His boat found after months drifting on the Atlantic

Photo courtesy
The boat of Joseph Gagnon is recoverable once repaired, as we can see in this photo taken by fishermen English who live in Cornwall.

Stephanie Gendron

Wednesday, 6 December 2017 10:08

UPDATE
Wednesday, 6 December 2017 10:08

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SAINT-JEAN-PORT-JOLI | When it capsized and struggled for his life on the Atlantic last July, the adventurer Saint-Jean-Port-Joli Joseph Gagnon was little hope of finding his boat. It would, however, have made it in time for Christmas.

Joseph Gagnon and his team-mate, irishman Brian Conville had to abandon Evelyne, their boat suitable for crossing to the oar on the Atlantic that is worth more than 100 000 $, when they capsized at the end of the adventure.

Attached to their boat, they stayed in the cold water for several hours, unable to return to their boat. They were rescued by the irish coast Guard and returned home without the boat.

“It is sure I had a little bit of hope, but I knew that the chances of finding it were very low,” said Joseph Gagnon, a 20-year old.

Photo courtesy Claire Martin

Joseph Gagnon and his team-mate Brian Conville on the boat at Saint-Jean-Port-Joli during their preparation prior to their departure last summer.

A message of hope

In mid-September, two months after the abrupt end of the tour, he received a message from the “Receiver of wreck”, an organization that gives back to the right people, their equipment lost on the water.

Fishermen of England, who are accidentally stumble on Evelyne with their trawler, had brought the boat to land. “It took weeks before we know if the boat was salvageable,” says the adventurer, who was able to see a picture and be certain that it was repairable, there are only a few days.

Evelyne went therefore on board a container on Wednesday and was expected to arrive just in time for Christmas.

“We know that we can repair it and we really wanted to recover for my crossing solo in the summer of next year,” said Joseph Gagnon.

Photo courtesy

Joseph Gagnon and Brian Conville

Solo

He maintains, moreover, the cap on this project, despite the difficulties encountered last summer during its journey as a duo. “I learned a lot. I realized that I was able to do it solo, since I came out as a leader when my team-mate has met most challenges, and when I had to make decisions to survive to the end of the adventure,” says the one who is the protégé of Mylène Paquette became famous after crossing the North Atlantic solo in 2013.