Help with the restoration of a vessel and be part of the world-changing project in Cote d’Azur, France

  • Favourited 983 times
  • Last activity: 26 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: No minimum

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    My name is Christophe, I am from Paris but lived ten years in Australia and New Zealand - Sydney is my other home now. I am a photographer and now I own a beautiful sailing boat. This has been my lifelong dream, to create a vessel of environmental awareness, communication, collaboration and art:. At the moment I am working day and night to save the yacht, to make it sea worthy and transform it. I need all the help I can get, and I think there is a lot for you to get out of being involved too.

    This has been a lifelong dream of mine - I am so privileged and thrilled to be able to make this dream into reality. Of course, to attempt to realise your dreams can also be frightening. At this point of the project – the saving of the boat – it is a huge challenge, with much more work being needed on the boat than expected. Add to this a tight schedule to get a lot of urgent things done whilst the boat is dry-docked (it will be back in the water on the 5th of January but I will be away from the 22nd of December til the 2nd of January), let alone the fact that most of this is being done with borrowed money and there are expectations that need to be met because of this. Phew! But it is a complete labour of love. And the future for the project is limitless.

    I try and do things with care, with the mindset of quality – taking the time to do something right the first time – and mindfulness ,which is an aspect of what the entire project seeks to represent and share with the world. Not only sustainability, but the power for our actions to be regenerative to this planet.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Help with Eco Projects
    DIY and building projects
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    General Maintenance
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    I have had my boat for over three months now, although I first laid eyes on her 15 years ago, and have worked countless hours cleaning, clearing and repairing this marvelous yet tragically neglected vessel. My brother and some friends from Australia have come at various times to help and stayed on board for days or weeks at a time.

    By day we would work hard yet relaxedly, in the winter sun of the Cote d’Azur (the French Riviera). It is a pleasantly warm 15 degrees C by day and drops down to 8 C or so by night.
    In fact my Australian friend managed to work topless scrubbing the boat for days – covering himself in flecks of paint and then cooking us a beautiful lunch each day.

    In the evenings we might enjoy a meal in the galley together, drink wine, play guitar and sing, or watch a film. Perhaps we would go explore a nearby medieval castle Eze and feel like time-travellers in the silence of the night, or we would go to Nice and learn Brazilian drumming or visit a bar.

  • Help

    Help

    Ideally a volunteer/ crewmate would connect with themselves and with the world through a mixture of physical work renovating or maintaining the boat, research into areas of your passion and biomimicry, and creative expression or ideas for projects.

    Now however, there is an urgent need to get the boat back on the water in a very short amount of time. As such, some urgent jobs include:

    painting
    preparing surfaces (scraping off old paint, sanding)
    building bathroom and toilet on board
    designing interior and building it!
    Varnishing
    waterproofing
    cleaning
    ...
    really it is quite endless the amount of hard work and love that is needed right now.

    As well as this we want you to feel part of the project and explore it’s potential and your interests creatively…

    In the long term, to be a crewmember would be more like:

    -Inputing your ideas into a fledgling project of global scope and vast potential.
    -Learning (and doing) together about boat restoration,
    -Hands-on work mixed with research, creativity and ownership (ideally you can take on a sub-project with passion and dedication drawing on your experiences and dreams)
    -Sailing the world!


    To suit your needs you can do a mixture of physical work and other, such as research for biomimicry solutions, working on crowdfunding campaigns and most importantly incorporating your interests. HOWEVER at this crucial time definitely a lot of hard work is needed. But it’s fun and rewarding.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    Spanish: Fluent
    French: Fluent

    This host offers a language exchange
    This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
    You can contact them directly for more information.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Volunteers will have their own cabin on board with wardrobe and drawers for your things. There is a lamp to read by and a hatch in the roof letting in light from the sky and the stars. (If there are more than one volunteer at a time, we can renovate another cabin quickly however if not you can either share this cabin, or there is a mattress to sleep in the main room.)

    There is bedding and towels for you. The boat will be your home and your workspace. There is a comfortable kitchen with a single (and powerful – be warned) electric stove, running water, a big fridge, delicious French food and perhaps a beer or wine shared at the end of a hard days work and with our meal together.

    Whilst we are harboured at Villefranche-sur-Mer (an historic and gorgeous town on the French Riviera, a short drive or train journey from Nice) we have access to very nice hot shower and toilet facilities care of the harbour. They are a short walk from the boat.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    The marina where the boat is harboured is Villefranche-sur-mer, 10 km east along the coast from Nice. It is one of the most beautiful harbours in the Mediterranean, located in a natural bay that has protected ships and absorbed cultures, history and battles for thousands of years. Inland are mountains, and wonderful nature, the coast is incredible, the possibilities for recreation after work are really diverse and exciting.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days - but more if you want! Right now is a very busy time so I am working a lot.

Host ref number: 294623932128

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