Lawn sailors installed tarps to protect themselves from the rain. Image: Screenshot from French TV
A pensioner competes in the famous Vendée Globe in a computer game. Taking realism to the extreme, he decided to eat and sleep on a sailboat that once sailed Lake Geneva and was anchored in front of his home.
My wife and kids told me, “Come on, Dad, stop, that's enough. You're old, stop messing around!”
When he confided this to the French newspaper Le Progress on a boat parked in the middle of the garden, among extra heaters and kettles, it soon became apparent that Bernard Poiteau was still continuing his shenanigans . Most importantly, he regrets nothing.
This is an unusual place for a blue sailboat.Bild: Screenshot from French TV
The 71-year-old pensioner has been competing in the Vendée Globe via computer since November 10. The principle is simple: race participants embark on a circumnavigation at the same time as the 40 captains of the “real” race. Everyone has their own boat in the game and must chart a course based on the weather conditions of a real race. Goal: Complete a circumnavigation of the world as soon as possible. Unlike sailors sailing across the oceans, gamers (more than 600,000 of them) sit comfortably in their living rooms or office chairs. That is, most of them. Because Bernard decided to make the game more realistic, he lived on the boat during the game, which was over two and a half months.
Although it's a long time, the man who lives in Saint-Julien-Molin-Molet, France, a commune 40 kilometers southeast of Saint-Etienne, has packed reading material, chocolate, soup and enough supplies for his virtual trip. «I am completely self-sufficient and in reality I travel 22 hours a day. My doctor told me to go for a walk for an hour and a half, during which I ran around in the garden. Half an hour for personal hygiene, which I don’t do on a ship. “
“I had neither the age nor the money to sail around the world in the Vendée. I said to myself: I'm going to do this on my grass. My biggest wish is to be the first grass sailor to sail around the world.”
He spent the rest of his time on deck or in the cabin of his ship, which once sailed on Lake Geneva. “It dates back to 1973,” explains its owner. “I bought it in Chamonix with a symbolic euro.” The words “GE 4250” on the blue hull of the sailboat are still clearly visible.
Bernard has a ritual for this motionless trip around the world: He wakes up three times a night to log into the game and adjust the course of his ship. He also made sure he was still in the game. Because the “virtual regatta” cannot tolerate the slightest negligence on the part of the participants: Bernard almost drove his car into the coast when he fell asleep a few days ago.
Poiteau got up several times during the night to check that his ship was heading in the right direction.Bild: Screenshot from French TV
In the game, Bernard's sailboat is called Anticyclone Maureen Mollet, named after his village and the immigrant aid organization where the 70-year-old embarked on his adventure.
The Frenchman is not afraid of being overtaken in this race on land and at sea, as his goal is not victory. He is not afraid of the cold either because he is well equipped. His only worry is that he will spend Christmas alone without his family because, according to official rules, the game is played non-stop and, most importantly, without any help.
Next came New Year's Eve, but even then, things weren't quite over: the Vendée Globe's record was 74 days, and it's easy to imagine that Bernard wouldn't end his interesting adventure until after January 23rd.
Bernard's ship is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.Bild: Screenshot from French TV
However, this prospect did not discourage him. On last Sunday's episode of “Stade 2,” he assured mischievously like a sailor who always returns to safe harbor:
«The sailors of the Vendée Globe depart from Les Sable d'Olonne and will arrive in Les Sable d'Olonne. I myself started with Saint-Julien-Morin-Mollet and will be returning to Saint-Julien-Moran-Mollet. “
Not untrue.
This is a fun and creative way to name your boat
1/25
This is a fun and creative way to name your boat
Let’s start with the classics.
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