This time no blog from me, but a nice travel report from guests who made a sailing trip with La Brigante and skipper Edmond Galletti.
Gert Jan Willems and his family enjoyed this beautiful sailing trip along the southern French coast and were kind enough to share their experience with us. Thanks for this Gert Jan!
23 August 2021
We drive to Port Fréjus for a morning's sailing. It is around a quarter past eight when we park the car near the harbour. With the help of Google Maps, we walk to the mooring of "La Brigante". Of course we are too early, I like being too early because I hate being too late. Captain Edmond gives us a warm welcome to his ship and says "you are right on time...".
If we want, we can use the port toilet before we are at sea and it is no longer possible.
Slowly the other guests arrive and after a phone call from the captain, we leave the Fréjus harbour just after 9:00. There are 18 of us on board the sailing ship La Brigante. It is a two-master and because both masts are equal in length, the ship is called a schooner (source: Edmond). Just outside the harbour, the mainsail was hoisted and a little later the Genoa as well and we sailed along the coast of the Côte d'Azur at about 4.5 knots.
Edmond Galletti tells in two languages, French and English, about the ship, their permanent mooring in La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast, that the ship has been their home for more than 20 years and other details about the boat: sail areas, water displacement, construction etc. He then goes on to talk about the creation of the coastal landscape and the mountain ranges of the French coastline. Later, he goes on to talk about the creation of the Mediterranean, Europe and the other continents of our planet, and even what it will be like in the distant future.
It's not always easy to follow Edmond in all his enthusiasm, it's still English with a French undertone, but I do enjoy it (my daughter, an adolescent by profession, thinks: "Ok, whatever, just give me some sun and rest, I'm lying down). An information folder is passed around with pictures and -French- texts about the evolution of the earth. After 4.95NM, we anchor in a bay near Les Issambres where we enjoy a lovely swim. Goggles and snorkels are available so if you have forgotten something there is no problem .
After almost all of us have had a nice swim (even our teenager jumped into the water...) there is a drink on board La Brigante. I let myself be tempted by a nice cold beer. Time passes quickly, the anchor is lifted and we motor towards Fréjus because of (much) too little wind. Around 12:30 we moor at the mooring of the large sailing ship.
The four of us enjoyed our morning at sea and can recommend it to anyone, whether you like sailing, the sea or the Mediterranean, it is in one word great, a must!
Gert Jan