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While Concarneau is the departure port for sailors in the Transat Paprec, Saint-Barth is home to a handful of Concarnois. And some of them are not hard to find, since they all work in the same establishment on the island! Alexandre Pages, 29, Tom Cochennec, 32, and Quentin Bureau, 35, all work at Le Repaire restaurant in Gustavia. The first works in the kitchen, the second behind the bar and the third in the dining room.
They all grew up in the small port town of Concarneau, Brittany, watching the Transat races as children and adults. “I used to go with my father and brothers, but I never really made the connection with the finish,” confides Alexandre, who arrived in Saint-Barth nine years ago. A chef friend of mine from the island had shown me some photos and I thought it was a joke,” he smiles. I was taken on at Toiny, originally for six months, and I've been here for nine years now.”
“It's a bit reminiscent of Fest Noz”.
Tom is the “freshest” to arrive on the island. “A year and a half ago,” he confirms. I knew Saint-Barth by name from the Transat, because there were always boats everywhere at the start of the AG2R.” So how did he come up with the idea of traveling to the finishing port of the ocean race? Photos of the island revealed by a friend? ” Actually, I worked at Alex's mother's place, a little bistro in Concarneau,” he says. His brother told me that Alex was having a great time in Saint-Barth and “bim”, here I am, bartending at Le Repaire!” Like Alexandre, it wasn't until he arrived on the island that he made the connection between the Transat and Saint-Barthélemy. “My dad used to sail a bit, just for fun, so we'd walk past the boats for the start,” says Tom. But I'm not a sailor. To tell you the truth, I even thought the Paprec was a different race to the AG2R!”
For Quentin, the story is even different. “I used to do the seasons in Saint-Tropez and Couchevelle, but I was fed up with the commute,” he assures us. So I came to Saint-Barth and, let's face it, we're really in the Caribbean!” So much so, in fact, that he's been settled here for the past six years. As for the transatlantic race, like his compatriots, he has followed some of the starts from the port of his childhood home. “Last week, for the start, my mother sent me a photo of herself with a Saint-Barth bag, just to be a snob,” he laughs. The three colleagues also talk about the finish village. “It's a bit reminiscent of the Fest Noz (traditional Breton festival, a kind of popular ball, editor's note),” smiles Quentin. “When I think that, as a child, I could see the start and now I'm at the finish, it's crazy,” says Alexandre. “Concarneau, it's missing a bit anyway,” dares Tom. “He hasn't been here long, he hasn't turned the corner yet,” laughs Alexandre.
As soon as the interview is over, the mayor of Concarneau, Marc Bigot, arrives at Le Repaire with his wife. Of course, he knows the father of one and the mother of the other. Concarneau may be twice the size of Saint-Barthélemy, but it's still a small port town with a village feel. A characteristic it still shares - to some extent - with Saint-Barth.
