November 2014

Hello everyone,

For the past week, you have certainly noticed that our websites (antoine.tv and touchezpasa-lamer.org) have had a big problem, with the servers totally down ... you can imagine that Francette is not happy at all, and she?s busy putting everything back in order, not an easy task ; pages gradually get back in place, and our boutique too, but there is still much to be done; be patient and forgiving.

A month, hand alf a circmnavigation (by air this time) and everything is different; in early October, I reached Australia aboard Banana Split, and treated myself to a week of local cruising : the pilings (mooring posts) at Brisbane?s Botanical Garden ; woken by bird songs (when will there be a bird "Shazam" to determine the species ?), I went down the river and headed towards the small marina at Scarborough where I thought about mooring the catamaran for a few weeks; then I paid a short visit to the infinite number of channels separating the islands that lie between Moreton Bay and the Gold Coast; it was a long weekend in Australia, so there were lots of boats, but on Monday night it was all empty and quiet again; I finally brought back Banana Split to the mouth of the river, and this is where it expects the arrival of my friend Arnaud and his family, who will sail Australian shores while I show myself in France ..

And it starts right away, with France 2 news (TF1 news should come early November), various interviews on the occasion of the release of our new book, creating slideshows on various websites ... and preparing for Salon Nautique, nautical : for the first time in 50 years Bateaux magazine will not be at the Boat Show! So we had to get our own stand. I will communicate its exact coordinates in my December letter.

Another surprising news: nearly 40 years after Pietre, la Tramontana, Taxi, Cos?hai messo nel caffè, I have been invited to participate again in the Sanremo Festival with a new song that I will record near Venice on November 6 ! Another trip to Italy is planned for November 17, to record a television special for Sereno Variabile (RAI 2) near Rome?s meteorological office, at fiumicino airport; I unfortunately won?t have time to sail to nearby Ventotene, one of our favorite islands in the Mediterranean, and one of the 40 ports-of-call (40 of the most beautiful in my 40 years of navigation) that make up the new book; I also went over to Geneva for the shooting of a very popular show on Suisse Romande television : Alain Morisod?s Coups de Coeur, which will be released on December 20, to announce our tour of lectures with Connaissance du Monde: beginning in Touraine on December 15, it will take us in Switzerland for a good part of January.

Amidst all this, we are still happy to spend a few days in Auvergne ... and it's still beautiful, even if the fall colors are missing this year, unlike those that inflamed Canada when we shot to our new film.

November, Nové? I would like finally to pay tribute to our friend Bernard Nové-Josserand, for twenty years our press officer, who has just left us far too young ; Bernard was instrumental in the success of our books and our films. With him, the Gods have won a good public relations, so their popularity can be expected to rise.

Have a novel November

Antoine