Nocealia, Laurent and Alison’s Nautitech 40 Open, sways gently at anchor, in the lagoon of Bora Bora. With their daughters of seven and nine at the time, they left Sète exactly two years ago. They have stepped out of their comfort zone, as they say, for a simple one-year break in a life that was too busy. They wanted to find again their roots, watch their daughters grow up, live an adventure. Initially, like many before them, they thought they would « simply » sail around the Atlantic. Life, their desires, their surprising way to take advantage of the slightest opportunity, in short their art of adaptation decided otherwise.

As they say : « We believe very much in planets aligning. » Well, in their case they align even better than the Starlink satellites which allow us to converse as if we were in the same room. It must be said that their intuition and their art of jumping on opportunities without worrying about it would not be enough. Luck and chance often get involved. Certainly, but they also know how to create this luck, and to provoke happy coincidences. An example ? The boat is on the hard, in Panama. They are just back after celebrating Christmas with their family, in France. In front of them, the Pacific.

They were told that the first difficulty is to sail out of the Gulf of Panama. And then, with whimsical weather and currents, you have to go around the Galapagos to the south. But the weather window is excellent and the wind is strong but downwind. How can they let this opportunity pass them by? Without losing a second, they put back their boat in the water and leave their anchorage in the middle of the night. Here they are, rushing in the darkness like a galloping horse. Soon, a fantastic four knots current takes over from the breeze. Their Nautitech 40 Open covers 200 miles in 24 hours, day after day, carried by a real conveyor belt. They sail under Parasailor (a winged spinnaker) alone and easily pass the Galapagos from the north, which is unusual. Four days later, they cross the Equator. After a day and half on the engine to get out of the doldrums, they thought they would quietly sail downwind in a gentle trade winds.

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Just like when they decided to leave, for good. Simultaneously managing an architectural firm, a construction and a real estate development companies, they did not see the days passing. Nor, often, the nights. Too often. Too busy, they often entrusted their daughters to the care of their grandparents. Too often. « Obviously, Alison admits, this frenzy allowed us to earn a good living, and to finance beautiful trips… by plane. » But little by little, the feeling of making a mistake in life, of missing the point, has imposed itself. And with this feeling, very quickly came the desire to stop the rat race. To take a break. For a year. So, to go far away. By boat ? Why not ? Laurent had only sailed dinghies, but his Laser let him learn a lot about wind and waves. Alison, on the other hand, only knew about boats the few tips she could get from the short and rare motoryacht trips she did with friends.

The plan was beginning to mature. It was the summer of 2019. They saw themselves casting off five or six years later. Chance decided otherwise. Here they are, at the Cannes Boatshow, where they visit all the catamarans on display.

The catamarans ? « Yes, for space and safety reasons. We wanted a house on the water where the children would be perfectly protected. And an Atlantic round trip is mainly a downwind one. Catamaran was an obvious choice. »

When Alison disembarked from the last boat visited, Laurent whispered : « You forget all these boats. They’re too expensive, too luxurious or too sporty ! » However, three models escaped this ruthless elimination. An high-end Italian, a race oriented French. And the Nautitech 40 Open. « There we fell in love, we had everything we wanted : a 360° view, an ultra-protected outdoor saloon, an ultra-simple deck plan, helm stations in the immediate vicinity of living areas -we didn’t want a fly-bridge that isolates the helmsman. »

Laurent and Alison have a project, a boat and a desire. All that remains is to prepare everything. How to finance the trip, ensure the continuity of their businesses ? Once again, fate intervenes. A young colleague, to whom Laurent confides his dilemma, suggests to become a partner. They gladly accept. Then, they sell the construction company. Here is the future assured and financed for a year.

They immerses themselves in the preparation. Route, gear -watermaker, solar panels, new sails, Iridium Go etc…- safety (which stopovers are the best places to go in the event of a children’s health issue ?), distance learning, weather forecast, possible return to France for family celebrations, crew rotation (a connoisseur advised them never to impose on themselves any obligation of date and place), there is no escape, they must try to foresee everything. A real full-time job.

In short, after two summers of getting along well with their 40 Open in the Calanques and in Corsica, they are almost surprised to find themselves ready to leave. « In all honesty, we felt guilty. Leaving ? On a year’s holiday ? Isn’t that irresponsible ? But very quickly, at the beginning of the journey, this guilt disappears. »

It’s August 2022, their friends are here to cast off for them. Heading for Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Gibraltar, Tangiers, Rabat, then the Canary Islands. There, they go around the boats in stopover to find out if any of them are sailing to Senegal. The unanimous answer is no ! « Why Senegal ? Alison explains. Laurent didn’t want a simple tourist cruise in the Caribbean. Friends put us in touch with Voiles Sans Frontières and we took part in a humanitarian mission. »

Keep going ? It changed everything. Above all, it was necessary to finance the rest of the long voyage, in other words, to start working again… on board ! And first thing first, it was necessary to sail back to Martinique : seven hundred nautical miles as the crow flies against the trade winds and their rough seas ! It was madness, they were told. You’re going to break everything. But they dared to do it. With stopovers in the Dominican Republic, then in the US and British Virgin Islands, they made it.

However, it was not the boat that took them by surprise. It was the accident of their eldest daughter in Saint Martin. Three months of hell : head trauma, extradural hematoma, coma, life-threatening prognosis, surgeries in Saint-Martin then Martinique, where the child and her pearents were airlifted, rehabilitation, rejections of stitches… anguish, hell. But a chain of solidarity has formed around them, the people at Nautitech have given them a valuable help.

Meanwhile, Nocealia was delivered to Martinique and suffered a hurricane at anchor (« but there were only 54 knots of wind and everything went well. »)

When everything calms down, they head for the Roques -an enchantment, but a big moment of doubt for Laurent. « Is it crazy to continue? »- then for Columbia by valiantly facing the turmoil of Cabo de la Vela. In Cartagena, they regain peace of mind, good habits and the motivation to cross to the « other side ». They spend weeks at the San Blas and reconnect with their automatisms. Then they cross the Canal before Christmas which gives them time to appreciate Panama, « this very beautiful, and very welcoming country for the sailors. »