- The Belem set sail on March 22nd for her first trip of the season with a new Captain at the helm : Joël Guéna replaced Jean-Pierre Boin, who wished to retire, as Commander of the three masted barque. Although he considers himself a novice when it comes to Tall Ships, Joël Guena is a very experienced seaman for whom the Channel and all its dangers hold no secrets. He spent the best part of his career in the Merchant Navy on the Channel ferries and for the last twenty years was Captain aboard the SeaFrance (ex Sealink) ships sailing between Calais or Dunkirk and Dover. A full-blooded Breton, he lives in Saint Malo and is the proud owner of an old sailing ship he completely restored and renovated. Joël Guena is convinced that the Belem is today at the forefront of the environmental drive towards wind driven transport and, at the age of 112, is once more a pioneer...
- When the Belem left Saint Nazaire on March 22nd, she had just completed the longest winter overhaul in her recent history : four months in dry dock, during which time she had her steel hull completely sand-blasted, then parts of it removed and replaced by new steel plates. This is not an unusual operation except that, this time, the replacements were necessary in rather difficult places, such as under the engine room – this meant removing two big, heavy engines by crane and then putting them back... In any case, the net result of all this was that the Belem was not only spick and span, but obtained her official sailing certificate with flying colours !
- It's all hands on deck at the Belem Foundation these days as time moves on towards the Belem's great Atlantic crossover to Quebec and Montreal in May. The Foundation's executive team flew out to meet some of the many Canadian and French officials involved in the vast celebrations organised for the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec. This is going to be a major enterprise for the Belem, an unparalleled occasion to become known to the people of Quebec while flying the flag for France and French naval heritage.
2008 restera dans l'histoire du Belem l'année de sa traversée atlantique pour saluer le souvenir de la Nouvelle France née il y a 4 siècles, disparue depuis, sauf dans le cœur et la langue des Québécois. Les préparatifs de ce grand voyage vont bon train, sur le navire qui est sorti plus beau que jamais de son hivernage comme à la Fondation.
Sur le fil : c'est ainsi qu'on peut décrire l'achèvement des longs et lourds travaux de l'arrêt technique de cet hiver. Longs : quatre mois en cale sèche, un vrai record. Lourds : outre le sablage, le remplacement de grosses plaques de la coque s'est révélé très complexe. Le Belem a pu quitter Saint Nazaire, resplendissant sous ses peintures neuves...
En quittant Saint Nazaire pour Lorient le 22 mars, le Belem abordait le premier stage de sa saison de navigation 2008 avec un nouveau Commandant à la barre. Joël Guéna succède en effet à Jean-Pierre Boin au poste de Commandant en titre du trois-mâts barque, entrant ainsi de plain-pied dans une grande aventure qui, de son propre aveu, fait de lui «le plus heureux des hommes».
