Libertaire Sailing

The Crew

A family of five. A fifteen-metre boat. Sixty-two thousand three hundred nautical miles of memories.

The Crew Contract

Signed in February 2011 in Loctudy, with a Damien II named Libertaire as witness. Since then, the crew has grown — from two to five — and so has the logbook: Arctic, Antarctic, Cape Horn, and the Northwest Passage in 2024. Everyone has their place, their role, and their stories to tell.

D

Damien

Captain, mechanic & fisherman

Doctor on land, handyman on board. He's the one who diagnosed the turbo failure in 2013, built the aft gantry with reindeer as spectators, and never leaves without his fishing line. He also took a boom to the temple off Chile — the glory of the open ocean has a price.

Specialty: diagnosing the engine by ear, catching dinner, and reassuring the crew when icebergs approach.

Fun fact: he celebrated his birthday in Spitsbergen, cooked for by Perrine, with Norwegians as surprise guests.
7,000+ h engine hours
186 nm record 24h
1 stitch
P

Perrine

First Mate & Bear Detective

A doctor like Damien, but she's the one who spots polar bears through binoculars before anyone else — and endures seasickness with exemplary dignity, especially when pregnant. Her parents and brothers joined the adventure on several occasions, from the Lofoten to Iceland.

Specialty: spotting wildlife before everyone else, surviving rough crossings, and organising birthdays on deck in the sunshine.

Fun fact: she scientifically confirmed that pregnancy amplifies seasickness. Data collected in 25–30 knots on a beam reach towards Fiji.
3 pregnancies at sea
1 bear spotted
∞ sea baths at 6°C
N

Nina

Expert Deckhand & Official Mascot

Born in Saint-Malo in June 2014, Nina hasn't been idle. At two and a half, she set off on the grand tour of the Americas. At three, she started school in the village in Chile. She recognises penguins, seals, and different species of seabirds — and doesn't hesitate to correct her parents.

Specialty: learning to fish, kite-surfing, taking part in the sailing course in Wallis, and crying when leaving her classmates.

Fun fact: she saw her first dolphins and whales at age 2, and her equator crossing costume remains in the family archives.
2 years at departure
3 schools worldwide
1 manta ray encounter
Di

Diane

Indifferent Sailor & Climber

Born in late 2015, Diane is the only one who stays "completely indifferent to the boat's movements" — even at 9 months in a stiff south-easterly swell. She learned to climb before walking, and seasickness never touches her. She's the most fearless in the family.

Specialty: climbing rocks and trees, taking her first steps on a Brazilian beach, and blowing out her birthday candle on Libertaire's deck.

Fun fact: at age 1, she celebrated her birthday in Brazil with a chocolate cake. At 6, it was in Raiatea. Her friends are scattered across four continents.
0 seasickness
1 year 1st birthday in Brazil
1 tooth lost at sea
E

Ernest

Junior Deckhand & Equator Rookie

Born on 21 January 2020 in Nouméa, Ernest is the last to arrive — and the only one to have been welcomed by Neptune himself during his equator crossing in 2022, with a sausage as a gift. He started out frustrated by his lack of autonomy, but quickly turned into an acrobat.

Specialty: eating pancakes for afternoon tea, wondering why we're going to the land of bears and wolves, and making quick progress with language when the ball doesn't roll enough.

Fun fact: he watched Dragons with his sisters during the North Pacific crossing, and never really understood why polar bears aren't as friendly as in fairy tales.
2020 birth
1 Neptune's sausage
0 bears seen