Five young sailors are ready for a year-long journey from France to Tahiti for humanitarian and environmental purposes. Set to depart on August 24th is the Odyssey Experience, a virtuous project promoted by Jeanneau, which has given a group of students the opportunity to embark on a long cruise aboard a Sun Odyssey 410. The aim of the Odyssey Experience is to demonstrate the accessibility of Jeanneau sailboats and support a corporate social responsibility project in line with the values of the historic French shipyard.
After an initial phase of collecting applications and a second phase of selecting the crew that will sail for 10 months, everything is ready for the journey, which will cross the Atlantic Ocean and make stops in some paradisiacal tropical locations.
Five crews made it to the finals in the Odyssey Experience call, and the jury recently chose the deserving winners who will set sail for the world’s oceans. Their name is Sail for Tomorrow, and they are a crew of five friends united by a common dream: to sail the world’s oceans to preserve the environment through education. Iñaki, Arthur, Faustine, Fanny, and Benjamin – these are their names – will create an educational program to raise awareness among younger generations for the protection of the planet and the marine environment. You can learn more about the youngsters and their project in this video.
“Five friends have just seen their lives change, their dream come true. Crossing the ocean by sailboat is something we’ve always wanted, and we’re excited to actually have the chance to do it. We thank Jeanneau for trusting us, declaring us the winners of the Odyssey Experience. We will do everything possible to make the most of the great opportunity we have been given – comments Iñaki, captain of Sail for Tomorrow – Our project concerns environmental education and the preservation of the oceans from the consequences of global warming: it’s an idea that came to us during our school studies, and we can’t wait to put it into practice.”
“We were impressed by the quality of the students’ work and we congratulate all those who applied for the Odyssey Experience – says Paul Blanc, former Executive Director of Jeanneau – Among the over one hundred students who applied, the Sail for Tomorrow project stood out for the quality and determination with which it was presented, which really impressed us”.
The Odyssey Experience will start on August 24th with the preparation of the boat, which will set sail from La Rochelle, France, at the beginning of September. The journey includes stops in Ireland, Portugal, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Guadeloupe, and Martinique, where an intermediate arrival is expected in December. After a brief stop and crossing the Panama Canal, which may take a few days due to bureaucratic procedures, the Sail for Tomorrow crew will continue in March, visiting the Galapagos and the Marquesas Islands, before finishing in May in Tahiti.
The boat that will take the group around the world, as mentioned, is the Sun Odyssey 410 by Jeanneau. Equipped with a powerful hull inspired by racing design, this sailboat offers exceptional quality of life on board, both inside and in the cockpit and on deck. With such a level of comfort, aesthetics, and space, one almost forgets that the Sun Odyssey 410 is a high-performance sailboat, whose innovations have been designed primarily to improve sailing efficiency and safety. The inclined side decks, raised coamings, lower boom, and reverse bow have been designed for this purpose, while also contributing to the elegance and style of this sailboat.
You can follow the Odyssey Experience journey on the Sail for Tomorrow Instagram page.
