Born in Aubenas, Mathieu Claveau was linked to the sea by his father, a pure Breton. He took up sailing during his graduate studies. He is now an engineer, ambassador of “Plantons for the future”, he will be at the start this Wednesday, November 9 of the Route du Rhum, the initial gunshot of which has been delayed for meteorological reasons. At 33, he lined up for the first time in Saint-Malo, “already a source of pride as this kind of project is difficult to set up”. During this crossing, for each mile traveled, a tree will be planted by its sponsors. Mathieu Claveau, engineer, is extremely committed to the defense of wood. “I noticed that there was a gap between the demand, on the architectural side, and the image we had of cutting down trees. The solution is to replant.” After his childhood between Aubenas and the Cévennes, now his adult life near Marseille, he knows the forest well, has been marked by the fires of summer. “When I was little I remember a big fire not far from home, I always wondered, children’s questions, what I would choose to take if I ever had to leave”.
He already knows that the first days at sea will be tough, given the forecast weather forecast. “Naps are moments of pleasure but I only sleep in 20-minute increments, because you have to watch everything”. Mathieu Claveau is not difficult, he has acclimatized to freeze-dried food, he learns to love this lack of sleep, to appreciate every moment of the adventure, especially the competition, although his sailboat is far from being able to be competitive against the very best.
Lack of sleep makes you irrational, the slightest technical hazard can make us crack, then we burst into tears in front of a sunset. That’s what we’re looking for too.
To cheer himself up in difficult times, Mathieu has a secret, a jar of Ardèche chestnut cream. His Proust madeleine certainly gives him a taste of home, even in the middle of the ocean.
© Radio France
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Yohan Brandt