REVOLTEE MER

About me:

Femme partie en voilier il y a quelques années, vécu aux îles Marquises, puis Tahiti. Retour vers la France, réintégration difficile, vacances, je rencontre Daniel et nous partons faire le Rallye des îles du Soleil en voilier vers l'Amazone. Puis victime d'un accident à ST BARTHELEMY, Antilles, percutés par un bateau à moteur à toute vitesse (annexe de bateau de location pour milliardiaires...) ST BARTHELEMY, L'ENDROIT OU IL NE FAUT PAS MOURIR... MON MARI A ETE TUE SUR LE COUP, ET MOI-MEME EJECTEE RETENUE PAR LE BOUT 3 TOURS AUTOUR DE LA MAIN, (Miraculée sans doute)LE COL DU FEMUR BRISE ; 3ème OPERATION !!!! PROCES INTERMINABLE... j'attends...LA SOURIS CONTRE DES ELEPHANTS...SOCIETE AMERICAINE BIG BOAT CHARTER qui fait tout pour me rendre coupable...ST BARTHELEMY – FRENCH ANTILLES February 9th, 2006 – the nightmare and the end of our dream ! We arrived in St BARTH on February 8th at night fall and anchored in 30 feet of translucent water, we could see the chain. My husband Daniel and I were sitting in the cockpit, admiring this beautiful island with its superb sailing yachts and millionaire’s mega-yachts. All of a sudden, a rigid-bottom dinghy rushed next to our sail boat and crossed the mooring area at full speed, and I told Daniel, « look at this maniac ! ». The next day, we went ashore and visited GUSTAVIA. We were delighted and surprised by the nice shops with the most prestigious brands. Daniel filmed the superb yachts. We stopped at the shipchandler’s to buy some equipment for our boat and decided to have lunch on the spot. We returned to our boat around 3:30 p.m. and I was so happy I sent SMS’s to all my friends. One of them gave me the phone number of some common friends who live in ST BARTHELEMY, whom we decided to call. We were to join them at 7:30 p.m. to have a drink on the harbor in GUSTAVIA . We were most happy to meet people actually living on the island. At about 7 p.m., we jumped in our dinghy. Daniel manned the engine, and I sat on the other side with my new torch light (which I had bought in Le Marin, Martinique, in December) in one hand, in order to scan-light all around me to signal our presence and to see whether there would be any other craft on the way, as I did every time we had to go ashore at night (many friends can witness that). I was holding the painter with three loops around my other hand, we were happy. And suddenly there was this violent impact; in a quarter of a second I didn’t know if I was still part of this world. I found myself in the water, I still had round my hand the three loops of the painter which held me to the dinghy. My leg was broken and floated at a weird angle (like a string puppet’s), and I tried with all my energy to get hold of something while screaming for Daniel, looking all around me. The forward half of the dinghy was flat, Daniel was nowhere to be seen, neither in the dinghy nor in the water. I screamed “DANIEL, DANIEL !”. Nothing, absolutely nothing, no answer. Then I started screaming “HELP, HELP”. There were so many boats around and nobody came ! I screamed, screamed, and I don’t know how I kept afloat, I could have drowned... After some endless time, came a large service boat with two powerful outboard engines (I later learned that it was the one who crashed into us). I screamed to the crew of two: « my husband, my husband ». One of them dived to rescue Daniel, whom I never ever saw again... As for me, they pulled my valid foot on the unfolded ladder of their swimming platform and my hand to the handrail at the back, with my broken leg still floating here and there in the water... I shouted to them « call the 16 – one six » . They had the “CROSS-Antilles” (the French MRCC, the Frnach Navy safety and rescue center) several miles from the harbor, what could they do ? I shouted « my Daniel !!! », I cried « my Daniel !!!! my leg !!! my leg !!!! », it was interminable and nobody came, despite the so many boats around us !!! I asked the guy who had remained on board, who looked haggard, « give me the VHF, I want to call on 16 ». I wanted to call all the sailboats moored around, knowing the solidarity of people at sea, but the guy would hold me the VHF set on channel 73 !!! I was cold, shivering, and asked for some tea, for a blanket. At last another boat arrived, but with my broken leg it was impossible for me to be pulled aboard. I was therefore towed to the harbor, still in the same position, with my leg dragging in the water… Once arrived, the fire-brigade tried as they could to transport me in an inflatable stretcher which they could not manage to fully inflate. They then transferred me to St Bart’s hospital, where the first X-ray checks were performed. But the X-ray machine was probably too old, they could not manage to read and interpret the X-ray pictures. I was told I was going to be transferred to the hospital in ST MARTIN. With all the planes I had heard during the day taking off and landing, and in view of the apparent wealth on this island, I thought I would be transferred by plane or helicopter, as was the case for Jacques BREL in the Marquises islands where I used to live. Well, to keep the nightmare going on, I was transferred in the back of a motor boat, lying in a half-inflated stretcher, for three quarters of an hour at sea. Thanks God, the crew was nice and sympathetic. I had surgery the next day in St Martin’s hospital, and 10 days later was transferred first in a small plane to Guadeloupe, then to France. From Paris to St Malo (in Brittany) in an ambulance, under the snow. In St Malo, where my sister and brother-in-law greeted me, took care of me, comforted me, helped me, listened to me, and bore with my crying day after day... Then, in spite of all your pain, you have to conduct several fights : first decide to continue living or not, but everyone around me made so many efforts, supporting me, calling me… and then I had to think about how to repatriate the boat so that it does not end rotting in some un-probable remote marina, had to choose a “defense” lawyer who knew maritime law, fight with endless paperwork with the insurance companies, lawyers, experts, notary ; certificates, proofs... and reeducation of my leg every day. First hearing scheduled for May 19th , 2006 I have to read the minutes, which I only do at the last minute, since each single line is so painful… and I am disheartened with a few aberrations : a blood test has been performed on my husband’s body the very evening of the accident, but on the opposite party only the next day !… The speed of the service boat with its twin 300 HP outboard motors has been minimized, since inside the harbor it is limited to three knots !!! Reported white traces on our engine... Hence I want to be present at the trial and book my airplane ticket and hotel room. My lawyer of then (whom I never could meet) tells me only 5 days ahead that the hearing is postponed !!! As I had booked everything, I decide to go anyway for a better understanding of the situation. I signal my presence to the clerk of the court the morning of the hearing, and I meet the lady lawyer who was to represent me. As do many persons who are not used to tribunals and trials, I remain discreet and sit in the back of the room. The lawyers introduce themselves to the president, and my lawyer does not say one single word… I remain completely stunned ! At this very moment, I decide to change lawyer. The one I had in the first instance would make me cry every time he called me, every time he would make me almost feel guilty... May be I’m not used to talk to lawyers, and may be I’m too sensitive. Next hearing scheduled for October 19th , 2006, in ST MARTIN In the mean time, I practice reeducation, and I do some research to understand what is happening to me, why I’m crying all the time, why, why… I finally manage to find a lawyer not far from where I live, one whom I can at least see and talk to normally. For many of my friends, I am doing wrong in changing lawyers, hence I remain in doubt for two months... The October 19th hearing in ST MARTIN, lasts from 9 h to 12 H, and is very testing. The opposite party suddenly produces two additional “witnesses”. As I have always understood it, witnesses would be people who were on the spot or premises and have seen something. Well, no… The first one is a maritime expert who "estimated" the speed of the service boat based on a chart... and the other one, a crew aboard D… B… . I am completely stunned that captain E… changes from his original statement and minimizes his fault... He would almost make you believe that HE is the victim… I am questioned, one tries to find some mistake on our side… The torch light !… with such a shock, my husband killed by the impact (not drowned) how can we find the torch light ?... All my friends of the “Rallye des Iles du Soleil” in which we sailed from the Canaries to the Amazon river with another 22 boats, all the crews we had on board, can witness that I never went in the dinghy without a torch light or a projector. In Dominica, after a party held with friends on a foul weather night, I was holding the projector to light my friends when they were rejoining their own boat after the party. Verdict of January 25th, 2007 , as per the criminal law procedure : The captain is : - held 100% responsible – sentenced to 1 year in jail with reprieve - forbidden to exercise as a captain for 1 year – condemned to 450 Euros as an excessive speed ticket !!!! On June 22nd, 2007 at 8:00h, a hearing will be held in “Tribunal de Grande Instance” (Supreme Court) in Basse Terre (Guadeloupe) for the civil action with request for damages for harm. * * * * * This should NEVER EVER HAPPEN AGAIN and I wish that everything be done after this account of facts so that from now on safety be much better enforced in ports and marinas. TEMOIGNAGE "ST BARTHELEMY – ANTILLES – 9 février 2006 – le cauchemar et la fin de notre rêve – NOUVELLE AUDIENCE A ST MARTIN CE MERCREDI 27 FEVRIER 2008... LE CHIRURGIEN ME DECLARE "CONSOLIDEE" et L'AVOCAT SE REMET AU TRAVAIL...Z VOIR LES PHOTOS DE NOTRE VOYAGE : LE REVE AVANT LE CAUCHEMAR... ..