MAY 25
Standing on the aft deck of Ganany, I savor these suspended moments in time aboard our stratospheric boat, magically gliding across the perfect wave, pulled by our two swan wings along the Corsican shores—so wild and magnificent that one understands why these proud islanders love their country.We have just left Bastia, where after several mishaps due to weather conditions, we picked up Martin for the final leg to Toulon. It's always better to have an engineer on board!Despite everything, the end of the journey and the Italy Posidonia Connect mission is in the air. Nostalgia already! The divers have carefully stowed their tanks and underwater astronaut equipment and put on elegant white Race for Water polos to mark their attachment to our Foundation that brought us together aboard for these intense and charming moments.
Now, all that remains is to negotiate the best possible path through the last traps of this unpredictable Mediterranean Sea—with "poteaunoiresque" white calms, minus the storms, which is fortunate. And arrive safely in Toulon for the final media operations organized by Lady Camille to close our mission, before storing our proud boat at the Saint Mandrier shipyard in preparation for upcoming summer sailings.What's the assessment? First, the Race for Water Foundation, Ocean Développement, and GIS Posidonie managed to bring together a Franco-Italian team that was not only high-performing but also friendly.Three weeks of navigation without major hitches, not a word raised above another, but plenty of laughter and smiles—a top-notch crew, from Captain Arnaud to steward-cook Marion, passing through laundry mate Caro Caroline! On their side, Plic and Ploc, aka Patrick and Bruno, our deep-sea Posidonia researcher-divers, assembled for our great pleasure a formidable squad of Italian scientists who quickly adapted to the sometimes strange customs of their blue-white-red partners. It would also be unfair to forget in this beautiful gathering Jean-Marc and Martin, our intermittent engineers, and of course Camille, my boss, organizer of the entirety of this scientific and media adventure who, among other things, had the good idea of inviting aboard for a few days little Marie, science communicator, intelligent influencer, and skillful drone pilot sometimes...
Despite uncooperative weather—too much wind during diving sessions and not enough during sailing, added to some administrative hassles due to certain incompetent, uncomprehending bureaucrats—our team of scientist-divers declares themselves satisfied with this exploration of the Italian, Sardinian, and Neapolitan coasts. That's the main thing! And this could herald future expeditions in other areas of the Mediterranean.
We also had the opportunity to let the public, recreational sailors, and visiting friends admire our futuristic and remarkable boat, on which we take so much pleasure living and sailing.
Eric Loizeau , the scribe.