The majestic boat leaves no one indifferent in the port of Concarneau. Neither does the sailor on board. Until mid-August, Florence Arthaud’s old boat will be refurbished in Michel Desjoyeaux’s shipyards in Port-la-Forêt, in Finistère. Its new owner, Philippe Poupon will sail the next Route du Rhum with it, 32 years after Florence Arthaud’s victory. A way to pay tribute to the navigator, who died in 2015 while filming a television show.
This boat, Philippe Poupon first acquired it for his companion, the director Géraldine Danon who is currently making a film on “the little bride from the Atlantic” which she was very close to. The filmmaker is also on board with their two daughters for a short crossing of the bay of Concarneau, with the engine and under a radiant sun.
Pirate attack off Yemen
This is the second time that Philippe Poupon has sailed with Peter 1strenamed Flo. “It’s been 30 years since it’s been in France… When I bought it, it was in the Philippines. I got it back from Cannes“, explains the Quimpérois. Yet the boat did not nearly arrive safely: on returning from the Philippines, the team responsible for bringing it back to France got a little too close to the coast of Yemen. Fortunately, everything ended well and the boat came out safe and sound. “We are very happy to have found it. It is a French maritime heritage. There are not many boats from that era. Either they disappeared at sea or they are broken… C is the last of the survivors.”
And not just any. Its stature inspires admiration: 15 meters wide, 18 m long, 30 meters mast. But above all, it was on board that Florence Arthaud won the Route du Rhum in 1990. Closely followed by her friend Philippe Poupon. “When she won in 1990, I came right behind her… Well, ‘just’, hours after her!” he recalls, a bit nostalgic.
A woman who was not afraid of anything
Here is the famous trimaran on the coast of Finistère until mid-August. Enough to bring crowds back to the quays, who came to observe the two legends. Didier eyeing the ship from the fishing port of Concarneau. “I came to see the boat, it reminds me of Arthaud’s victory in 90. I remember a woman who was fearless, on the sea she was phenomenal… She must have done some cry men! “On the other side of the bay, in Port-la-Forêt, Michel shares this emotion. “I have chills. I’ve followed all the big races for 30 years.” No doubt, he will follow the next Route du Rhum starting in Saint-Malo on November 6th.
Philippe Poupon leaves without sponsors, with the sole funding of donations. His boat is 32 years old, he is 70. But nothing will make one of the most successful French sailors back down. “I fear no one. I will fight the sea and the oceans as best I can.” Flo will give him the necessary strength for this race. His face will also be drawn on the mainsail. “She left seven years ago, but she never really left us…”
– Anaelle Larue