No drinking water and no one. These are probably the two most important things you know about St. Paul Island. Lost in the Indian Ocean and belonging to France, this 8 km² ancient volcano is located between Australia and South Africa. Although it is now forbidden to set foot there, after the place became an ecological reserve, two brothers, Barthélémy and Matthias Lambert, have received a special exemption. The goal: to place a memorial plaque in honor of a great-grandfather, Admiral Ernest Mouchez.
Saint-Paul Island was a volcanic crater, now inactive.
Document transferred / DR
The story behind the picture
On September 23, 1874, Captain Ernest Mouchez was sent by France to settle there for three months with his crew. The goal is to track the path of Venus in front of the Sun. “This is a rare event that happens twice in eight years and every 110 years. This made it possible to calculate the distance from the earth to the sun. At that time, all countries wanted to be carriers of the most precise measurement of the astronomical unit,” says Barthélémy Lambert, private nurse and astronomy enthusiast. That day, Admiral Mouchez was the only Frenchman who managed to see the long awaited sight. A reference value was then established, a great advance at the time.
Admiral Mouchez was a navigator, astronomer, cartographer and director of the Paris observatory. Document transferred / DR
“As soon as the boat leaves, even if there is a doctor on board, we will be too far gone to be returned”
The discovery of the relationship between the famous admiral and the sisters was hardly a coincidence. “When we were children, we saw a map drawn by Ernest Mouchez hanging in the living room. One day, we wanted to know where this thing that interested us came from,” continued Barthélémy Lambert, who today lives in Bommes. Their mother tells them the glorious history of the family and opens the boys’ imaginations wide. The beginning of the common adventure, which develops over the years. From 2021, the three brothers have only one goal: to return to this island, 150 years after their ancestor. A job that is far from easy.
This picture, drawn by Ernest Mouchez, is the beginning of the journey of the Lambert brothers. BN
There is only one way to get there
This island, far from everything, is administered by the French Southern and Antarctic Territory (TAAF) and is designated as an essential protected area. It is therefore impossible to disembark without permission. But the desire to celebrate how the ancestor was found was attracting attention. Until the legendary supply ship, the “Marion Dufresne“, the only ship that was able to come to the island.
Ernest Mouchez received this Legion of Honor on July 8, 1875. BN
On November 8, Matthias and Barthélémy will leave for Reunion, aboard one of the eight cabins reserved for outside passengers. After about twenty days of sailing and a few stops, they dock for half a day on the old fault to place the commemorative plaque there, on December 8, weather permitting. To finance the 24,000 euros necessary for the trip (14,000 euros for the one supply boat), the Lambert brothers opened online prize pool on the Helloasso website.
“There’s a lot of adventure but also danger. We are subject to weather related uncertainties and have a major medical check up to do before we leave. Because once the boat leaves, even if there is a doctor on board, we will be too far away to be returned, says the man who is used to traveling to the four corners of the world. It is a kind of dream that, I hope, will come true. »
2024-10-29 19:03:00
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