Parole de Breizh, invites you to discover the Pink Granite Coast through encounters with those who live, transform and cultivate Brittany. These ambassadors are craftsmen, artists, producers… but above all, inhabitants of Trégor. They love the Pink Granite Coast and explain why it’s important to cultivate what’s essential!
Rencontre #21Parole de BreizhFlorence Dromard
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Florence is from Ile-Grand. The sea has always been her element, and even as a child she regularly went sea fishing with her dad.
She swims all year round without a wetsuit and enjoys a variety of water sports (wakeboarding, windsurfing, kayaking, PMT). She also took up surfing last year.
She has been involved with the Trégastel – Ile Grande SNSM station as a volunteer for almost 6 years.
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Why did you join the SNSM?
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One of her friends, already a member of the station, suggested she join them. A lover of the sea and at a time in her life when she needed to make herself useful and do something for others, she didn’t hesitate to apply.
Florence loves her missions at the station, which enable her to be of service, to be there for people, to feel useful. She makes no secret of the fact that, given the choice, she would have liked to devote 100% of her time to it.
In addition to her role as onboard crew member, Florence is the station’s Community Manager, managing the Facebook and Instagram accounts on which she shares reports of interventions, training sessions, etc., which she enriches with photos she takes while on board.”
Every time my phone rings, I get an adrenaline rush!
How do you become a volunteer?
First and foremost, you need to have a boating license, and above all you need to be available. The future volunteer also undertakes to follow training courses.
Florence already had her boating license. As a native of Ile-Grande, she knew several of the crew members well, and as she didn’t work on Mondays, she had plenty of time to step in when needed. So it was without difficulty that she was accepted and joined the station.
She began her training by taking the PSE1 (Team First Aid course), the Deck Crew course and the CRR (Marine Radio course). This year, she plans to take the SNB (Sauveteur Nageur de Bord) course, which is very physically demanding and requires her to pass a number of pre-requisites.
How are you organized?
The crew is made up of at least one skipper, one rescue swimmer and one first-aider. A minimum of 3 people (max. 5) is required to take part in an intervention. The presence of a skipper is mandatory to lead the crew, as they have received specific training. Each member has a dedicated application on his or her smartphone to indicate whether or not he or she is available. In the event of an alert, the skipper is contacted by the CROSS (Centre Régional Opérationnel de Surveillance et de Sauvetage), who will activate the crew members available via this app.
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Florence’s Chinese portrait
If you were an element? “The sea
If you were a color? “Pink (not orange!)
If you were a season? “Spring”.
If you were a word? “Freedom
What if you were a Breton animal? “Le chat” (even if it’s not Breton)
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What are the interventions?
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There are many different types of intervention, such as
- recovery of isolated people, often stranded on islets by the tide,
- towing boats,
- searching for missing persons. This is the most difficult part for Florence, especially when the person she is looking for is someone she knows.
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Are there many women in the stations?
There are still very few women working for the SNSM (around 20%), although this is a field that is becoming increasingly feminized. For example, at the Trégastel-Ile Grande station, 5 women (Estelle, Florence, Elise, Manue, Claudine) are part of the crew, including 1 skipper!
Cultivating the essential
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What does the phrase “Cultivate the essential” mean to you?
“For me, cultivating the essential is simply taking the time to do what you love.”
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Whatever the weather, fair or foul, I love going out to sea.
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