This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by Vincent Le Roy (@vincentleroy): La Saga PLOUF [Episode 3] : l'effet miroir

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but Vincent Le Roy (@vincentleroy), a French guy.

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Note: "Plouf", in French, is a onomatopoeia that phonetically imitates the sound of an object that falls in the water. The equivalent in English would be "Plop" or "Splash". That is a strange name for a boat!

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The PLOUF Saga - Part 3 of 17 - The mirror effect

The envelope with the papers arrived three days later. Not a word, but all the papers and the padlock key. A little impatient, I jumped again in the car and I went on the pontoon I. There, no Plouf. Well, where is this dummy? Let's not panic. I call the port master on his cell phone. Nothing to panic indeed, they have moved her so that it is in a better spot and that I can go out whatever the water level ... so she is at pontoon H spot 35. A badge awaits me at the captaincy.

Arrived on site, Yann and Julien handed me a coffee and a badge. Yann tells me that it is not referenced so it opens all the pontoons. I'll have to regularize with Barbara, the secretary. No problem. I have a badge and the keys of the boat. It's good, the kids are coming this weekend and the weather is supposed to be nice!

Julien is always more reserved than Yann but here he is eager to tell me the story of my canoe. It is a boat built by the Bremaud yards in 1973. The series to which it belongs is called "Explorateur" (explorer). The name already indicates what the boat can do: local sailing, which means going from one port to another. Of course, with a length of 5.20 metres, you do not plan to cross the Atlantic.

Her first name in 1973 was "Blue Star" with his blue hull then "Côtes d'Armor" in 1990. In 2010, completely abandoned, she arrived one morning in the harbor, coming from no one knows where. The marine police went back to the owner who clearly did not intend to recover it. That's how Julien got the tub, in very bad shape. So with Yann, they put it back together! They went to the maritime affairs for re-registration and her name became Plouf. The rest, you know it. The boat has nicely stayed 5 years at her pontoon. Without going out and without maintenance.

She had such a life, my Plouf. She is the same age as me. A little dented but still there. Like me. Chance or coincidence? No, there is no chance no more than coincidence. Life is made of encounters and opportunities. You have to know when to seize them.

I think deep down I have just fulfilled a kid's dream. I have always dreamed of having a boat, I love to sail. So, certainly, my first boat looks more like a wreck than a boat to cross the Atlantic but we are now united by an unwavering link.

-- Vincent Le Roy (@vincentleroy)

(to be continued)

Part 1 - Part 2

All photos are property of @vincentleroy and under copyright