In the wake of heroes, a spectacular life at sea

French ocean expeditioner Jean-Baptiste Charcot had a thirst for exploration; a “gentleman of the poles” who took French oceanographic science and adventures to the edge of the world, impervious to the dangers.

He sailed two French Antarctic expeditions between 1903 and 1920.

Just a few hours before reading this, about Charcot’s exploits, I’d been with Capt. Etienne Garcia — himself a distinguished seaman. Travel editor Stephen Scourfield and I were lunch guests of Ponant Explorations, in Perth.

And it is quickly obvious that Charcot and Garcia have much in common.

Capt. Garcia is one of two main commanders of the world’s only dedicated cruise ship icebreaker, Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot, which is named for the legendary polar explorer I’ve just been reading about.

Capt. Garcia speaks with passion of his life at sea traversing the Arctic and Antarctica, often where few, if any, have ever ventured thanks to modern ingenuity.

For Le Commandant Charcot combines modern luxury cruising with a Polar Class 2 rating for safe sailing in extreme conditions and multiyear ice up to 2.5m thick. It has an advanced hull design and hybrid-electric propulsion system.

Nature, culture and scientific discovery are recurring themes during our conversation.

In September last year, Capt. Garcia and his Le Commandant Charcot team made history by completing the first-ever Trans-Arctic voyage from the Bering Strait to Svalbard. The voyage reached the “northern pole of inaccessibility” — the point in the Arctic Ocean that is furthest from any landmass at approximately 85 degrees 48’ north, 176 degrees 09’ west, as well as the magnetic and geographic north poles. There were 22 scientists on board.

In fact, an important function aboard the ship Charcot is understanding environmental threats like climate change and plastic pollution, and contributing scientific data in collaboration with ocean research institutes and universities.

And as Capt. Garcia points out, it’s part of Ponant’s wider ambitions. “We want to have science on all our ships,” he says.

Charcot is custom-built for research and citizen science programs, including two laboratories and specialised equipment.

On September 6, 2021, during a dry run aboard the luxury icebreaker, Capt. Garcia alongside Capt. Patrick Marchesseau, reached the geographic North Pole (90°N) in what was the first French ship to achieve the feat.

Asked for his favourite region to sail, Capt. Garcia names East Greenland. He talks about the fjords and his affinity with Greenlandic culture, describing it as “like a different world”.

“We have a relationship with the locals and supply them fruit and vegetables,” he says. “We are part of their families — the human aspect is invaluable.”

Michael Ferrante

A LIFE AT SEA

Etienne Garcia’s passion for the sea started young.

“I was 10, taking a sailing course in Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, Brittany,” he says. “It was a revelation. From the first day, I knew I wanted to be a sailor, and that conviction has carried me forward all my life.”

He left high school as a teenager to deliver sailing yachts — as a skipper.

At 18, he shifted course, joining a Shell oil tanker as a maintenance assistant.

Soon he was an ordinary seaman aboard cargo vessels, for a major French shipping company called Chargeurs Reunis.

He says: “I witnessed firsthand the transformation in maritime transport as container ships replaced traditional cargo vessels.”

Those years at sea not only broadened his horizons (literally), but sparked a taste for discovery and human connection.

It was, perhaps, then inevitable that he would be drawn to passenger ships.

He enrolled at the Ecole Nationale de la Marine Marchande — the former name for the French national maritime academy, which trained merchant navy officers.

He trained there for six years — first as an officer (serving on Club Med 1), then as a captain. He says: “My experience as deck watch officer, navigating busy straits, remains an indispensable asset.”

After supervising the construction of the m/s Paul Gauguin and sailing in Polynesia, Capt. Garcia was put in charge of the 1200-passenger liner Le Mistral in 2000 — sailing under the French flag.

Five years later, he joined Ponant Explorations, commanding Le Diamant in the polar regions of Spitsbergen and Greenland, commenting: “I’ll never forget the storm I faced just after taking command in Iceland.”

Between 2005 and 2019, Capt. Garcia led Ponant Explorations’ early Antarctic cruises — a time he now calls “heroic”. They were opening new routes and charting untested waters.

Later, he captained Le Soleal on the company’s first Northwest Passage crossing.

Over the years, Capt. Garcia has led Ponant Explorations’ most ambitious voyages, from polar frontiers to tropical archipelagos.

Today, Capt. Garcia is one of the most seasoned and respected captains in the industry.

But he also talks about the freedom that Ponant gives its most experienced captains: “We have the freedom to express ourselves,” he says.

It conjures up the image of painting — that they have a canvas with only pencil outlines on which they can add colour and lustre to create an adventure.

“I realise the privilege of being in remote places,” he adds, using two interesting words to describe the ship — “access and luxury”.

We talk of Jean-Baptiste Charcot, and of French sailor Bernard Moitessier, who took part in the first round-the-world yacht race, the Golden Globe in 1968. Moitessier was sailing the steel ketch Joshua (which is now in a maritime museum in La Rochelle, France) and when other yachts dropped out and he found himself in the lead, he decided to bail out of the race and sail around to the Pacific again instead of heading back north to the finish line: “Because I am happy at sea, and perhaps also to save my soul.”

I think I see a twinkle in Capt. Garcia’s eye as we both mouth the phrase at the same time, together.

Capt. Garcia is a sailor’s sailor. A true mariner.

Stephen Scourfield

SPECIAL REPORT

In tomorrow’s Sunday Travel — how Ponant is cutting cruise emissions & waste