His taciturn image sticks to him. Olivier de Kersauson is one of those loners who attract sympathy. Since a young age, the navigator has traveled the world. The oceans no longer hold any secrets for him. Between two trips, he stopped off in Paris to promote his latest book called Before the memory fades. Some maritime remarks (Ed. Le Cherche-Midi).
On this occasion, the columnist of Grosses Têtes on RTL spoke, like never before, about the passing of time in an interview given to our colleagues from Paris Match. If death does not scare him, Olivier de Kersauson suffers the hazards of old age. He explained it openly.
Olivier de Kersauson discusses his relationship with old age
Last July, Olivier de Kersauson celebrated his 80th birthday. A longevity which surprises the main person himself. “I never thought I could reach the age of 80. I tell myself that I'm very lucky“he confided in the columns of Paris Matchexplaining not to be afraid of death. However, with the weight of the years, the writer and adventurer has had to make some changes in his personal life.
“After, old age doesn't make me particularly hard“he estimated before specifying: “Every day we lose a little strength and power. We become an old machine that is broken […] After a certain age, life is no longer necessarily interesting.” Although he considers old age to be a gloomy period, Olivier de Kersauson savors every moment of life, having gone through difficult times.
Olivier de Kersauson diagnosed with cancer in 2018
In 2022, Olivier de Kersauson revealed that he had been diagnosed withlung cancer four years earlier. An ordeal that made him take a lot of perspective on his daily life. The former teammate of Eric Tabarly and ex-companion of Florence Arthaud says he is not afraid of death.
“I didn't ask to come and I'm not asking to leave
[…] But the day I have to leave, I will only have thanks to give to life. I was, I remain, happy to live”he revealed. With a mother who was a hundred years old, Olivier de Kersauson takes life as it comes. Grieving after the death of his ex-wife Caroline in 2005, the sailor found love again three years later alongside Sandra, originally from Polynesia.
