Toklo 70

Preparing for Retirement…By Sailing Around the World!

In 2018, Michel, 70, was a happy family man, about to settle into a peaceful retirement, even if it was not exactly the ideal plan for him. That’s when an idea began to take shape in his head: to make his childhood dream come true and set off on a round-the-world sailing trip, in which loved ones could join him in experiencing nature first-hand. The adventure began with a training course and much thought being given to the project.

Toklo 70

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Published 27/05/2025

By Julie Echelle

Issue: 202

Published: july / aug. 2025

Discover this issue

Who: Michel & Jean-Marie
Where: Mediterranean Sea
Multihull: Astréa 42
Blog : voile-aventure-monde.com

Before taking the plunge, I had to think things through and make sure it wasn’t just a whim or a way of showing off to others. What risks can I expect, as a sailor, or as a man, from a health point of view? This dream has a broad human element, so who would accompany me, assist me, put up with me? Will I be able to cope with living in close quarters in a confined space, and will I be able to maintain my motivation over the long term? And above all, do I have enough skills and experience to undertake this adventure?

So, in May 2018, I signed up for a monohull “Ocean Challenge” course, with the barely-confessed aim of jumping in headfirst and potentially convincing myself that it’s not for me. Despite two night crossings and rough seas on an old steel racing boat with no modern equipment, I never got seasick and came home convinced that my dream was possible. I was determined to make it come true! During the summer, I sailed in the Mediterranean, still on a monohull. I concluded that this type of sailboat would not be one of my first choices: life in the saloon, separated from the cockpit by the companionway, is not ideal, and dealing with all the pots and pans for meals sometimes proved to be a complicated affair!
In September, I took a week-long “chef de bord” course with France’s famous Les Glénans sailing school, aboard a 2006 Nautitech 40: it was my first experience on a catamaran, sailing to and from Bonifacio. The program included learning how to manage a crew and a sailboat, safety maneuvers, entering and leaving the harbor, anchoring and choosing a route from the chart.

We encountered strong winds gusting to 40 knots in the Bouches de Bonifacio, so we took shelter in the small port of Cannigione in Sardinia.

I was very impressed by the catamaran’s behavior in rough seas, and I had a lot of fun at the helm. The multihull behaves like a big cork in the water, lying flat most of the time, and you only go down into the hulls to sleep. The saloon and cockpit are on the same level, making meals all the more convivial. On the other hand, I appreciated how much I still had to learn to become a competent skipper on a yacht like this!

In mid-April 2019, I took part in another training course with my teammate Jean-Marie, but this time via the MACIF Centre de Voile for a round trip from Marseille to the Balearics. There were six of us on board, all youngsters with the exception of Jean-Marie and myself. We hit a storm off the Balearics, with 55 knots of wind and waves of 15 feet (5 meters) or more. I was able to get involved in the maneuvers and, during the storm, I volunteered to reef the mainsail in 45 knots of wind. It was tough going, but we were secured by a harness and a strap attached to a lifeline. Over the two weeks, we had ten days of wind in excess of 30 knots, and I was proud to have reached 20.3 knots of speed on the 40-foot (12-meter) catamaran.

For me, this course was a revelation that would have a major influence on my decision to sail around the world on a catamaran. I confirmed my order for an Astréa 42 from Fountaine Pajot.