This time, a new team of 4 young students aboard the Boudeuse tell us about their adventures through a logbook replete with poetry. These stories are told by young people who find themselves divided between a difficult yet marvellous daily existence – washing the dishes while looking out over the ocean – and extraordinary discoveries that cause them to lose all sense of time.

Enjoy these titbits from these lucky young people:

Etienne Gernez: I hear the sound of the wind in my ears …

“After a 2-hour drive winding through the forest and another 2 hours in a dugout canoe from Guyana to Brazil, I boarded La Boudeuse. I’ve been part of the crew for 5 days, and I’ve completely lost track of time. It hardly matters what day it is; the important thing is to be on time for the daily briefing by the captain, Patrice Franceschi.
My way of keeping my feet on the ground in the midst of so many new experiences is to do the dishes while admiring the view over the Atlantic Ocean through the kitchen porthole. If adventure is present even while I’m doing chores, then life really is good.”

Mélanie Théodore: An adventure novel …

“La Boudeuse leaves the mouth of the Oyapock to return to its base in Kourou. It looks imposing, with all sails flying. On deck the crew is bustling. They must slack the mainsail and let slip the mizzen halyard … All this terminology that I don’t understand adds to my sense of disorientation. It feels like I’ve been thrown into an adventure novel, and both the scenery and the characters around me are different from the ones that I know.
My first impression is very positive. The first impression in question is called Sebastien Lemoine, second mate on board: he gave us a tour of the ship and explained the rules that will govern our daily lives from now on. And so we take our places among the crew. Of course, this entails some constraints: washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, polishing the brass (a pure pleasure, polishing the brass!)… But we also learn something new every day: how to take the helm, read a chart, tie a whipping knot, coil a rope … And of all those little things that punctuate the days and nights, the most pleasant, I think, is to stand watch at night under the stars…”

Xavier d’Aumale: Five days of living a dream …

“Bordered by Brazil on one side and France on the other, the Oyapock River seems to acknowledge only one inhabitant – the jungle. Its density is intimidating and I try, as we travel downriver by canoe to reach its mouth, to identify the multiple sensations within me. I can’t help thinking about the unique opportunity I’ve been given to be able to experience this.
One night later, we hear the command we’ve been waiting for: cast off. I’ve dreamed of sailing under full sail on this beautiful ship, and it looks as though the wind heard me, as the captain has announced that we’ll be sailing for a good twelve hours. Being able to participate in the ship’s manoeuvres is simply extraordinary. It’s absolutely fabulous to feel the boat gradually gain speed as the sails hold a moderate wind which is still enough for us to slice through the sea at 10 knots.”

Oriol Font Casaseca: My suitcase full of memories …

“And so, after a few intense days, we come to grips with our two main lessons. The first concerns the specific rules for the adventure, as every little action in an environment such as the water or the jungle inevitably has a strong effect, and understanding the correct way of behaving in this environment is something that comes only from experience. The second is closely related to the first: every person in the group counts, and for the group to function, we must respect each person’s role; you can’t run a ship unless the whole group pulls together to do what it takes. It wouldn’t be possible to start a crossing at 6 o’clock in the morning and to continue until nightfall, seasick the whole time, and only able to rest just enough to recover the strength needed to continue, if it weren’t for the thought that everyone in the group is just as tired as I am and that I can’t let the others down.
The La Boudeuse project is a grown-up adventure, because each of us bears the consequences of our actions, and a large team of people both on the ship and supporting us from the land have pooled their efforts to ensure that our mission is a success.”