Félicien, Clément and Loann, naval architecture students at ENSTA Bretagne, are gearing up for an adventurous gap year! Ti Zef Sails is the name of their artistic, scientific and solidarity-based project around the Atlantic, covering 10,000 nautical miles!
A well-thought-through project
All three students share a keen interest in the sea and in sailing. While their project to sail around the Atlantic will enable them to enjoy the scenery, it is above all an opportunity they consider essential for their future profession as naval architects.
I think you need to have experience on the high seas to become a naval architect. We'll be able to see for ourselves what a boat has to contend with on long crossings. This adventure is a way not only of improving our sailing skills, but also our technical knowledge of boat preparation and repair.
explained Clément.
Image capture and distribution as the central feature of the adventure
Their route covers 10,000 nautical miles (i.e. 18,520 km!) and includes many ports of call: Madeira, the Canaries, Gambia, Cape Verde, as well as the West Indies, the Bahamas, the United States and the Azores. These stages promise to be filled with meeting some great people and seeing magnificent landscapes, which the crew intends to immortalize in photos and videos.
Indeed, their voyage has a second purpose: the creation of high-quality audio-visual content to allow them to share their experience with as many people as possible.
The central feature of their project: the creation of an Atlantic photo album, a collection of the most beautiful shots of the ocean, its inhabitants and the people who live along its coasts, while highlighting its fragility and the need to protect it.
Videos will also feed a YouTube channel, and a film shown in independent cinemas will round off their voyage.
Scientific and solidarity-based interests
With the aim of advancing research and environmental protection, their adventure also has a scientific aspect. Two assignments will be carried out by the three students in cooperation with ENSTA Bretagne researchers:
- Cetacean identification: by collecting sounds and images to train the algorithms and supplement the researchers' sound databases.
- Measuring atmospheric water vapor with satellites on the open sea: the project's aim is to collect meteorological data in places where there are no instruments.
Finally, the crew is also working alongside Nav’Solidaire to collect prosthetic equipment in France and send it to Africa, as well as raising awareness of the association in general.
The great departure
After purchasing their boat at the beginning of September and launching it at the end of the month, the crew set about preparing it in the port of Moulin Blanc in Brest. On October 13, they set off from Brest, taking advantage of a favorable weather window. A first stopover in Corunna (Spain) will allow them to review the situation after their crossing of the Bay of Biscay.
Feel free to follow them on social media or visit their website to keep up with their adventures! We wish them all the best!
