My Long Road to Freedom

In 6 weeks, I’ll be leaving the shores of England to sail in the Clipper Round The World Race. With a bunch of other lunatics, I will be living 11 months on a 70-foot race boat, going from Portsmouth to Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, China, USA, Panama and Scotland to come back to Portsmouth in July 2026. It is an understatement to say that I still do not realise that I am on this bandwagon!

Why am I doing this, getting myself away from family, from friends and from my current life; for such a long time; and all this to spend my days in miserable conditions of comfort, hygiene, exhaustion, you name it! Here are some partial answers. In no order of priority whatsoever.

I want to live a dream I had since I was a teenager. Before it is too late! It is the romantic idea of sailing the world, enjoying the freedom to go forward at sea, in the steps of Henry de Monfreid, Eric Tabarly, Kersauzon and all the mythical sailors of my youth! Indeed, I got the sailing bug early on, and was hooked by the time I was becoming a skipper with the Glenans sailing center in France: looking back at all these weeks of cruising the coasts of France and England, I wished we could keep going instead of dropping anchor after crossing the Channel, or would round Belle-Ile to sail to the other side of the Atlantic instead of stopping at its harbour.

I hope to rediscover the cheer pleasure of sailing a fine yacht at her best, surfing downwind in harmony with the ocean, with a well-oiled crew of good friends: truly living in the moment, savouring bubbles of joy out of day-to-day life. There is magic in Sailing, like in backcountry skiing where the more effort you put in, the colder you are, the more tired you become, the more pay back in pure joy you get!

This long project is not just about racing and doing stuff. I am sure that the journey will become more reflective and meditative as I go. I am thinking of Moitessier’s “La Longue Route”, and like him, I wonder what I’ll find once I cut the noise. Maybe there is no bigger meaning to find, but I do know that the journey will be worth it.

At the same time, this project is larger than me and I hope can be a way to engage with others: my family clearly, whom I hope will discover a side of me they had not perceived yet; My friends as well; You, reader of this post. I do hope to bring you some joy and ideas, and get you thinking. Maybe you’ll be inspired, not necessarily to do the same, but to step back and look at your life in a new way. We will see together how this goes.

Enough of self reflection for the time being. Here is the schedule so far, as I would love to see you during the various stops along our long way. (NOTE: a revised schedule has been announced since this post was created - please check FAQs)

• August: Depart from Portsmouth on August 31. The big event starts from the 29th. More info to follow, but supporters are welcome.

• September: Puerto Sherry in the South of Spain: We will be arriving between September 6 to 8 and leaving on the 12

• October: Punta del Este in Uruguay: arrival between October 9 to 13. Departing on October 19

• November: Cape Town, Southeast part of South Africa: expected arrival between November 4 to 8 and leaving on the 13.

• December: Fremantle in West Australia: landing between December 5 to 10 and leaving around mid December.

• The dates after this are still being finalised but we should stop in East of Australia in January, Qingdao in China and Tongyeong City near Busan in Korea around March, Seattle, Panama City and Washington DC in April and June, Oban in Scotland in July before heading back to Portsmouth for the race finish end of July

My next post will tell you more about logistic and stuff. For the time being, send me a WhatsApp or PM me with your WhatsApp number if you want to be added to my WA group, where I’ll give regular update of what’s going on doing the next 11 months.

I leave you with a link to a 5-part documentary recently released on the 23-24 Clipper race (available in some countries on Prime Video and on Adventure Sport TV.

(1) Morning coffee in an April morning before attending a course in Portsmouth. (2) Martin and I attending the crew allocation event. (3) My sailing buddies and I posing on the actual beast!

April - May 2025