La Rochelle: Mathieu Combot, the man of the “Belem” who embraces the sea

For the past four years, Mathieu Combot has been at the helm of the "Belem," the last of the great 19th-century French merchant sailing ships still in operation. A childhood dream for someone who grew up in a family of sailors for five generations.

Standing in the captain's mess for the photo, Mathieu Combot places himself in front of the computer to hide the screen. Quite symbolic. For the time of a snapshot, this very young captain of the "Belem" uses his body as a bulwark against the only embodiment of modernity aboard this oldest three-master still sailing. Aside from the presence of this anachronistic device, nothing has changed in this office dating from 1896. A room reserved for the ship's captain. A status achieved by this sailor at only 34 years old... It was August 13, 2021.

A full-sail journey for Mathieu Combot ("Combotte" for the pronunciation," he specifies), who wrote his future in family. While living in La Rochelle, little Mathieu discovered a book in the family library: "The "Belem" or the Destiny of a Ship" by Luc Olivier Gosse. A captain in the merchant navy, his father told him that the book was a gift from his brother, Jean-Yvon, himself a second mate on the "Belem." In the Combot family, the family tree resembles the mast of an old sailing ship. "My grandfather was also in the navy, and that goes back more than five generations," adds the descendant of this line, almost modestly.

The book captivates him, fuels his dreams, and certainly predestined his choices. "I'm discovering this traditional sailing navy; it speaks to me." However, the teenager doesn't necessarily reveal all this to his uncle. Not right away. "We don't reveal much in the family," smiles the captain. On the other hand, we sail!

"I wasn't a sailing enthusiast in the way you might think of when you go regatta, but I sailed from a very young age, with my family." When you're born on the island of Batz, your destiny is written for you. A very young Mathieu already climbed aboard his father's old rig, a cutter from Carantec, near Morlaix, in Finistère. And, when the family moved to La Rochelle, it was a liveaboard, a more modern Aquila, that took family outings to the strait. "They still managed to pass on this passion to me," admits Mathieu Combot, who embraces the sea and the career that goes with it.

"At 18, once I got my baccalaureate (Editor's note: after leaving the Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry high school in La Rochelle), it seemed obvious: I wanted to work on boats […] it was a bit of an easy path because I did like my father and my uncle," says – always modest – the man who nevertheless had to do a year of preparatory classes to catch up with the baccalaureate C level of the time in order to enter the École nationale supérieure maritime de Marseille. Once he had his diploma, it was back to La Rochelle, where the "pre-student" had been a sailor on the cruise ships of the Compagnie Interîles.

What happens on board humanly does not exist elsewhere!

But his sights were already set beyond the Ré, Aix, and Oléron islands—beautiful as they were—and Fort Boyard, which defined his perimeter. A passageway too narrow for his dreams and ambitions. Through training courses, he embarked on LNG carriers and ro-ro ships, and graduated as a naval officer. "Versatile," the commander explains, both on deck and in the engines. A lieutenant, he nevertheless turned his back on engines and conventional merchant shipping: "I always had the idea in the back of my mind of applying for a position on the 'Belem.'" In 2018, he embarked, having gained experience in the meantime on other old sailing ships such as Father Jaouen's "Bel Espoir."

On the iconic three-masted ship, he rediscovers what, according to him, makes these old boats so attractive: "What happens on board on a human level doesn't exist anywhere else!" And the skipper of the "Belem" describes "this closed-door environment with different people that you wouldn't necessarily meet on land." The "Belem" only has about fifteen professional crew members, supplemented by volunteers on board for varying periods of time. A maximum of 48 trainees at a time for trips of three or fifteen days. That's 2,000 different topmen welcomed each year. A constraint that the captain uses as a strength: "Very quickly, we manage to form a real cohesive group. We experience some very beautiful things," he reassures, his voice calm and his beard well trimmed.

The proof: many professionals are asking to work on the "Belem." "It's the last of the great French sailing ships. It has an incredible history. It's a miracle... And sailing on board is specific to this boat, a unique skill. For example, in terms of rigging, everything is done in the traditional way." He pauses. And concludes: "It's invaluable."

A culmination for many, but not for this captain, too young to be leaving the ship so early. "For the moment, I haven't yet covered my mission," says Mathieu Combot, at the end of his fourth year on board, but nevertheless attentive to the return of modern sailing transport. "There's a real movement: we're even talking about sailboats, they carry serious cargo." Boats that might appeal to his two very young boys. The eldest, five years old, already says he wants to "be like Dad" later...