds in the water, alone aboard my Optimist, how proud and happy I was! I felt that everything became possible and I dreamed of voyages, explorations, adventures!

And then I grew up...

As I was doing pretty well at school I followed a clear path: preparatory class, engineering school and then I got my first job in engineering, rather comfortable and well paid in the industry. It was peaceful, but not very exciting. And then one day I got a kind of trigger. I tried to remember the young Arthur I had been and who had changed since the time of the Optimist... And everything went back to my memory. I found this little guy with his head full of dreams. The little Arthur; Little Prince curious of everything, player, dreamy, loving freedom and adventures. And it was like he was telling me: "why did you let me down? There's still plenty of adventures to live!" I realised that day, that I wasn’t myself anymore. Two feelings invaded me: joy to reconnect with the child I was and the certainty that I had to quit my job and change my life.

From that day onwards, when I took the chance to try a new life, opportunities came up to me, as proofs that I was on the right track; as encouragement to keep on dreaming.

A few days before the end of my contract, I was offered an incredible chance. Thanks to a great friend whom I will never thank enough for, I received one day an email from Michel Desjoyeaux, a great sailor who won the Vendée Globe twice, a mythical solo race around the world; and in this email, Mich 'as everybody calls him in the sailing world, proposed to me to work in his yard to prepare racing yachts for the Vendée Globe 2016. Without hesitating I accepted the offer and started my new life in January 2016 as a technician in the offshore racing team of Mich 'Desj': Mer Agitée.

OK, I earned twice as less money and my job was rather physical and messy. The first boat I prepared was in the middle of winter, outside, in the rain most of the time ... After that I spent a lot of time indoor but sanding carbon, or stacking carbon laminates. When you do this, you have resin everywhere and you have no idea how scratching carbon fibers are! But I did not care about this lack of comfort. All I saw was that I was learning a lot of exciting and useful things for the adventures that were in my head. I had the chance to rub shoulders with some of the best sailors in the world, as well as working alongside passionate and skilled technicians who took the time to pass on some of their know-how to me. How lucky I felt!

Today, I think back to my life a few months ago, and I begin to measure the impact of this simple question: "What are your dreams?" And the change occurred. Everything went on so fast!

As Einstein said

"life is like a bicycle, must move forward to keep the balance."

I decided to get the most out of my experience at the yard “Mer Agitée” and also to prepare for what comes next. I am an engineer, you remember? And I thought that would be really great to be able to put into practice what I learnt at school to design and imagine the ships of the future. So I took a chance and applied for the Naval Architecture Master at the prestigious University of Southampton in England. Luck came by and a few days later I received a conditional offer. I had to take on an English test. Nothing is ever taken for granted but I believed I could make it. After three weeks of intense studying, I passed the examination with distinction!

My dreams came true! An exciting year was coming ahead both from technical and life perspectives! I was about to learn how to build boats! This ancient know-how, full of myths, epics and incredible adventures; from Christopher Columbus to Eric Tabarly and today François Gabart and Alex Thomson and all those madmen who develop cutting-edge technologies while living their dreams. I set myself to follow their path!

#boats #dream #navalarchitect #soton #meragitée