French History – Le Manureva Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 21, 2017 in Culture, Music, Vocabulary
Thirty-nine years ago, the French sailor Alain Colas and his boat, le Manureva, disappeared off the Azores (a group of North Atlantic islands about 850 miles west of the coast of Portugal) while particpating in the Route du Rhum. The tale has inspired many, including the French composer Alain Chamfort and the singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.
A picture of the Manureva and her crew taken in St. Malo in November 1978 shortly before the start of the inaugural Route du Rhum.^
La Route du Rhum (the Rum Trail) is an elite course à la voile (sailing race/competition) crossing la mer Atlantique (the Atlantic ocean) from the port city of St. Malo in France to Pointe à Pitre on the island of Guadeloupe in the Caribean.
Alain Colas was by all accounts a force of nature. In the years leading up to the Route, he had already won a race across the Atlantic and completed the first solo trip around the globe in a multihull sailboat (the same Manureva). He was also a media star of the day, which made his disappearance all the more of an event.
On November 16, 1978, while leading the pack, Alain made his last known radio call from the heart of a storm. “Je suis dans l’oeil du cyclone. Il n’y a plus de ciel, tout est amalgame d’éléments, il y a des montagnes d’eau autour de moi . . . “ (I’m in the eye of a hurricane. There is no more sky, everything is a mix of elements, there are mountains of water around me . . . “).
The disappearance led to a massive search and rescue effort that lasted for many weeks, but which sadly ended without anyone every finding a trace of le navigateur* ou de son bateau (the sailor or his boat.) The song the tale inspired may be a bit (ok, very) kitsch. But despite the cheesy video, it has reminded the French of this sad story for over 35 years.
| Manu Manuréva | Manu Manureva |
| Où es-tu Manu Manuréva | Where are you Manu Manureva ? |
| Bateau fantôme toi qui rêvas | Phantom/ghost ship you who dreamed |
| Des îles et qui jamais n’arriva | Of islands and who never arrived/made it |
| Là-bas | There |
| Où es-tu Manu Manuréva | Where are you Manu Manureva ? |
| Portée disparue Manuréva | Declared lost/reported missing Manureva |
| Des jours et des jours tu dérivas | Days and days you drifted |
| Mais jamais jamais tu n’arrivas | But never never (would you) arrive |
| Là-bas | There |
| As-tu abordé les côtes de Jamaïca | Did you approach the coast/shores of Jamaica |
| Oh héroïque Manuréva | Oh heroic Manureva |
| Es-tu sur les récifs de Santiago ou de Cuba | Are you on the reefs of Santiago or Cuba |
| Où es-tu Manuréva | Where are you Manureva ? |
| Dans les glaces de l’Alaska | In the ice of Alaska |
| Où es-tu Manu Manuréva | Where are you Manu Manureva ? |
| Porté disparu Manuréva | Declared lost/reported missing Manureva |
| Bateau fantôme toi que rêvas | Phatom/ghost ship you who dreamed |
| Des îles et qui jamais n’arriva … là-bas |
Of islands and how never arrived/made it |
| Tu es parti oh Manuréva | You left of Manureva |
| A la dérive Manuréva | To drift Manureva |
| Là-bas | Out there |
| As-tu aperçu les lumières de Nouméa | Did you glimpse the lights of Numea** |
| Oh héroïque Manuréva | Oh heroic Manureva |
| Aurais-tu sombré au large de Bora Bora | Could you have sunk of the coast of Bora Bora |
| Où es-tu Manuréva | Where are you Manureva |
| Dans les glaces de l’Alaska | In the ice of Alaska |
| Où es-tu Manu Manuréva | Where are you Manureva |
| Portée disparue Manuréva | Declared missing/reported lost Manureva |
| Des jours et des jours tu dérivas | Days and days you drifted |
| Mais jamais jamais tu n’arrivas … là-bas | Never to arrive. |
* Today you’re more likely to come across this word in reference to the World Wide Web. Navigateur is the French word for browser as in “Je me sers du navigateur pour chercher des renseignements sur l’Internet. / I use the browser to search for information on the Internet.)
** Numea is the capital of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, located in the South Pacific.
^ Photo Credits:
By Gvdmoort – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8840701
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About the Author: Tim Hildreth
Since my first trip to France at 16, I have been a passionate francophile. I love the language, food, music, art, people, and more that make France and la Francophonie in general such an amazing part of our global community. Having lived in France and studied the language and culture for over 35 years, it is my great pleasure to be able to share a little bit of my deep love with you through this blog.