Louis Charbonneau Sailing School
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" Alegria 11 in
the Bay Islands, Honduras "
A parenthesis in the life of a sailboat and it's crew.
A great adventure
To order the DVD, go to the bottom of the page!
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Marianne and Gaetan great accomplices
Everything for the shots, Spinnaker pole … No helicopter, little budget Photo Marianne " Nicole and
Louis wanted to make a film about our adventure. They came to join
us in the Bay Islands in Honduras,
in the Caribbean Sea, and they stayed with us 15 days. We visited
the islands of : Roatan, Guanaja, Los Cochinos, West-End, Utila, and
eventually, La Ceiba on the continent"
Honduras Central America
Perfect Accomplices Photo Marianne
Marianne and Gaetan, a wonderful team for our shooting. Shot taken from the film.
Taking movie shots demands planification. Photo Marianne What surroundings for making a film
Two weeks ... |
In the Bay Islands Honduras
" Alegria 11 in Garifunaland" - Sailing the Caribbean on You Tube
documentary film(
56mts ) Making a film …
The population of the Bay Islands are isolated about 30 miles away from the Honduran continent. The Garifunas represent a great part of the population. These people came from Africa. They came with all the others. … The Garifunas are the only people taken out of Africa who did not live as slaves in America. The population primarily consists of fishermen who live, in some places, like Cayos Cochinos, in sympathetic huts made of straw. These islands offer protected bays, beaches, atolls and lagoons, … A paradise for diving.
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Alégria 11
at Cayos Cochinos (photo taken from the film ) Algria 11, A superb 49 foot
cutter, aluminium hull. Mariane " We built our boat from
a design made by a French naval architect. We made everything ourselves
… and it's a fifty foot boat ! We spent 6 years of our life on
the construction before leaving for our venture… They were hard
times, energy, money, no time for our friends,…Always focussing
on the construction of the boat " for details of the boat http://www.alegria2.com/le_bateau.htm
Marianne takes care of communications and electronic navigation photo taken from the film
What a life Photo Nicole Marianne " Leaving, leaving
our surroundings, people who are close to us, the family, the friends,
very significant persons that we leave behind. Leave all that is familiar,
all your references, in thesmallest detail, … the super market
near by, your dentist, your telephone, … All your surroundings
change, … You bring nothing with you … we only brought immediate
things. What gets loaded on the boat, all that we could bring with
us, but it's nothing compared with what weleave behind us … That's
something people don't realize. We think at first, of what awaits
us, all the adventure ahead … But in the long run, what we leave
behind, it is not evident to realize until we start living the new
life punctually" Discovering the world meeting new people, finding new cultures ,,, Gaetan : "
To discover new cultures, new food,...
It's really interesting... people, here, take the time to live...
It's different from our north American way of life, running all the
time and not taking time to enjoy and to share with others."
Other ways of sailing around. The cayocos, ... Very tender! Worst than a canoe. Shot taken from the film.
The cayocos are small boats
made with the trunks of the local trees. They have a lifespan, of
about five years. Sometimes we see them with sails made of all kinds
of materials, plastic, old fabrics.... Sometimes, they don't have
sails at all. They go far out on these small boats, it's surprising.
They don't have a keel, they have a rudder, astern, and it's the skipper
and his ability of holding the balance that keeps it afloat. Marianne
: "Everything is different now. When we meet people is not the
same... First contacts, when you are in society, in town... The usual
questions are about your work? Your social activities ? Here it ismuch
more who you are deeply ? More of a personal nature... What do you
like ? what do you appreciate more in your journey ? It is the fishing
we share with other people, making small visits on other boats, meeting
new friends . The happy hour on other boats. Sharing time on ourboat
with others, … Everything seems so easy. There is no frontage,
the question of clothing doesn't matter. We wear bathing suits, Tee-shirts,
… The appearance is secondary. The masksfall, … it's probably
because of our way of life. The gatherings are true and authentic." |
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Not only a film about sailing ... A film about Marianne and Gaetan, about their dream ... about the people
Garifuna Photo
Marianne Happiness ! Marianne : "After these two intensive weeks with our friends, Louis and Nicole... are leaving us. They have a Big bundle full of movie shots. As for us, it's back to our adventure, following the wind " |
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Chldren all over the world Photo Marianne Marianne : " There's a
difference between the children we meet in the suburbs of the
cities and those that we meet in the islands,… But they all
have the same curiosity. We like to visit the small schools. The
children almost always have a uniform, they are well dressed ...
The teachers are almost always in connivance with them to get
them interested in our visit... And it's so nice to meet these
children." Gaetan : " When we left,
three years ago, now, we thought we'd continue to plan our displacements,
our way of life, as we did before... We quickly realized that
it wasn't possible and that it wasn't really what we wished. Now,
we let ourselves be guided by what our sailing friends tell us,
like the good places they've seen, … We decide by what we're
most interested in, … We respect our rhythm. Sailing around
the world. yes, no, … we'll decide, when we're there, …
" |
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They wanted to
leave
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We wanted to make
a film
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A must for those who want sail away ...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Charter with Marianne and Gaétan ; San Blass Panama |
This
page for the french version of the film and
more photos