FAQ: What is a hillbilly? This is for all my french friends disappointed by Google Translate. A hillbilly is a person originating from rural, mountainous areas of the United States (in my case, Appalachia), usually of Scottish or Irish descent who are traditionally considered to be independent and self-reliant, but also backwards, uncultured, and belligerent. It is often a derogatory stereotype, but one that has been softened with time and made comical by the 1960s television show The Beverly Hillbillies.
This hillbilly was born and raised in a small Kentucky farming town, nestled between the horse farms of the bluegrass and the mountains of Appalachia - clearly destined for a life at sea. She started her sea-going career fishing from small row boats in Kentucky’s innumerable lakes and rivers with her dad and pappaw (that’s what hillbillies call their grandfathers), but by age 18, she had outgrown the lakes and set off for a 10-week semester-at-sea program on a merchant marine training vessel sailing from Galveston to Rio de Janeiro. The following year, she began her university studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston and the Texas Maritime Academy, double-majoring in chemistry and marine transportation. Two years later, more fascinated by chemistry than cargo operations, she abandoned the maritime academy to prepare for a life in academia, earning a Ph.D. in Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. On graduating, she accepted a post-doctoral fellowship doing research in the most logical place for an oceanographer: Paris, France. The year abroad and a brief stint back in the states as a professor convinced her that academia was not her cup of tea and that she had incurable wanderlust. She traded in her tenure-track position for a 3-month consultant contract working for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, and stayed on for the next 12 years. A fateful moment came when she joined the UNESCO running team and met its Captain, Patrick.
This hillbilly was born and raised in a small Kentucky farming town, nestled between the horse farms of the bluegrass and the mountains of Appalachia - clearly destined for a life at sea. She started her sea-going career fishing from small row boats in Kentucky’s innumerable lakes and rivers with her dad and pappaw (that’s what hillbillies call their grandfathers), but by age 18, she had outgrown the lakes and set off for a 10-week semester-at-sea program on a merchant marine training vessel sailing from Galveston to Rio de Janeiro. The following year, she began her university studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston and the Texas Maritime Academy, double-majoring in chemistry and marine transportation. Two years later, more fascinated by chemistry than cargo operations, she abandoned the maritime academy to prepare for a life in academia, earning a Ph.D. in Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. On graduating, she accepted a post-doctoral fellowship doing research in the most logical place for an oceanographer: Paris, France. The year abroad and a brief stint back in the states as a professor convinced her that academia was not her cup of tea and that she had incurable wanderlust. She traded in her tenure-track position for a 3-month consultant contract working for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, and stayed on for the next 12 years. A fateful moment came when she joined the UNESCO running team and met its Captain, Patrick.
Patrick began his maritime career at an early age with wind surfing, where
his fearlessness and indomitable spirit earned him the distinction of being towed
back to shore by rescue squads three times in two countries. Intermittent
sailing vacations on larger and less capricious sailing craft planted the seed
of a dream that, alas, remained dormant through the early part of his
career. At age 18, he emigrated from
Brittany to the big city and landed a job working in the newly-established
computer facilities of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO). With a degree in computer science and programming from
the Paris Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, he worked his way up the
international civil servant ladder, and in parallel, was a member of the UNESCO Athletics
Team through 18 years of UN inter-agency sports competitions (the UN
Games), serving as captain for 3 years. A fateful moment came when he
met a young American oceanographer and runner who needed serious help with her
French.
Our Sailing CV
2015-present Skippering Mareda
1430 nautical miles from the Channel Islands to Bordeaux
1140 nautical miles from Brittany to Gibraltar
1200 nautical miles from Gibraltar to Taverna, Corsica
900 nautical miles from Corsica to Licata, Sicily
2012-2014 Skippering Spray (1992 Dehler 34)
1430 nautical miles from the Channel Islands to Bordeaux
1140 nautical miles from Brittany to Gibraltar
1200 nautical miles from Gibraltar to Taverna, Corsica
900 nautical miles from Corsica to Licata, Sicily
2012-2014 Skippering Spray (1992 Dehler 34)
4450 nautical
miles along the European Atlantic coast from the Channel Islands to Galicia,
Spain.
Permits
Coastal
Navigation Permit (2010)
VHF Short
Range Certificate (2011)
Offshore Navigation Permit / International Certificate
of Competence (2012)
2011 AMCRE sailing club, Vannes
80 days and
3286 nautical miles in Southern Brittany, Northern Brittany, the Scilly Islands
(UK) and the south and west coasts of Ireland on the following boats: Oceanis
323, Sun Odyssey 40, Wauquiez Gladiateur, X-40, Gib Sea 262, First 211, Feeling
920, Moody 39. Patrick served for 2 years
on the Administrative Council.
2010 AMCRE sailing club, Vannes
41 days and
1755 nautical miles in Southern Brittany, the French Atlantic Coast, and the
Northern coast of Spain on the following boats : Sun Fast 31, Kelt 8,
Azuli (Catamaran, 12 meters), Westerly Tempest 31, Kelt 760, Mousquetaire Club.
2004-2009 The Glenans Sailing School
9 one-week
courses in Northern Brittany, Southern Brittany, and Corsica, covering
approximately 55 days and 850 nautical miles on the following boats:
Weekend-14 (dinghies), Dufour 30, Glenans Open 5.7, Elan 31, Sun Fast 32i,
Bongo 9.60, Sun Fast 37, Glenan 33, Dufour 325, RM 1060.
