Video: Man Sails Atlantic with Feathered First Mate
OutdoorHub Staff 06.30.16
Life at sea can get lonely at times for even the most anti-social of beings. A long period of time spent in seclusion can drive us to crave company, but being out in the middle of the ocean can sure limit your options for companionship. In order to avoid the pangs of isolation, it is worthwhile to consider bringing a friend along, even if that friend is of a species other than your own.
Frenchman Guirec Soudée is sailing across the Atlantic Ocean on a 30-year-old boat named the Yvinec, and he’s doing it with a . . . wait for it . . . chicken. Two years ago, Soudée was given Monique, a little red hen, as a gift. Uncertain at first whether she would make an appropriate deckhand, Soudée set sail with his clucking compadre.
It turns out that his concerns were unfounded because his poultry partner has done just fine throughout their many adventures together. Monique has tried surfing, skateboarding, and even spent some time on a sled. The two recently were trapped in ice for 4 months during which they had to subsist on a shared diet of rice and corn, with Monique continuing to lay eggs all the while.
It just goes to show that sailing partners come in all shapes, sizes – and species – with chickens making an eggcellent feathered first mate.
