It was a veritable nautical ballet that escorted the Olympic flame into the bay of Marseille. Among the flotilla of boats, the Martinican skiff. The crew came specially to accompany in the last meters of navigation, the three-masted Belem on which the Olympic flame completed its crossing between the port of Athens in Greece, and that of Marseille in France
The 6 students of LEGTA de Croix Rivail and their boss Christophe Dédé will remember this May 8, 2024 for a long time.
Aboard their traditional boat, the round skiff, their green sail shared the Mistral with those of the three masts of the Belem.
A historic moment of communion and celebration for young sailors who came to proudly show the whole world the skiff, their nautical heritage, among other traditional French boats such as the Polynesian pirogue.
With winds of 50 km/h and peaks of 80 km/h, the young yoleurs faced extremely difficult navigation conditions under the mistral.
They had gone into the water the day before, to reconnoitre the course in the south bay of the port of Marseille.
Today, under the eyes and cameras of the whole world, the atmosphere was different. Between the desire to sail well without sinking and to be part of this historic moment, the adrenaline rush was at its maximum.
We initially had a 24 m2 sail, navigation was difficult with dips sometimes of 3 meters, but we knew how to manage.
Crew of the Martinique skiff
After the skiff in Canne, at Fort Boyard, and the crossing of the Channel between France and England, this new challenge contributes to the promotion of the Martinican skiff around the world.
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