Glénans

History

To leave the war

Association was founded in order to allow old the resistant to relearn the civil life. The first training courses proceeded on the Île of Loc' H, in the Archipel of Glénan, and quickly moved on Penfret. Philippe Viannay written, in its autobiography:

The year 1949 was one year of transition. The Bolloré family had not wished to keep us on the Log. I knew some since the true reasons by Gwenaël Bolloré; it was close for me because, under the Occupation, it had joined at sixteen years England in boat to engage in the commandos and that it shared with us the love of the archipelago. A grandmother had been shocked that we gather on the same island boys and girls. For Brittany in any case we were in this field of the precursors and the grandmother was not the only scandalized person; especially when cruisings started and that it was obvious that the crews were mixed.

The training courses did not concern that the sail initially, but, subjected to the constraints of the life on the islands, the activity of association was quickly centered on this activity. The first monitors learn in contact with fishermen.

A rapid growth

The development is fast thanks to the voluntary help: in a context where the regulation is developed little, the persons in charge entrust indeed readily responsibilities to the former trainees. A gifted trainee thus quickly becomes monitor then responsible for an island.

Glénans diversify their establishments during the Années 1960, structure their course of formation and publish the Cours of navigation of Glénans , regarded by much as the “bible” of the water sport.

In order to find supports for its teaching, association took part in the design of sailing ships of teaching. The first boats, designed by Jean-Jacques Herbulot and Philippe Harlé quickly became of the traditional ones: Good-for-nothing (1952), Caravel (1953), Corsair (1954), Musketeer, Mare (1966), and later Galiote (1971), Nautile (1971, conceived by Jean-Marie Finot), Glénans 5,7 (1989), Glénans 33 (1994)…

Crisis and rectification

At the beginning of the Années 1980 association enters during one crisis period, its vision “traditional” and demanding of the veil not corresponding more to waitings. A recovery package is implemented, with many dismissals. The acquisition of modern sailing ships, the scission of the Irish bases (which become an independent association, the Glénans Irish sailing club) as well as the diversification of the activities (light veil, Catamaran, Planche with veil) make it possible association to be rectified.

The fleet represents today more than 400 Bateau X including approximately 80 livable sailing ships of cruising. The boats currently used are mainly of Sunfast 37, Sunfast 32, Élan 31, Dufour 30, but one counts also a few other units: Django, Bongo 9.6, Sun Odyssey 45… The “flagship” is without question Sereine, a cutter bermudien of 12m, classified Historic building.

Contributions and specificities

Association played a big role in the democratization of the practice of the veil in France. Known anecdote: when one pointed out to Eric Tabarly which it was for much in the development of the pleasure in France, it answered that the responsibility fell rather on the Nautical Center of Glénans.

Association contributed also much to the development of safety at sea while taking part in the development of the equipment but especially while influencing the practice of the pleasure. Indeed, since 1986, association imposes specific safety regulations, in addition to the official regulation, in a “charter of safety”, which insists in particular on:

the port of the life jacket and the harness;
the briefing of safety before the departure in cruising;
institution of quarter of monitoring of the water level;
practice of exercises of recovery of man to the sea;
assistance with the design of the boats and safety equipments (damping, fire with reversal, etc).

Other particular points mark the specificity of Glénans:

the majority of the people of framing are Bénévole S, as the monitors which teach the sail, the “housewives” or “Master of the home” who organize the domestic tasks and the “materialists” who repair the boats;
the monitors frame on their support: on a training course of center-board, the monitor is itself on a center-board;
tasks of the daily life (preparation of the meals, cleaning of the buildings…) are ensured by the trainees and the monitors.

Establishments

If the seat is located at Paris (), the school of veil has 5 bases in France:

Archipelago of Glénan ();
Island of Arz ();
Paimpol ();
Bonifacio ();
Marseillan ().

Association proposes also cruisings abroad, as in Croatia, Greece, Italy (Venice, Genoa), in England, Scotland, in Ireland, Iceland, Norway or with the the Antilles and since 2003 of the transatlantic training courses.

Famous former members

Many known sailors were trainees or monitors in Glénans; for example:

Vincent Riou, winner in particular of the Vendée Globe 2004;
Franck Cammas, holder of many titles in the multihull;
Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, record of the turn of world to back ;
Maud Fontenoy, navigatrice;
Jean-Marie Finot, naval architect;
Armel Tripon, victorious of the Mini Deckchair 2003;
Jeanne Gregoire, runner as a Barber;
Eric Carret, team-member of Cut of America;
Karen Leibovici, runner of the Vendée Globe 2004;
Henri Desjoyeaux, first monitor, which will create later on (in 1956) a first building site of guarding and maintenance of pleasure with the Forest-Fouesnant, become then Port-la-Forêt. Henri Desjoyeaux is the father of Michel Desjoyeaux;
Isabelle Joschke, victorious of the first stage of the Deckchair 6.50 Charente-Maritime/Bahia 2007.

Many personalities are also old of Glénans , among which:

Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister;
Laurent Joffrin, director of the newspaper Release;
Anne Sylvestre, singer.

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