Sergio

I go on board the three-masted sailing ship where I have been invited to meet Sergio. It is raining, the sky is uniformly grey, but his warm welcome makes up for the dullness of the scenery. I step onto the gangway; he warns me about the slippery stairs and deck. He is on watch, and we do not have much time left, as the ship will get under way tomorrow morning. As he likes to do with every visitor, he quickly shows me the trainees’ quarters, with the cabins and the long communal table that has been laid.

Sergio L. is a 60-year-old Frenchman. He comes from the Lyon area. His family emigrated from Italy.

An uncle he never knew died while serving in the Italian Navy. This memory is probably connected with his maritime vocation. When he was very young, he collected pictures of sailing ships cut out from magazines.

During his military service in Brest, he did his best to be assigned to an ocean escort.

He has a university diploma in electronic engineering. He describes a very fragmented early professional career. The common thread was driving, so he carried out international deliveries in fast vehicles.

His desire for the sea returned while watching a television report on the charitable work of Père Jaouen. He travelled several times with him as a paying trainee passenger. Later, he joined the crew for four years and sailed on the Bel Espoir and the Rara Avis.

Already highly experienced in sailing, he enrolled in the fishing school of Les Sables-d’Olonne and graduated top of the class with a certificate in nautical instruction, which entitled him to obtain a seaman’s book.

At first, he worked on a freighter carrying sulphur and on a research vessel, but he wanted to sail on old sailing ships.

He therefore travelled several times on the three-masted sailing ship La Boudeuse, on which he sailed from Martinique to Nantes. At that time the vessel was carrying out a study on the “Peuples de l’Eau”.

He joined the crew of the vessel he is currently working on in 2000. This three-masted sailing ship is 120 years old and has had an exceptional career with various uses. It is now a civilian training ship open to all kinds of people without exception.

Sergio talks about it with passion, admitting that when he started it was difficult to overcome his lack of experience.

Tempted by the Hermione, he abandoned the project for fear of not being taken on again. On his ship, some seafarers have open-ended contracts, but there is a large turnover of staff, often justified, according to him, by the search for a steadier family life.

Within the crew, he describes himself as a topman, sailor and instructor. He works for two and a half months, seven days a week, ten hours a day at sea and eight hours a day in port. Then he is off for one and a half months.

On the ship, they practise what he calls participatory sailing. The trainees arrive on the day before departure, which takes place in the morning. With the crew, they take part in navigational watch and sail-handling manoeuvres, and they take the helm. They sail in this way for periods of three to ten days. For most of the passengers it is a gift. Some are complete novices, while others are regulars, including one record-holding woman who has completed a total of 50 stays on board.

He cannot stop praising life on board and the good relationships among crew members: “I get my kicks”, “it’s healthy”.

He certainly does not envisage retiring and says that, for the time being, he has no project other than returning to his native area where his relatives live.

Among all his good memories and all his wonderful encounters, he is not able to single out one particular occasion, but he remembers feeling especially proud during a call at Venice. He recalls how overcome with emotion he is when the ship enters a harbour, especially during the great maritime gatherings, and mentions Le Havre, Amsterdam and London during the Olympic Games. He is delighted by the public’s curiosity.

He cannot count the number of countries he has visited.

In harbours, he always goes to the Seamen’s clubs: he uses the internet and reads newspapers. He loves writing letters and makes envelopes from sea charts. He brings back coins from foreign countries and has permission to attach them to the ship’s pulleys.

On holiday, he keeps up his correspondence, plays indoor football, particularly enjoys cycling, and savours family life with his nieces and nephews.

The kitchen bell rings. He becomes restless, and I feel he has things to do, so we exchange our contact details and a warm handshake.