Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre, on his sailboat, he is used to offshore racing. At 43, Mikaël Mergui has sailed most of the world’s seas. But that day, it was at the dock that we found the navigator.
Inside the sailboat, every last space is optimized
Le Hyérois welcomes young high school students in the sailing section to share with them the daily life of a skipper: “From here, I am protected, I am not inside the boat, I can continue to adjust. We have the pilot controls on each side.”
Sleeping, cooking, washing, these privileged visitors slip curiously into the skin of the browser. Jade, a final year student at Agricampus high school in Hyères, shares her astonishment with us: “I didn’t think that in the boat, the skipper tilted his berth to be able to sleep. It was super interesting.” This immersion as close as possible to reality reveals all its secrets: “Red light allows us to illuminate without dazzling. If I go back outside, I will still be able to see the adjustment of the sails or the other boats around very well.”Mikaël Mergui – Skipper Centrakor
REPORT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DISCOVER BOAT SKIPPER MICHAEL MERGUI
The students are enthusiastic about this visit. But going on an adventure, alone, on the open sea, is another story, as Neisson, a final year student at the Agricampus high school in Hyères, explains to us, “It’s so beautiful, nature, you facing the wind, facing the sea. Now, to leave for two weeks, two months, like that alone, I don’t know…”
Mikaël Mergui feels great satisfaction in welcoming these high school students. “We are lucky to have a fantastic playground here, in the bay of Hyères or the harbor of Toulon. And to cultivate their curiosity a little, to show them something other than what they can see from the outside. habit. Yes, it makes me happy.”
Mikaël Mergui multiplies these meetings when he is not at sea. Next big meeting for the skipper of Hyères, the Transat Jacques-Vabre, in October 2025.
