In France, a special catamaran has returned from its round-the-world voyage: after six years on the high seas, the "Nomade des Mers" ("Sea Nomad") arrived back in its home harbour of Concarneau last weekend. The crew, led by French engineer and adventurer Corentin de Chatelperron, has travelled 25 stages in its wake. The aim was to document low-tech projects around the world (see also YACHT interview in issue 10/2020).
Sustainable living at sea and on land
The circumnavigation started in February 2016 and the TV channel ARTE accompanied parts of the special journey in its documentary series "With compass and brains on the high seas". The crew, led by the now 39-year-old skipper, set out to identify low-tech projects around the world, try them out themselves - on board if possible - and spread the word. The prerequisite was that they had to be useful, accessible and sustainable.
Experiments on the boat
Step by step, the catamaran was to be transformed into its own small, autonomous, low-tech cosmos. Until 3 July, visitors to Concarneau can see for themselves just how much it now resembles a floating laboratory rather than a typical circumnavigator's yacht.
Lonely and self-sufficient on the water
Returnee Corentin de Chatelperron also reports on another project that he carried out as part of his circumnavigation. In 2018, he wanted to live and survive alone and self-sufficiently in his own "biosphere". To do so, he spent four months on a bamboo raft in Thailand to show that he could get by there equipped only with low-tech utensils.
Read, learn and share the excitement
Chatelperron's book "Sailing for Future - Mit Low-Tech und Low-Budget um die Welt" has been published about the first half of his circumnavigation, and "Living for Future - Wie ich mit Low-Tech meine eigene Biosphäre schuf" about his self-sufficiency experiment on the floating platform (both Delius Klasing Verlag, 24.90/ 34.90 euros).
In the interview that will appear in YACHT issue 15 in July, Corentin de Chatelperron talks about the highlights of sailing around the world and his new project, which will once again combine adventure and experimentation.
