Saturday, November 13, 2010

Kip Stone's adventures during "La Route du Rhum"



Kip Stone was our special guest speaker Friday in the grade 2-3 classroom. Kip shared his adventures of his participation in the solo yacht race "La route du Rhum - La Banque Postale - 2006".
Kip, with his talent for storytelling, captivated our second and third graders with topics such as: how to get rid of a smelly flying fish, navigating through terrible storms, techniques for fighting sleep deprivation, and how to climb a mast in high seas. This presentation was thought provoking and inspiring for our students, who had prepared many questions about Kip' s victorious participation in "La Route du Rhum" and "Jacques Vabre" solo transatlantic races.
Kip also talked, "in French!", about the unique camaraderie and respect at sea amongst sailors and explained why a race is usually won before it has even started!
Kip described Etienne Giroire's challenges during the final stages of the race and encouraged our students to cheer him on by sending him short emails.

When not at sea, Kip Stone owns and manages "Cool as the Moose" stores in Maine and Quebec while running Westbrook printing company "Artforms". We thank Kip for taking time from his busy schedule to speak with our students. Merci!!