Time to Change Course

Time to Change Course

Another end of an Era on the Cap.

I was recently invited to an ‘End of an Era’ party on the Cap. Andrew and Lindsey, a British couple with a home here, had organised the party for some of their friends from Port Gallice.

In January 2018 a new private company will take over the management of Port Gallice. They will maintain, manage and modernise the port  for a period of 15-25 years. Because of this 2017 kind of marks the end of an era for the port and the people who work here or have boats here. I have already written about Christian at the Station du Port who is closing his doors at the end of this month when his lease runs out. However there are also other familiar faces at the port for whom the change of management also marks a new chapter in their life. Fabrice is one of these people.

Fabrice is the Captain of Port Gallice, or Master of the Port as he calls it. He is in charge of everything to do with the port and is definitely the person to know if you want to get a berth here, well until the end of September that is. Fabrice is moving on to a new life away from Cap d’Antibes so this party certainly did mark an end of an era for him.  We chatted for while and he told me about his plans for the future. We met up again the following week to take some photos of him at work.

What brought you to this area and more specifically to Port Gallice?

I was born in Paris and I moved to the Cote d’Azur in 1991.

I had a young son so I felt life would be better for him here, it would be better for him to grow up here than in Paris. That’s what brought me to the Cote d’Azur anyway rather than to the Cap specifically.

My  grandmother was living  in Cagnes sur Mer so I knew the area a little. I used to come here on holiday when I was little.

I decided to leave Paris and this is where I came. I started working as night security at many different Ports in the area. That was about 20 years ago when I was 27 years old. 16 years ago I was given the opportuntity of being based here at Port Gallice full time. I wasn’t specifically looking for work in a Port it was just an opportunity which came up. Little by little I started to love the job here by the sea which is why I have been here for so long.  I became very attached to the Port and also to the Cap.

Slowly, over the years,  I have worked my way up to become the Captain of the port. Basically I am in charge of everything to do with Port and I also have a small team who work with me. I spend some of my day in my office but luckily most of my time is spent outdoors. I have been Captain of the Port for 6 years now but I am leaving at the end of this month to start a new life in Costa Rica.

That’s a big change, why Costa Rica?

Basically I am leaving  because four or five years ago I started to travel for the first time in my life to Central America and especially to Costa Rica. I discovered new things, new systems and a completely different way of life over there. It made me realise that I wanted this kind of life for myself.  I wanted to live somewhere where people nurtured and respected nature and somewhere I could live a simple life and where people have different priorities and values.

Because the port is now changing hands it seemed a good opportunity to take the plunge and do something different with my life and to follow my new dream. I decided to leave my job here and to go and live in Costa Rica. I am leaving with my friend Sebastien in mid November. Sebastien has been there with me a few times before and also fell in love with the life there. We are going to see if we can invest in something over there together. The plan is to look at buying some land ideally by the sea. Then, maybe, we will build some bungalows for holiday lets or make a restaurant. We really don’t know yet. We are going to play it by ear. The main objective is to find something we can do which will enable us to make our home there.

Sebastien will come back as he has his business Dream Yachting to run in the summer months. My plans however aren’t fixed. I will be improvising as I go along. It’s going to be an adventure.

Will it be difficult to leave the Cap?

No not really. I am excited for the future and  my new life. I don’t feel tied to this place if that’s what you mean. A part of my heart is here but my heart can be anywhere in the whole world. Anywhere as long as it’s a part of the world where there is nature. Now I am looking for a simple life, a life outside of a system. I think Costa Rica will give me that. I want a pure life and a life away from the stresses of life in France. That’s the plan. Let’s see where I am in 10 years time. Where ever I am I know if it’s not Costa Rica it will be somewhere very similar.

Let the adventure begin.

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