It took us a full year to produce this film, based on the book "Handling Your Catamaran". Gathering the crew and the production team was faster. Indeed, how can you refuse eight days of cruising in a dream setting, aboard a brand new and perfectly equipped catamaran? Our three novice crew members, as well as the members of the production team, have been able to discover sailing in the Strait of Bonifacio. They were not disappointed…
Day 1: Mayday, Mayday, Mayday
From the very first day, the whole team was immersed in the great outdoors. Starting with 70 knots of north-westerly wind in the port of Bonifacio. A watch was kept, and the lines doubled up for our Lagoon, which was well positioned at the inner end of the harbor. It was the Harbormaster's office that sounded the alarm. Another 46-foot catamaran broke her lines and drifted into the middle of the marina, left to her own devices. Nathalie, our skipper, and I went off aboard the harbor launch. The catamaran didn’t go very far; she impaled herself on a sailboat moored to a floating dock. It was only then that the delivery crew, overwhelmed by the turn of events, showed their faces! On the orders of Michel Mallaroni, the Harbormaster, Nathalie took command of the catamaran while I was preparing in a hurry for tying up alongside. Fortunately, the multihull was solid, and the damage seemed minor. The next morning, the catamaran disappeared, bound for an unknown destination. This mysterious vessel bore no registration, no name, no flag... Jean Marc, our chief camera operator, captured this rescue, which can now be seen on social media and video platforms (Rescue Catamaran Bonifacio - May 2019). We’re off to a good start!
Day 2: Maneuvering
After all the excitement, the crew are finding their way around the boat. They are surprised by the amount of space on offer: "The owner's cabin is bigger than my apartment!" chokes Karine, a novice crewmember but an experienced free-diver. "If I had a kitchen as well-equipped as this galley, I'd spend all my time there! " says Alexandra, our local on board. Time for port maneuvers and filming. Time that is running out. The weather is milder, and the crew's briefings will follow one another, punctuated by docking forwards, then stern to the dock, alongside, and then with simulated engine failure. Not to mention the art of the lazy line, so typical of Mediterranean ports. Nathalie manages her crew excellently while Christine, our director, alternates wide shots, tight shots and drone shots with her team to give substance to this first chapter. Lauren, our scriptwriter, ensures the smooth running of the shooting and the sequence of shots. Between marine terminology, techniques and safety rules to respect, our three crew members try to memorize everything. But there’s only one solution: do it again and again until all the gestures become automatic. The Kissing Pig, a restaurant on the marina, quickly became our canteen.
Day 3: Out into the Straits!
After the maneuvers in port, we’re finally at sea, on our way to the Strait of Bonifacio. The program? Still maneuvers, but now under sail. The weather is favorable for sailing... and for flying the drone! Tacking, gybing, hoisting the Code 0 and reefing on a beautiful sea. Perfect visibility: Sardinia on the horizon and the Lavezzi Islands within reach. Everyone enjoys these rare moments without forgetting why they are on board: making a documentary and discovering sailing. And what could be better than a multihull to learn serenely and without heeling? But already the day is disappearing, as the moon rises in the east. It's time to prepare for night sailing.
Overnight on day 3: The starry sky
Sailing at night is an unforgettable experience. The watch becomes both a time of introspection and extreme vigilance. All the senses are awakened, every movement and noise of the catamaran becomes suspicious or intriguing. The on-watch crew will have their first experience of it, all to themselves or almost... In the late afternoon, Yan, electronics specialist at Navico, detailed the use of the B&G Zeus 3 plotter. At first, it might have seemed rather daunting for beginners, but it then proved to be very ergonomic and simple to use, and particularly high-performance. After a reminder of the essential safety rules for night sailing, the first watch crew came on duty. Adjustment of indirect lights for shooting a short sequence, followed by the last flight of the drone, before nightfall brought total darkness. A sequence that almost went badly wrong. We misjudged how quickly the light was fading. How to find a drone flying in the dark in strong winds? The device has two small lights, but its batteries are almost empty. The whole team is on deck to try and spot it as soon as possible. It is the noise that guides us to it: the drone, and thanks to a few acrobatics, is finally on board. Once alone on deck, Alexandra and Yohan are excited but remain calm; from her cabin, Nathalie monitors the catamaran's behavior, course and other information via her tablet in connection with the Bluetooth plotter. You can't beat progress! The watches follow each other until the early morning after a circular trip that leads us to the Lavezzis. These wild islands with an enchanting name emerging from the dawn, like miniature continents.
Day 4: Some beautiful anchorages
Ah the anchorage! How to choose one in the Lavezzis? They are all just as beautiful and wild as each other in this month of May. Each has its own characteristics depending on wind direction and strength, required depth and scenic beauty. First, we anchor in Pianterella Bay, just a few miles from Cavallo Island. Anchoring and filming can begin. Following the unavoidable briefing, everyone knows their role and what to do, under the watchful eye of the skipper. Alexandra and Yohan, at the windlass, let out the anchor; Nathalie monitors the amount of chain from the helm station on the flybridge. A little kick astern, orchestrated by Karine, and we are set in the middle of a turquoise lagoon at a depth of 2 meters (6’). The ForwardScan image on our screen is very useful, complementing the sounder. But there was no time to really enjoy it: Nathalie pulled up the anchor from the helm station and we set off again to do more anchoring sequences. Cala di Zeri is an excellent spot to anchor and then take lines ashore, and the drone gets some great footage of these dream-like landscapes, while the director and her chief operator try to keep their balance in the tender, with cameras and gimbles in hand.
We end this day anchoring with two anchors, to spend a quiet night - strong winds are forecasted again. Karine, our free-diving crewmember, gets into her wetsuit to check the anchor is well-held. The sequence is filmed with a GoPro by Jean Marc, our photographer and drone pilot. It's time to prepare dinner and spend that first night at anchor. And what an anchorage! The production team derushes the footage shot during the day, and the others enjoy an incredible starry night. The lights on shore go out one after the other. There is room for everyone in the cabins and in the saloon. And the wind reminds us of some good memories…
Day 5: Free time, or almost
Life on board a catamaran has incomparable advantages. In the absence of heeling, you don't have to walk on the walls when under sail, you worry much less about the available volume, and the comfort is incomparable. At anchor, of course, you can enjoy the stability, privacy of the cabins and generous storage space. A large part of the filming equipment was stored in the company truck and on a motorboat that joined us daily. That said, the essentials remain on board with us, so today is devoted to... doing nothing. Or almost. Catamaran sailing is a way of life. First in action: Alexandra and Karine. Inflation of the two paddleboards on the trampoline, launch and paddle under the watchful eyes of a few other boaters, surprised to see our two crewmates being overflown by a drone. On the way back, Karine puts on her wetsuit and goes snorkeling, first on her own, and then being towed by the underwater scooter. The images captured by the GoPro are amazing; they will be used in the trailer of our film. Alexandra, a specialist in the protection of the seabed in Corsica, explains the precautions to be taken when anchoring to help protect the flora and fauna. After a few dives from the flybridge, paddleboard rides, free-diving and other enjoyable activities, we leave in the dinghy and then set off on foot to discover the small island of Piana. Everyone knows that the adventure is coming to an end. It's a syndrome that we all know at the end of the shooting. We’ve lived together in perfect harmony. Some have been in front of the camera for the first time, others have sailed for the first time aboard a multihull. A group on Instagram was naturally set up in order to keep in touch and continue to live, by proxy, this week of shared happiness. Now it’s time to head back to Bonifacio.
Day 6: Five clean up
Following dinner at the Kissing Pig, a drink at the B52, then a second, and a third... we all slept well! Waking up was more difficult. We find the strength to get stuck into the big five-person tidying / clean-up operation - the production team has just left us to it. You can't imagine how much gear you can fit inside. In addition to the filming equipment that goes back in the truck, we have to empty our catamaran before cleaning it. Remaining supplies, bedding, sleeping bags, pillows, duvets, suitcases and personal effects, paddleboards, pots and pans and other little things of varying significance, the list is long! This is followed by the cleaning of the stainless steel, the deck, flybridge, cushion storage, neat flaking of the mainsail, cleaning of the teak in the cockpit, interior carpets, shower rooms, furniture etc., etc., etc. But one day is long enough to get the Lagoon back into shape. Nathalie, Lauren, Yohan and Alexandra are already leaving us. Karine and I remain, like two orphans of our team. Tonight, we will each sleep in our own cabin with our sleeping bags, the sound of cameras and the wind still in our ears and in our memories.
Day 7: The final clapboard
We leave behind us, and with regret, our Lagoon 46 on the main quay of the port of Bonifacio. She will be in the good hands of the Harbormaster's office before being taken over by a delivery crew for a refit in Canet-en-Roussillon, before being delivered to her lucky owner.
