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Moitessier crossed his path off South Africa, and then
sailed almost two-thirds of the way round a second time,
non-stop, before arriving in Tahiti. His journey was mostly in
the roaring forties, and in the process set another record for
the longest non-stop passage by a yacht – a total of almost
38,000 nautical miles in 10 months. He would later say he was
looking for perfection both in himself and Joshua.
To appreciate Moitessier’s achievement one has only to
consider the tormented months of the other competitors.
Suicide, sunken boats, retirements and desperate times
surviving the Southern Ocean.
Moitessier, on the other hand, falls in love with the sea
yet again. He searches his soul, marvels at the enormous
waves, and almost becomes a type of sea creature himself,
thinking of nothing but Joshua’s every need.
He would later say, “If there were some gales and some
knockdowns there were also so many beautiful days.” It took
him two years in Tahiti to finish his next book – The Long
Way – about his experiences during that voyage.
His marriage over, he met Ileana Draghici with whom
he had a son, Stephan. After a visit to see Tom Neale on
Suwarrow they moved to the atoll of Ahe where Moitessier
built a simple dwelling. There he used his knowledge gained
from agricultural college and, much to the amazement of the
locals, grew a bewildering array of fruit and vegetables.
He also taught the locals how to rid the island of
mosquitoes by putting a teaspoon of kerosene in the sand
crab holes where they lay their eggs. In his life, as in his
sailing, he always valued a simple approach.
After three years on Ahe he sailed to America to give
talks about his sailing experiences. While there, he wrote
more than 600 letters to prominent figures and publications
promoting the benefits of unilateral nuclear disarmament.
He lost Joshua when she was beached – along with 22
other yachts – by a freak onshore storm at Cabo San Lucas in
December 1982.
Distraught at losing his beautiful boat Bernard sold her on
the beach for $5 to a young Swiss sailor who, with the help of
Moitessier, refloated the badly dented and damaged boat that
was full of sand. Today she is restored and sailed regularly at the
maritime museum in La Rochelle, France.
After further travels, Moitessier returned to Paris to write
his autobiography, The Tamata Alliance, named after his last
boat Tamata, which friends had rallied round and built for him.
Moitessier was a charismatic person and everybody
warmed to him. He died of prostate cancer in 1994 and
many of his friends attended his funeral, along with all the
women who’d loved him – Marie Therese, Francoise, Ileana
and Veronique. Joshua had been brought from La Rochelle
and was moored at to the Quay. He is buried at Bono in
Brittany, France. BNZBOATINGNZ.CO.NZABOUT THE WRITER Ross Greenwood and his wife Chris live in New Zealand
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