The sailing ship Maewan has been sailing the seas of the world for eight years and regularly welcomes scientists and athletes on board. And the adventure will continue in 2022.
It is an extraordinary adventure that Erwan Le Lann launched seven years ago. With his boat Maewan (named after the association that works to "reposition man at the heart of his environment to respond to the problem of living together better in a space with limited resources"), the mountain guide, sailor and explorer has travelled the seas of the globe, accompanied by men and women, explorers as well as scientists or sportsmen.
From the Arctic to the Antarctic via the Pacific, the sailboat has become the support of educational and environmental actions led by world-renowned riders taking place in France and abroad.
"The idea is to have this traveling adventure platform to make adventures along the way" explained Erwan Le Lann in 2019 to Mountains Magazine. "I wanted to go through the North, through the South and into Polynesia, and this, without going through man-made channels. On this route, we organize a series of expeditions with different crews for a particular project. So, with the help of the wind and as little motor power as possible, we travel to the most inaccessible places to practice nature sports. Each participant is a key element in the success of the expedition: on board Maewan, there are no passengers, only crew members with a targeted and complementary know-how.
Over the past seven years, there have been many sporting expeditions from the boat. Let's take a look at the most emblematic of them.
Freeride skiing and mountaineering in Greenland
This film retraces the first part of the Maewan adventure, between Iceland and Greenland, with a team of complementary experts: sailors, skiers, mountaineers and cameramen, a crew changing according to the expedition projects.
Kitesurfing in the Bering Sea
On the island of Shishmaref in Alaska, Maewan will cross the Bering Sea, to arrive on the Russian coasts, where only bears and seals seem to enjoy the landscape. Between storm and lull. Between storm and lull, the kitesurfer Fabienne d'Ortoli will try to ride on both sides of this mythical sea. A first to kite in these remote and wild waters, until the extraordinary approach of this city emerging from the Wilderness, Petropavlosk Kamchatki.
Highline in the Marquesas
Famous since Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel lived there, the Marquesas Islands are among the most inaccessible in the world. Going there is already a first challenge. Nobody has ever put a slackline on these mountains. No one, except these two enthusiasts, Nathan Paulin and Anthony Newton. With the help of Maewan, they went to the other side of the earth to try to practice their favorite activity in one of the most isolated archipelagos, with a sumptuous natural setting.
Climbing on the walls of Makatea in French Polynesia
When the sailboat arrived in Makatea in 2018, Erwan Le Lann and Marion Courtois discussed with the island's inhabitants the possibilities of developing climbing cliffs. The equipment of the site (80m of limestone at the edge of the sea) would promote an eco-responsible tourism, respectful of the biodiversity of the atoll and its inhabitants. 6 months later, they return with a team of about twenty passionate and talented people: climbers, cavers, first aiders, educational and environmental managers, photographers, cameramen, journalists...
Freeriding in the Kuril Islands
This film recounts the exceptional adventure of French skiers and snowboarders, who will sail from Russia to Japan. From island to island, they will be the first to try to climb and ski the slopes of the volcanoes that form the Kuril Archipelago.
Base jumping in the lost fjords of New Zealand
Aboard Maewan, which will sink into the inland seas of New Zealand, two base-jumbers will discover "vertical jungles", to try to fly in these remote valleys, inaccessible by land. In the heart of the primary forest, the conditions are wild and muscular...
Back to its home port in Aber Wrac'h in Brittany on November 13, the association's sailing boat should probably set sail again next spring. This time, it is the Mediterranean Sea that the crew will sail in order to better understand the migratory crisis. At the end of 2023, Maewan will once again set out to conquer the oceans and territories, sailing down the African coast, then sliding towards the Indian Ocean, the only ocean on which the crew has not sailed for the moment.