On board the Belem, the ship that will carry the Olympic flame to the Old Port of Marseille, on the last French 3-masted boat in operation for 3 days. Twenty-eight young men, aged between 16 and 24, learned to sail with a team last October, supervised by professional sailors. One of the water boats will be chosen to take part in the wonderful crossing between Greece and France at the end of April. The Belem, one of the most beautiful ships in the world, has no end in surprise to those new sailors.
Before starting the manoeuvres of this 58-metre-long giant, the students will be asked to tie knots on deck, something essential for the 22 sails of this old advertising boat.
According to Kevin le Guen, Boatswain Instructor, “You can’t do anything with the strength of one man. A man on this boat alone, he can’t do anything. “
Théo, a young sailor in training, exhausted by the manoeuvres of whistling the sails, did not expect this at all. “Ah, I can’t take it anymore!” He whispers. I just thought I was going to take some in the sea. “
As a child, Alexandre was looking for a pattern. Today it’s a dream come true. ” It’s the most productive position for me, it’s amazing! You have to tell yourself that you’re leading, you’re piloting a shipment that’s over a hundred years old and as a student, that’s not bad, is it rarely very bad?
Among the 28 young sailors, Junior Amos. This young man from Marseille had to overcome his phobia of deep waters to take part in the adventure. Three months ago I didn’t even know how to swim.
Just a few hours after his departure, the Belem gives Junior and the others an unforgettable souvenir: the dolphins in the ship’s grooves.
Junior, excited, is very happy with the show: “Look, there have been dolphins and it’s the first time I’ve seen them in their herbaceous state. And it’s anything to experience. Honestly, I don’t know what word to put in. “put to describe it”
At sea, the bonds between young people are woven naturally. For many of them, this release represents an enchanted interlude.
Nicolas Sidibé, a trainee sailor, does not hide his happiness. It takes me away from where I am, from the city. Now we’re at sea, we’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s not every day you get to enjoy this. “
While the captain forces the students to climb to the top of the mainsail at a height of ten meters, they are presented with a new spectacle: the whales.
Alexandre Tolnai, a sailor in training, is amazed. It’s beautiful, you couldn’t be luckier. I think we had the difference between dolphins and whales being on the mast. “
At the end of this stay, it will be decided who are the most deserving of the young people for the Olympic torch journey. The Belem will cross the sea from Athens between the end of April and the beginning of May to arrive in Marseille on May 8. .
“Even if I’m not selected,” says sailor Alexandre, “frankly, it’s a joy that I won’t do in my life and that I won’t forget and that I’ll actually tell my children or all of them. “
One hundred years after the last French Summer Olympics, everyone is dreaming of pioneers for those 2024 Games.
As night falls, some fall into the arms of Morpheus. While others, like Yacine Nassah, a trainee sailor and BTS accounting student, allow themselves to dream that it will be a Marseille man who will bring the flame from Greece to France.
And exactly this flame he’s been thinking about for a long time. “Even before I came, I was thinking about it. Just thinking about what it’s going to be like, how I’m going to be in the crew, the ten days of Crossing with the Flame, the soldiers, the hounds and when I get to Marseille, my family, my loved ones, all around this event. Now I’m still projecting myself. . . It makes you dream, I’ve got stars in my eyes. and in my head. “
The remains continue to amaze young people in the northern districts. Junior can’t sleep either and hopes to be the lucky one. ” If I can get the flame back, it would actually be an honor for my grandmother because she has watched the Olympics from afar and to see that her grandson today can bring back the flame, it would be really honorable and wonderful for her. “
While waiting for the effects to be announced, these are the last moments of coexistence on board the Belem.
Phone numbers are exchanged to keep in touch. “With the Belem we have created even more bonds and fraternity,” says one of the young sailors in training.
This adventure allowed the young people to get a taste of the life of a sailor. Some even expect them to be professional.
More than a century after going through its first waves, this unsinkable continues to mark new hearts for life.
The 4 episodes of the series can be discovered here: