The ship
Le Manguier (“The Mango Tree”) is a former 70-feet/110-ton tugboat purchased in 2002 by Captain Philippe Hercher. From 2003 to 2006, major work was done to convert Le Manguier into a small exploration vessel. The back deck was fully removed in order to construct a large, 430ft2 living area surrounded by passageways. In 2009, the tugboat was fitted with masts and sails in order to reduce its diesel consumption and CO2 emissions. But the Manguier is above all a great human adventure, bringing together people from all ages and backgrounds, facilitating exchanges between scientists, fishermen, artists, seafarers; young or old. And most of all, making dreams come true! Since 2004, the Manguier has sailed more than 40’000 miles (75’000 km), including a circumnavigation of the Arctic. Since 2015, the Manguier has been sailing mainly in Greenland.
The association
The Manguier is also, and perhaps first and foremost, a state of mind, one born of curiosity, exchange, sharing, discovery and enthusiasm. Embarking onboard the Manguier broadens your horizons, makes your senses come alive, hones your observation skills and enhances your perception and intuition. It makes you see the world and the people in it in a different light, sparking imagination and creativity. In short, it helps you become a human being in the best possible sense! More than a hundred people sailed in the Manguier since its restoration: students from Bastia, Douarnenez or Dillingham; fishermen from Tunisia, Ireland, Alaska and Canada; artists, scientists, Orthodox pilgrims… all curious people who, for the most part, became life-long friends. These activities resulted in the creation of a non-profit organization, “Les amis du Manguier” (“The friends of the Mango-Tree”), whose main goal is to manage the “Artists in the Arctic” project.
The “Artists in the Arctic” project
A boat, a crew, a bunch of artists and scientists, isolated for 3 months in the middle of the ice, sharing a common goal: Getting trapped up there, way up there, to the middle of the ice, at latitudes beyond the Polar Circle. Getting isolated in extreme conditions, in a confined space, to take time to create, exchange, meet Greelanders and share their every-day life. This is the ice-ccentric adventure that the boat Le Manguier offered last year and is offering again this year to artists and scientists from various backgrounds.
The idea is to offer cross-cultural stories, proving that Man is not doomed to get caught in the vicious spiral of systematic, destructive hyper-consumerism; but to show that every Human is a Creator with the ability to come with new solutions and adapt to extreme conditions, while being true to himselves, to his group and to his natural environment.
Links: Artists in the Arctic 2017, Artists in the Arctic 2018
Artistes en Arctique 