It is rare to see skippers enter the political field. And yet, seven sailors of the Route du Rhum announced Wednesday, October 31, their support for SOS Mediterranean, which charters the Aquarius.

They are François Gabart, Isabelle Joschke, Roman Pilliard, Thibaut Vauchel-Camus, Alexia Barrier, Luke Berry and Kito de Pavant. All were yesterday on the village of the Route du Rhum aboard the Class40 Made in the afternoon, alongside three sailors rescuers of Aquarius, which helps migrants in the Mediterranean.

"The Aquarius is just trying to save lives"

The skipper takes advantage of the publicized event of the Route du Rhum to gather some sailors around this association "which does wonderful things. In two and a half years, nearly 30,000 people have been rescued, 23% of whom are minors. "

But Kito de Pavant is also angry. "The boat has been stuck in Marseille since September, because Panama, which has yet to teach, has withdrawn its flag. While Aquarius is simply trying to save lives. This cause must be supported by the greatest number. "

SOS Mediterranean on a sail

Every day at sea costs 11 000 €, reports the association. And 93% of its budget comes from private donations. "So let's help them," says Kito de Pavant, who supports them, "discreetly, for a long time". He also wears the name of the association on one of his sails, to give him visibility.

"I think of all those people at sea, these families in distress, who are not rescued. The boats are intercepted by the Libyan stars. People are lynched, sold as slaves ... " testifies Théo Leclere, a lifeguard from Saint-Briac aboard the Aquarius from March to mid-May.

"As a sailor, it shocks me that migrants are dying every day at sea," says François Gabart, a member of the SOS Mediterranean support committee and skipper on the Macif trimaran, in the Ultim category.

The community of seafarers

He also feels that he belongs to the same community of seafarers as these lifeguards. "Every seafarer has to help someone at sea," says Kito de Pavant.

"We have to rely on each other," says Thibault Vauchel-Camus, who defends the colors of the Arsep Foundation (Research Support for Multiple Sclerosis) aboard his Class40 Solidaires en peloton.

The skipper also takes advantage of the Route du Rhum to "talk about something other than the competition. Because the human is at the heart of our project " , to make " appeal to the citizen sense ". This seaman of conviction has launched a fundraising campaign for SOS Mediterranean. "I do not intend to stop there. "