Les Glénans is a French sailing school, operating as a non-profit organization. Most of its instructors are volunteers. It was founded in 1947 by Philippe and Hélène Viannay, who had been involved with the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Its first site was the Glénan archipelago, about off the coast of southern

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. Among its first boats was a 12-meter Bermudian cutter called Sereine, which is now a French listed monument and still sails after having been entirely refurbished in 2005. Its headquarters are in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and it operates five sites in France:

Paimpol Paimpol (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwest France. It is a tourist destination, especially during the summer months when people are attracted by its port and beaches. Geography The town is located in t ...

, l' Ile-d'Arz and l'Archipel (as the Glénan archipelago is referred to by Glénans adepts) in

, Marseillan in Southern France and Bonifacio in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. Sailing takes place in most of the western Mediterranean basin, the UK, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. Cruises cross the Atlantic Ocean and, in the past, have visited Iceland. Les Glénans teaches

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

sailing,

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...

sailing,

kite surfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

and

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

, but 70% of its activity is

yachting Yachting is recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collectively called yachts. Yachting is distinguished from other forms of boating mainly by the priority focus on comfort and luxury, the dependence on ma ...

. Every year up to 14,000 students and 800 instructors sail for 100,000 days. The school also issues a book on sailing techniques. Initially, the idea of gathering knowledge on sailing and basic ship maintenance was for internal purpose as the founders were not seasoned sails men. They gathered information by being taught by local fishermen and sailors, organized the knowledge and improved it with experience and feedback from their members. Year after year, this book (called in French "Cours de navigation des Glénans") grew, and is now considered as a "must have" by sailing enthusiasts. The fleet of Les Glénans consists of a wide variety of boats which are usually adapted specially for the purposes of the school. On the water, these boats are usually recognizable by a red stripe across the mainsail. It has produced some of the world's best sailors, including world record holder

Francis Joyon Francis Joyon (born 28 May 1956) is a French professional sailboat racer and yachtsman. Joyon and his crew currently hold the Jules Verne Trophy for circumnavigation, on '' IDEC SPORT'' (40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds), nearly five ...

and

Franck Cammas Franck Cammas (born 22 December 1972 in Aix-en-Provence) is a French yachtsman. He has lived in Brittany since his victory in the Challenge Espoir Crédit Agricole in 1994. After completing a two-year maths course for the ‘Grandes écoles’, ...

. In 1969 along with Polish Yachting Association - Poland, Yacht Club de Morges - Switzerland, Casa di Vela Caprera - Italy, National Schools Sailing Association - UK, Centro Internacional de Navigacion de Arousa - Spain, Les Glénans co-founded the International Sailing Schools Association in London, sometimes stated as Paris

External links

Ecole de voile les Glénans

References

Sail training associations Sailing in France Education in France Concarneau French companies established in 1947 {{sailing-stub