TESTIMONIALS. Storms in Corsica: these boaters, caught in the middle of a storm, tell of their “45 minutes in hell” – franceinfo

There are still about twenty of them on Friday August 19 in Ajaccio, like Florence and her family, without housing or a car. The vacation of this boater ended hastily Thursday morning around 8:30 am, in one of the most beautiful places in Corsica, the Gulf of Girolata. “We saw this wall coming and the boats will collide non-stop. You say to yourself: it’s over. It was the worst experience of my life, really,” she explains. >> Storms in Corsica: follow the evolution of the situation live The boat, “Le squeeze”, is still floating, but the hull is pierced in places. It is now uninhabitable. “We should leave with our boat, and therefore there, it will not be possible, says Florence. There, we will undoubtedly return by ferry or by plane, I do not know yet. We have to manage to convince the children to get back on a boat. The little one saw herself really dying. At 11, she cried that she didn’t want to die. And I think that’s the most complicated part for a mother: to see his child who thinks he is going to die…” Storms in Corsica: these boaters, caught in the middle of a storm, tell their “45 minutes in hell” at the microphone of Thibault Lefèvre listen According to the words of Eugénie, 11 years old, she spent “more than 45 minutes in hell.” She says: “It’s very scary. Personally, I no longer want to get back on a boat. I told mum that even the sailing lessons at school, I would like to be exempted because I I’m really scared to death now. I’m afraid the mast will break and we’ll sink, or flip over, or whatever. I’m very scared.” >> Storms in Corsica: we explain why the warming of the Mediterranean Sea will accentuate extreme phenomena
The return to Nice will therefore probably be by plane from Ajaccio or Bastia, but not before Monday: the flights are full. This weekend should also be dedicated to cleaning for tourists and locals. As on this other beach, in Crovani, near Calvi in ​​Haute-Corse where boaters have come to see the damage: on the 200 or 300 meters of this beach of gray and purple pebbles, there are eleven boats completely lying on the side, whipped violently by the biggest waves which arrive so far. These are ten-meter sailboats, Zodiacs and a boat which, a priori, was carrying tourists. All show signs of life on board, like this one, which belongs to a Dutch couple. They are taking photos and measuring the extent of the damage to their sailboat, with the expert sent urgently by their insurance. Another question remains: that of pollution. Some of these stranded ships still have a reserve of diesel, which must not be discharged into the sea. To this is also added the rubbish that accumulates on the pebbles: plastic, pieces of wood, pieces of furniture , life jackets and even right there, a gas cylinder.