Taking hundreds of youngsters out to sea, for a few days' unforgettable sailing on board France's oldest three masted ship, what better way could there be to end a really memorable season, that has lasted all the way from mid-april to mid-november!
After the extraordinary welcome she received in Cowes (Isle of Wight), beginning of September on her first return there since the 1950's, Belem went back to her regular travels as a training ship until the end of the month, when the age group on board suddenly plummeted down to... an average of 15 or 16. This (as our regular readers will know) is due to the fact that since last year, the pupils of the “Ecole des Mousses”, who are training for a naval profession, are sent on board Belem for a four-day sailing trip as part of their schooling schedule following an official convention between the Belem Foundation and the French Navy. And then, as if 150 boys and girls (divided into four successive groups) were not enough to send a high energy charge throughout our venerable ship, Belem came back for more at the beginning of November – there she was, the flagship of a peaceful yet thrilling armada of seven French tall ships, all gathered in Brest to take out another 150 young people from naval schools, further education centres, technical schools, mostly in Brittany but also in the South of France, on a five-day sailing trip to Concarneau. Most of the kids had never set foot on a sailing ship, let alone a tall ship: this novel operation, known as “l'Armada de l'Espoir” (the Armada of Hope) is designed to give teenagers the opportunity to discover the discipline, the traditions and the comradeship that are so specific to life on the sea – and so useful to life as a whole.
So it was with the memory of all those young voices ringing in her sails that Belem arrived in Saint Nazaire on November the 15th for her winter health and beauty overhaul. Meanwhile, at the Foundation, everyone is busily preparing for the Paris Boat show ( December 4th to 12th) and addressing their minds to next year's training season...
of which more to follow soon on this website!
Clore sa saison de navigation sous le signe heureux de la jeunesse, quoi de plus revigorant et prometteur pour un vénérable navire allant sur ses 115 ans ? La conclusion idéale d'une longue, belle et riche saison...
