Following the understandable example of half the world's holidaymakers, Belem sailed off to spend the months of July, August and September in the Sunny South, namely Spain, Morocco, the Balearic Islands, Corsica and the Mediterranean coast of France. Obviously, sailing as a trainee aboard Belem offers far more adventure, excitement and genuine atmosphere than floating around on a mega cruising ship with three thousand other people... and this season was no exception on this chapter. A bit of choppy sea off the coast of Royan (north of Bordeaux) mid-July gave way to very favourable winds and therefore plain sailing to the Spanish port of Vigo, then down along Portugal to Tangiers, where a remarkable welcome and some fascinating visits of the historic Old Town were in store for crew and trainees alike.
The end of July saw Belem head off to Port Mahon, on the island of Minorca in very hot weather and hardly any wind, stopping on the way at Formentera (now turned into a cruise ship parking lot) and Formels in Majorca and Pollença (Minorca) – a sort of Grand Tour of the islands before reaching Port Mahon, where, in 1756 the French Navy achieved one of its – rare - victories over the British Fleet...
Then it was back towards the French coast: during the trip, the –rare – occurrence of a trainee being taken ill on board entailed some very skilful manoeuvring by First Mate Gabriel Leland Saint Cast to allow the patient to be transported aboard a helicopter and carried off to a hospital on the mainland, where he kept in observation for a few hours then recovered by his family. After which, one the Med's sudden fits of unexpected temper delayed Belem's arrival in Port Vendres by 24 hours which still enabled the ship to make her appearance at the festivities organised by the town authorities in her honour...
There followed ten days, during the first half of August, of sailing to, along and from Corsica : blues skies, magical views, pleasant sea and a bit of wind made for an altogether enchanting time. Well...almost. The Belem's engines in their turn had a few fits of bad temper which spread to the generator. Quick thinking and quick acting by Captain Yann Cariou and chief engineer Yves Broudic ensured the safety and comfort of everyone on board.
Finally, after very successful stopovers in Toulon, St Raphaël, Nice and Marseilles, Belem is now, as we write, on her way to Lisboa via the Strait of Gibraltar on the last of this season's sailing trips.
Cet été 2011 fut pour le Belem placé sous le signe de la Méditerranée, avec laquelle le Belem a rendez-vous tous les 2 ans. Les puristes disent que cette mer convient mal aux gréements carrés ; mais la réalité nous enseigne que l'on peut y faire de sacrément belles navigations. 
Parmi les centaines de stagiaires qui, chaque année, embarquent à bord du Belem, il y a ceux pour qui c'est une expérience inédite, une découverte mais ils sont nombreux, aussi, à revenir... puis à revenir encore. Isabelle Bordage fait partie de ces fidèles – ces « récidivistes » comme ils se désignent eux-mêmes. A la veille de son nouvel embarquement, elle a bien voulu cerner les raisons de son attachement au Belem et tout ce qu'il représente. 
