Episode 18: on display.

Dear readers,

dear lovers of the sea and adventure,

dear friends,

dear families,

Last October, we left you on the sun‑drenched quays of the marina in Olbia, Sardinia. Since then, everyday life has taken over again, at a fast pace.

With the gentle return of spring, our Bonita adventure is awakening.

Thoughts are flowing freely, especially when it comes to choosing the boat. Is this one too big? Is the other too modern? Does it have enough character? From there arise all the other fundamental questions. What sets our project apart from a simple holiday cruise? Which boat are we truly capable of handling? How do we get the boat to Olbia? Who brings it back? The organisational Tetris of the cruise begins all over again.

But… no spoilers! We won’t say more at this stage. We’ll keep you updated on how our thinking evolves over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, to bring our 2025 cruise to a close, we wanted to shine a spotlight on class 10VP1 from the Cugy school. We will be dedicating our next two articles to their wonderful work. We warmly greet and thank them here and now.

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Upon our return from the cruise, class 10VP1 from the Cugy secondary school (EPS de Cugy) continued the journey in their own way and gifted us with a display mounted on the walls of their school.

Throughout our journey, we stayed in touch with the 10VP1 class from the EPS de Cugy. We even had a live discussion with them via Teams while we were sailing along the Sardinian coast. It was a real pleasure to know they were with us along the way—and such a moving moment to see our photograph displayed large on the wall of their classroom.

Christine Saupagna Isler, their French teacher, had asked them to prepare a presentation about our adventure.

Display: here we are, pinned up on the walls of the school.

Bravo already for structuring our adventure into five chapters:

• The genesis

• The crew

• The project

• At sea

• Emotion

We truly recognise ourselves in your summary. You understood us—and you understood the project.

I am particularly fond of that colourful marine timeline!

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Let’s now take a closer look at all of this. Let’s begin with the Genesis panel. You clearly captured our passion for Ella Maillart, and more broadly for women adventurers. What courage they showed! Perhaps we should not forget, in this story, Hermine de Saussure, known as Miette, Ella’s close friend, who taught her how to sail.

What we particularly loved on this panel is the little boat sailing across the sea and the sea foam.

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Great overview of the team

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The project is also well summarised, with one small nuance. We would not say that there is little danger in sailing today. Rather, we would say that the risks are better managed, because we now have more technology to check the weather and stay in contact with land. Boat inspections are also more stringent. That said, heading out to sea remains an adventure.

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Oh, emotions—my favourite chapter. Once again, you truly captured our inner states. We really took care of one another. There was a great deal of respect and mutual support on board. We were also very attentive to the way we communicated with each other.

In fact, writing this blog forced us to debrief what we had experienced—our perceptions, our feelings, our emotions. It makes a huge difference, especially when you are living together in such a small space.

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Once again, thank you, 10VP1, for all the time and care you devoted to our project. It truly touched us and gave us strength to know that you were there with us. And you—did you enjoy diving into the adventure of sailing and the sea with us?

We look forward to staying in touch,

Valérie & las bonitas 2025