• A company launches on May 6 a passenger transport service by sail between the Continent and Corsica.

  • It will cost 180 euros for a crossing of about twenty hours.

  • The 15-meter-long sailboat can carry up to 10 passengers and will make winter rotations to the West Indies.

We regularly report on air pollution from cruise ships in the Mediterranean.

Fewer possible alternatives to these.

A cooperative company, Sailcoop, inaugurates this May 6 the transport of passengers by sail between Corsica and the continent, between Toulon and Calvi in ​​Corsica.

An idea that germinated two years ago in the head of Maxime de Rostolan, an entrepreneur who is not at his first attempt in the field of ecology.

“On the eve of my 40th birthday [he is 41 today], I started making one post a day on the networks taking up a business idea that I had had, but that I had not set up. », rewinds Maxime.

And in the batch, appeared this idea of ​​transporting passengers by sail which took well.

“Quickly, interested people contacted me”.

Maxime, who indicates "not to fly for 8 years", no longer wanted to convince to do the same "without proposing an alternative".

He himself already has experience of traveling by sailboat, since he sailed around the world 15 years ago.

Shortly after arousing interest on the networks, a solid team is assembled.

Among them, Arthur Le Vaillant, professional runner, (notably 2nd in the Jacques Vabre transatlantic race in 2017), Gregory Giradin, formerly with Twot, a Breton company which launched the construction of a sailing cargo ship, or even Yann Royer, former director offshore racing.

Corsica in summer, the West Indies in winter

"Our boats can carry up to 10 passengers, in single or double cabins, accompanied by a skipper and a sailor, because the legislation imposes shifts [rotation] of 14 hours maximum and the crossing lasts between 20 and 24 hours. , depending on the conditions,” explains Yann.

The weather conditions are a very Mediterranean hazard.

For this, Sailcoop has a sailboat preparer and weather analyst on its team.

“The idea is to give passengers an initial trend on D-4 and to confirm the trip on D-2.

We are also looking for a partnership with a shipping company to ensure crossings for passengers who cannot change if the weather conditions are too strong”, continues Yann.

For the time being, this young company has acquired a first 50-foot sailboat and is prospecting to buy two or three others.

With the idea of ​​having a seasonal rotation: summer in the Mediterranean and offering transatlantic crossings to the West Indies in winter.

Beyond offering a simple passenger transport, Sailcoop intends to "live an experience" by allowing travelers "to participate in maneuvers and life on board".

At the legal level, some specific equipment is imposed in passenger transport sailboats, such as having a satellite telephone and weather reception tools.

And if the wind were to fail, there is still the possibility of moving forward with the engine with a consumption of around 4 liters per hour.

"But windless bubbles are rather rare, generally close to the coast and no wider than ten miles (approximately 20 km)", explains Yann Royer.

The place for a Corsica-Continent crossing costs 180 euros, meal included.

With the promise of an unforgettable experience in many ways.

Rare are the occasions in one's life to find oneself without land on the horizon, and to contemplate at night a sky without light pollution or other noises than that of a bow splitting the sea, of a sheet which strains and the wind blows in the sails.

Planet

Loaded with cocoa, the astonishing Breton cargo ship "Grain de Sail" has completed its journey

Sport

"20 Minutes" is 20 years old: How our logo ended up on the winning boat of the Transat Jacques-Vabre

  • Planet

  • Toulon

  • Corsica

  • Veil

  • Transportation

  • Travel

  • Paca