MEDITERRANEAN CHRONICLES
MOORING AND SHELLFISH
Today, I’m taking you to the lesser known parts of the Camargue
whose ponds and lagoons run through
Port-Saint-Louis at the mouth of the Rhône.
On the waterside, I'll meet Paul,
a shellfish farmer specializing in Camargue oysters.
I'll meet Lionel, a ship builder and expert in multi-layering.
Aladdin's cave!
And the artists of the Ilotopie company, who specialize in water shows.
The Gulf of Fos is a complex and surprising universe.
It’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s calm and serene.
But all the way out there, things are much more rock and roll.
It’s off limits to the public but, of course, I’m taking you there.
The art of mooring is not well known,
yet it’s an indispensable port service.
The laborers deal with mooring ropes, cargoes,
liners, container ships and gas tankers. All the big ships.
I'm joining Yohann, to moor a huge oil tanker
ready to dock at Fos-sur-Mer Port.
Impressive.
We’re going to moor a boat and the boss trained us...
MOORER
...to determine what means and resources need to be put in place.
How many of us will there be? I say "us" because I’m here!
I'm here to help you.
So, without you… - Without me!
We need five people to moor this boat.
It'll be two in one boat,
two in another, and one on land.
The one on land will help with the first moorings
because the docks are a bit high.
So, the moorer is already waiting for us to hand him the mooring ropes.
And there’s the boat.
That one? - Yes.
That’s the one.
And your friends are over there.
And my friends are heading out...
We can speed up.
Let’s go and meet our friends then.
Let’s go!
So, the boat is now in between the dock and the ship
which is now gently moving down.
Yes.
Once it has set off, a ship like that can carry all the tugboats it wants.
Once it has set off… - It just drifts off.
The distribution of boatmen on the berthing docks
is organized by a guard who keeps watch all year long, 24 hours a day.
In compliance with the captain’s wishes,
mooring operations are organized from this command post.
Anyone there? - Yes, yes.
Right guys, The TOT is now coming up to the bend.
Are you going? - Yes.
Thanks, guys. See you later.
The Cooperative Society of Mooring started in 1946.
Eighty moorers work there all year round.
I’m off with Yohann again.
This time it’s to unmoor a giant oil tanker
that's about to leave the Gulf of Fos.
I’m coming with you so that you can explain it all to me bit by bit.
So, here...
This is where we moor the boat.
This is called a "cleat."
It has two sets of two hooks
which are mooring posts.
They are a different shape to the ones we usually see on the docks
which allow you to release boats even if the mooring rope is taut,
like if there's a fire on board and the boat needs to be released.
So, you'll remove the mooring ropes yourself, is that right?
If there's a problem on board
and they can't jolt the mooring ropes to release the boat from the dock
by pulling this pin
and releasing this key,
the whole thing rolls over.
It's like a security system. - Yes.
It opens up and releases the mooring rope.
Like a little emergency hammer?
That’s right.
The mooring team will unhook it
and the tugboat will hook it back on to get it out of the channel?
That’s right, to enable it to maneuver because,
due to the size of the ships,
they have a very reduced maneuver capacity
so they need help from tugboats
to enable them to make a U-turn and head out into open sea.
So, now we have to wait.
We’re waiting for everything to be ready.
You know that before...
There's a certain amount of waiting around.
It's really surprising to see you three...
Fos boatman, are you receiving?
That’s for me.
Hello, pilot.
We'll keep on going with the crossings.
Copy that, pilot. There’s already a team ready and waiting.
That works for me!
I’m going to release the safety pin
and the key and off it goes!
Does most of your work take place at night?
Yes, there are a lot of night shifts, seven days a week,
365 days a year.
There's no summer, no winter, no public holidays,
no Christmas or New Year’s Day. - You’re here all the time?
Yes, we’re here because the boats don’t wait.
It’s a strange life, isn’t it? - Yes.
Shall I pull the safety pin?
Yes, I’ll let you do that.
This? - Yes.
Just pull it upwards.
Shall I take it out? - Yes, just turn it around a bit.
Perfect. That's fine up to now.
You can do that without me. - Yes.
Be careful that it doesn’t catapult you.
No, no. No catapulting today!
When you go out, Nico and Pierre, is it always with the same enthusiasm?
Yes, especially if I know that I’m on the boat with Pierrot.
Ah, I see! - The problem is,
it depends on who I'm married to
whether the mooring and unmooring goes smoothly.
I have no clue. - I see!
I'm kidding, Pierrot.
You and Pierrot are both married but are nevertheless here
every other week.
Yes, night and day, we share everything.
So, no women moorers, at least not yet? - No, not yet.
Would you like some women around? - No, no!
They'd just cause problems! - Oh, Pierre!
But with the specificity of the work,
because we are not built the same way,
it would be more complicated.
Well, I can say...
I don’t know if you’ve had to carry any mooring ropes yet?
No, I've not done the mooring ropes yet.
But you did close the bitt. That went pretty well.
Do you want to reload the bitt?
You need to pull it back.
No, pull it towards me.
See what you can do when you want to!
You can do anything!
This part of the Camargue is a world of striking contrasts.
After the frenzy of the oil tanker port,
at dawn I'm meeting Paul, an oyster farmer,
for a boat trip through the oyster farms in the Anse de Carteau.
Are the farms over there? - Yes, over there.
How many farms are there? - 105 trays.
SHELLFISH FARMER
How many do you have? - Four and a half.
And I’m about to buy my fifth.
So, talk me through the program.
We’re about to pull out some small oysters.
They're in a bag and still need to grow
so we can attach them.
Well, I’m already lost. You’ll have to show me.
There are several steps.
All former expert mussel farmers,
the 38 shellfish farmers in Port-Saint-Louis
have been developing oyster farming since 2015.
We receive the spats
which are very small oysters.
We need to put them into bags
because we can’t attach them when they're so small.
So, we fatten them up.
So, it's a bit like a nursery? - Yes, that kind of thing.
Now I understand.
How many farms are there?
There are 105 trays on the farm.
We call them "farms" or "trays."
What do you prefer? - Trays are fine.
OK, trays it is! - That’s my anorexic side!
For sure!
I'll show you these much talked about small oysters.
Ah, OK.
I'll let you lift it up.
It's not very heavy.
Will you take that ashore? - Yes.
Then we'll sort them and prepare them for attachment.
At what point will I get to taste one?
Is it possible? - Right now.
I love it! Over there?
Shall we try? - So, from what you just saw,
now you’re about to see the end product.
Don’t scrape it as it comes up, because, otherwise, you could drop it.
It’s not really the same weight.
Damn! I need to sit down.
So, you have oysters, mussels, what’s that all about?
When you attach the oysters,
they are exposed to the rope. There are only oysters.
But the mussels come along naturally.
For us it’s a bonus.
Then we farm them.
Because mussels are wild. - Yes.
Are they female? - Yes.
Is it better if they're in the water longer?
Not necessarily.
Oysters are sold when they are medium sized.
We try to get ours out while they’re still medium sized
as that's what the consumer wants, a medium-sized oyster.
The larger ones are less popular.
No, they’re for the experts!
As for mussels,
the larger they are, the more value they have.
So, it’s the opposite. I prefer small mussels.
Each to their own.
We are lucky enough to catch a few oysters naturally.
So, are they wild ones? - Yes.
They are small oysters that were on the mussel collector,
or that attached themselves onto the mussels on the mussel rope.
Camargue oysters, is that correct? Maybe one day, we'll be able to...
Yes, they are Camargue oysters, as that's where we are geographically.
Port-Saint-Louis oysters. - OK, very good.
From the Anse de Carteau, to be precise. - Exactly.
Incredible.
Robin Hood style!
It's so good!
What now? Are we going to sort them?
The spats are all the same size.
But when you fatten them up, you notice...
Yes, inevitably, they don’t grow at the same rate.
So, if we attach them to the same rope,
we'd end up with only one oyster
that's either too big or too small, like this one.
So, which ones do we keep? - The larger ones,
as they will grow fastest.
But they're not necessarily the ones that will interest me the most.
But you’re still attaching them? - Of course.
We don't throw anything away!
What do you do with the larger ones?
We put them down here ready to be attached.
And the smaller ones? I'm lost!
We’ll store them a while longer on the farms.
You'll put them back in the water. OK, very good.
Are there enough of them? - Enough to start with, I think.
We have the cement, the small oysters and the rope, so let’s attach them.
And here’s your wife. - Yes.
Because without your wife... - Yes, she does the attaching.
I did enough work earlier!
Space them two or three fingers apart like this.
Try to keep the largest ones
and the longest ones to put on top.
Hold on. - Sorry.
Super!
So afterwards, will you take these ropes back to the bay?
We leave them to dry until the cement is dry enough to hold them.
And once it's dry... - Off we go.
Off we go.
It's a strange thing that you do, isn't it?
To give you an idea,
we need to attach around 300,000 oysters per year.
Sorry? - We need to attach 300,000 oysters.
And we are one of the smaller farmers!
Right, I’ll carry on attaching, I mean positioning.
Three hundred thousand? - Yes.
Wow!
A bit further than Paul and Caroline’s shellfish farm,
Port Napoléon is busy protecting its boats and workshops.
I met Lionel, a shipbuilder
specializing in composite material and tailor-made boats.
Lionel?
Didn't you hear me? - No, I can't hear.
You’re dressed strangely.
How are you, Carine? - I'm fine.
So, this is your workshop.
Yes, it's my workshop.
Could you talk me through your work?
The work involves repairing boats or making new ones.
Like this one?
SHIPBUILDER
This is what we call a one-off. These boats are made by the unit.
This kind of boat is built using handcraft techniques
and always requires manual work.
It's super high-tech. - Yes.
It was all done using a vacuum and epoxy resin and sandwiched together.
Shall I show you what it is? - Yes, tell me about epoxy sandwiches!
So, I imagine I'm here to work.
Well, I’m a bit short staffed at the moment.
So, it's perfect timing!
I don’t work every day, you know. - Plus you're at home.
I don’t work every day.
We are going to use a technique called surfacing.
Three people are standing on a large wedge
which allows them to surface the hull of the boat perfectly.
It's a manual operation and it takes a bit of energy.
So, let’s see if you have any. - I have bags of it!
Ready? Let’s go!
Hold on.
You really need to move your legs. - That's another thing!
Like dancers, in fact.
Right, I need to push harder. - Well, yes.
For sure!
So, which recipe are we preparing? - Something like that!
We’re going to prepare a small table.
Without this, it doesn’t work.
We'll create a vacuum. - We need to get all the air out.
Yes, get the air out.
Do you do this for every piece of the boat?
Yes and the whole boat itself.
A real madman.
So, this is where you live? - Yes, I live here.
I just love it! It’s superb.
It’s a beautiful working tool. - Yes, that too.
What a great place to live!
Lionel lives on the catamaran which he designed.
A 12 year project, this unique sailboat
is moored in Port-Saint-Louis marina.
Oh my God! I want to live here.
It’s beautiful.
The real surprise is the interior of the boat.
The outside is also beautiful but this…
This is a real surprise. - Oh, a table!
Is it like the one we made? - More or less.
Really? - More or less.
So, this boat was designed and conceived
to be used in all conditions
with maximum comfort.
Is a boat like this very light compared to others?
It weighs roughly 5.8 tons
and most others weigh upwards of 15 to 18 tons.
Can you feel it when you’re at sea?
A boat like this goes three knots faster.
Our speed is already eight knots. - OK.
Faster than the wind, in fact. How good is that!
What about the youngsters working with you?
How do you pass on this very specialized know-how to them?
Every year, we all spend a week together on the boat
so that they can learn to navigate,
how to solve problems on the clients’ boats
and how much load the rigging can take.
This really helps as they make great progress.
What's life like on a boat like this, in both summer and winter?
Very nice. - I'll bet it is.
I have a place to go on land, but I prefer living on the water.
Ilotopie has been at Port-Saint-Louis since the 1980s.
Bruno is the creator and founder
of this organization specializing in street art which is on water.
These are opera costumes but there are also some military costumes.
Yes. I love these.
Leaving the costumes... - Shoes...
This is the body department, body accessories.
Every actor has their own cast.
Yes, I see.
This is a bit special, it’s also a cast taken from an actor.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
It needs to be fire and water resistant,
so, it’s made of very light embossed leather.
Do you make this too? - You can try it on.
It’s a funny sensation.
It’s very light, isn’t it? - Yes, it’s light but...
Do you want the ears? - Yes, I want the ears.
It’s better with the ears on.
I feel completely different. - That’s the point.
What’s this? 30 years of company history?
This is where we sift through images and set designs for the shows.
We sometimes need to find specific objects to create a certain universe.
We brainstorm ideas in groups
and then we evaluate the feasibility on water
and how to create these images on water.
It’s all about technical prowess and finding a way to achieve it physically.
It often involves invention.
Is that an old car? - Yes, those are old cars.
We have one or two floating Fiat 500s.
It's somewhat gutted. - We also have shells,
as you’ve been working on the oyster farms!
I sure have!
Oh boy!
There's no metal in it. - Even the wheels are...
Catch!
It’s not very heavy. We make the tires, everything is molded.
How many of you are there in the team?
Creating all this must involve a lot of work.
There are 19 of us on tour in the major shows.
They are international tours where we...
That’s not a lot. 19 people for how many TV viewers?
Sorry, force of habit! I mean how many audience members?
Between 10,000 and 15,000.
That's huge. - 400,000 audience members per year.
That's crazy. - But we only do around 40 shows.
Yes, but it takes a lot of energy and precision to put it all together.
Yes, it’s often for just the one show. - To top it all!
It involves four days of preparation and one day to take it all down again.
Yes, it’s a lot of work.
In terms of street art,
towns have become smaller over the years
and town planning has created space that is difficult to use,
but water still has free space.
There's no advertising or cars.
Water still allows you to use your imagination and go ape.
Yes, you can play around with it.
The Camargue and Ilotopie is your identity.
Yes, we enjoy the movement created by water.
Water, the mobility of land, wind.
The difficulty of being here is important and dynamic.
We like this kind of dynamic.
And our shows reflect this water a lot.
That's not bad.
We'll carry on drifting along for a while.
Because we could… - Drift towards Africa, yes.
Who knows, maybe that's the future?
Maybe. - Living on water.
Maybe not enough water,
but more rising water.
It’s a dual paradox.
Waiting for the waters to rise,
but a shortage of water.
Water as a symbol. That suits me.
That's the ideal. - Exactly.
Subtitling: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be