Français
Standing on the deck of her small sailboat, her hair blowing in the wind, Marieke Huysmans Berthou treats her audience to one last tender moment. Microphone in hand, she leaves her piano behind to sing one last song, a cappella. Her voice cuts through the night, and when it fades away, the audience erupts in thunderous applause. Seated along the pier of the Territorial Collectivity hotel, dozens of people came to listen to the artist on Saturday, March 7, as well as Sunday, March 8. Everyone was thus able to attend two exceptional performances by the pianist, composer, singer, and sailor. For over ten years now, Marieke Huysmans Berthou has been sailing the seas on her sailboat. And in every port, she hauls her piano out of the hold and performs for the local community. A concept she has named: Pianocéan.
A sailboat under construction for two years
Originally from Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, in the Côtes d’Armor region, it was during her teenage years that she had the idea—and the desire—to combine two passions: music and sailing. Or, as she puts it, “sailing the open seas.” She explains: “I first pursued a career in music, but at the same time, I was training in sailing at the Glénans School. Then I started looking for a sailboat where I could install my piano.”
In 2013, she found the boat that was right for her. She bought it and spent two years renovating and converting it in Sète. “I had to cut a hole in the aft deck to install the piano and devise a lift system to hoist it onto the deck,” she explains with a smile. Then came the big departure in 2015 for a tour of the Mediterranean. “At first, I set sail with my best friend, Anne-Lise, who is a photographer,” recalls Marieke. “We sailed together for two or three years. We even made a book.” ” Over the course of her voyages, Marieke met people, including Sébastien, who became her partner in life and on the road. Together, they have a son named Arann. Now seven years old, the boy strides across the sailboat’s deck with the ease of a seasoned sailor.
Toward Nova Scotia
At the pace of one sailing season a year, the family crisscrosses the seas. From north to south. “Because I don’t give concerts in the north in winter,” the artist jokes. It’s hard to imagine, indeed, a session on deck in the polar cold of Norway, for example. One of the destinations of the Lady Flow, the sailboat that carries Pianocéan. But after the Mediterranean came Ireland, Scotland, the Azores, the Canary Islands, and now the Caribbean. “Next up is Canada,” Marieke adds. “We’ll be playing all summer in Nova Scotia and wrapping up in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, where we’ll winter the boat. Next summer, we’ll tour the St. Lawrence River all the way to Montreal. Then it’ll be Greenland.”
Since the start of her adventures, the artist has recorded nine albums. In the studio she built herself on her sailboat! “I have my own recording setup that lets me work while I’m traveling, but also record the artists I meet,” explains the pianist.
During some musical stops—some longer than others—collaborations emerge with local artists. Like in Guadeloupe, in February. “Every year, new adventures are added, and it’s all these connections that make this journey so beautiful,” says Marieke. And they allow her to offer moments of grace to audiences in every port. Despite the swell that sometimes gently rocks the Lady Flow.
This Saturday, the 14th, and the following day, Sunday, March 15, Marieke Huysmans Berthou will perform on the Marigot waterfront in Saint Martin. Before setting sail again, her head filled with melodies, as always.
