Bernard Moitessier, the wanderer of the high seas

Certain gestures, as sublime and grand as they are, exude a scent of posture. They seem to seek an effect, aim for the light or even a trace in posterity. Others, on the contrary, respond to the call of a voice, of these “interior homelands” dear to Saint-Exupéry. They are visceral, indispensable, saving. So it is with the crazy decision of Bernard Moitessier when he gives up victory in the first solo round-the-world race to turn his back on Europe and its "false gods" . There is a moral dimension that fascinates in Moitessier. A surprisingly modern renunciation of the world and a relationship with nature, which resonates in these times of questions raised by a strange planetary pandemic.

To read also: Anita Conti, the great "Lady of the sea"

These words, both wise and foolish, have remained mythical: "I continue nonstop to the Pacific Islands because I am happy at sea, and perhaps also to save my soul." As he sends his message with a slingshot on the deck of a freighter at the

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