Saturday May 2nd: end of first chapter in the Belem's 2009 sailing agenda, with the ship's arrival in the port of Sète for the rest of the week-end. Next stop: Tangiers, on the other side of the Mediterranean, where she is due on May 9th .
The first three weeks of the Belem's sailing season had her hugging the south coast of France in rather changing weather conditions but with enough wind for Commander Michel Perry to get his old “Belem touch” back after nearly two years' absence. The Belem's oldest-serving captain (he started in 1992) was away on his usual professional duties in the Merchant Navy after having taken the ship all around the Irish coast in 2007 and, by Jove, was he pleased to be back!
“I've been serving aboard the Belem for so many years that she has now become part of my biorhythm, so when I stay away for too long I start suffering from withdrawal symptoms...” he freely admits.
He's not the only one who needs a dose of Belem, if the success of the first five training courses and, more generally, of visits on board the ship during stopovers is anything to go by. An 84% attendance on the training courses for the start of the season is definitely a record! As for the port-side visits, take this one instance: some 1250 people slithered their way along the gangway and the decks one week-end day under a pouring rain in Marseilles... a town whose inhabitants have a reputation of being exclusive sun worshippers!
Tangiers can also be counted on to give the Belem a warm welcome on her arrival on May 9th. This is not the first time she berths in the Port of Tangiers but it is however the first time she arrives there after the massive upheaval that will turn it into a harbour dedicated to tourist and passenger traffic while all industrial activities are being transferred to the new “Tanger-Med” platform 60km east of the town. The presence of the Belem will be a prestigious contribution towards the promotion of the port's new vocation.
Next stop, Rabat – but more about that in our next Logbook !
And don't forget, a training trip on board the Belem is right there at the end of – your mouse ! So
click here.
Après 3 semaines de stages – sportifs ! – ponctuées par des journées de visites publiques dans plusieurs ports de la Méditerranée, le Belem met enfin le cap sur le Maroc. S'il est déjà coutumier du port de Tanger, c'est bien la première fois dans son histoire que le trois-mâts fera escale à Rabat.
