This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by Vincent Le Roy (@vincentleroy): La Saga PLOUF [Episode 6] : L'heure des braves
Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but Vincent Le Roy (@vincentleroy), a French guy.
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!
Brief summary of previous episodes
In January 2016, I am given a boat, a tiny sailboat. A kid's dream. Her name is Plouf. And in fact the canoe is in a state not possible and I do not know much except sailing. I tell you the journey that I traveled with this small boat, that have become my fourth baby! In the last few days, we have finished preparing the D-Day to clean it ... So, Day D!
The PLOUF Saga [Part 6 of 17]: The hour of the brave
For the big day, my friend Rene comes to help me. René is a carpenter. A handyman in the team, it will not be too much, because to be very honest, in DIY, I have two left hands. Besides, I never tinker. That's maybe what Plouf will make me do, to get the desire and to remove that lack of confidence to do manual things. To get out of my comfort zone which is the intellectual sphere. There, it will take a little less procrastination and more concrete things. But I'm ready. In any case, with Plouf, the pact is sealed. I promised her to refurbish her and to go on the water. Yes, I'm talking to my boat. It may surprise you, but she hears me.
6:30 am I am at the Captaincy with René. The children of course are sleeping. They will join us at noon! First step: strip it and let it dry. The children will do the painting. With the Karcher 250 bar, stripping should be a formality. I took care to bring some croissants. Yann points out that it is a very good idea to pamper the harbor master. He is radiant. I am like a kid. Excited, impatient and totally bonkers. In one day, I will only do things that I do not know and that I do not control. But on the other hand, I have a fucking motivation.
He had said 6:30. I am not crazy. I may not be a handyman but I have a good memory. It is 6:50 and Yann quietly sips his coffee with his croissant in the other hand. The whole city sleeps and the harbor too. It's still dark. Always so serene, he gets up from his seat and hands us automatic life jackets. "Come on it's good let's go!" It was about time, I could not wait any longer. There, I need action.
7:00. Yann starts the engine of the harbor boat. Ours Seul (Bear Alone). It's her name. A flat bottom canoe, all aluminum. And 60 horsepowers in the ass. He drops the moorings and Bear Alone slips gently into the channel. With the night, there is a magic side. Arrived at pontoon H, in the ass of Plouf, he attaches mine to his in less than two seconds. It's funny watching him do it, it would seem almost simple. Reverse. Yann gently tows Plouf and leads her over the fairing area. He is a absolutely calm. I feel like I'm doing nothing. On the other hand, I cannot do anything either. I am waiting for orders, hoping to do well. That's all I can do.
Arrived in the middle of the fairing area, Yann asks me to climb on Plouf and recover the ropes. What I do ASAP. He secures his maneuver and also jumps on Plouf. In less time than it takes to say, the boat is moored in six points. He is not in danger of fleeing. Yann is delighted and tells me that now we only have put the legs. Legs? There is not any ... He burst out laughing. "There are not two in the hold?" Yes indeed. I was wondering why there were two rotten mooring legs in this hold. Now, I'm starting to understand and Yann explains to me: "When we got her back, he did not have the original mooring legs, so we made two of them with construction props. Open the hold and give them to me! "
As soon as said, as soon as done. The sea can go down now. The boat is ready to run aground straight like a I. Yann explains to us that we have two solutions. The first is to stay on Plouf and wait until the sea is low to start the machinery. The second, well, it brings us back to the captaincy and we'll have a hot coffee waiting to start in two hours. We go from Plouf to Ours Seul without further discussion. It's clear that you cannot refuse a good coffee. Only a little more than two hours to start the job!
-- Vincent Le Roy (@vincentleroy)
Continue to Part 7
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
All photos are property of @vincentleroy and under copyright
