Embarking on his third solo circumnavigation without stopover and without assistance, Yves Parlier saw his mast break into three parts on December 17, 2000. Against everyone’s advice, he decided to repair it and continue the competition, at great risk. of his life. One hundred and twenty-six days later, hungry and exhausted, he crossed the finish line like a hero, in 13th place. An incredible act of bravery for this navigator embodied by Samuel And Bihan In Alone (our opinion), France 2 TV film based on his story Robinson of the seas*.
Alone : “I cried a lot…“Samuel Le Bihan and Yves Parlier talk about the new France 2 TV film
Télé-Loisirs: Samuel, what did you want to tell through this story?
Samuel Le Bihan : It’s a film about courage, the story of a man who refuses to give up. You don’t have to be a sailing enthusiast to be taken by the film, we are in another dimension!
Yves, how did you react when you discovered the film?
Yves Parlier: I cried a lot. For twenty years, I had trivialized my adventure a little by telling it so much and I thought I had digested it. This film showed me that I was wrong.
Samuel, is Yves Parlier the most inspiring hero you have played?
S. L. B. : That’s for sure! All top athletes are extremely honest people. Because they never cheat, neither with the elements, nor with their pain, nor with their abilities. Lying to yourself is within everyone’s reach. But to accept being defeated, you have to be extremely humble and lucid.
Y. P. : I don’t call myself a top athlete. Sailing is a discipline where we face nature more than our competitors. There is a lot of psychological work to do to be in tune with your boat and face the elements, while safeguarding it and preserving yourself. There’s nothing else to talk about, it’s a great lesson in humility.
“I am in awe of Yves Parlier” confides Samuel Le Bihan, who plays him in Seul sur France 2
You clearly put your life in danger. But the film shows that, for you, death is above all renunciation…
Y. P. : On land, people are worried, that’s normal. But alone on a boat, I feel invincible. My passion for sailing was born in the Paris region, where I lived, thanks to the stories of sailors who set off to circumnavigate the world while facing storms. For me, struggling to repair a mast is just my teenage dream! The harder it was physically, the easier it was morally to live with.
S. L. B. : There are men for whom to die is to be a coward in relation to one’s passion. Yves kept his commitments until the end.
Do you think you will see each other again?
S. L. B. : I am in awe of Yves. As someone who went sailing, if I had met a guy like him as a teenager who had said “come with me”, I might have become a skipper. I have the mentality to follow this kind of path. We will meet again for the start of the Vendée Globe in November, and I hope to one day embark with him.
Y. P. : Samuel and I share the same concerns for the environment. He created a company to recycle plastic waste [Earthwake, ndlr]moi [Beyond the Sea, ndlr] a company to tow ships while reducing the carbon footprint. Why not talk about all this one day at sea?
* Published in 2001 by Robert Laffont.
