This man is not easily attributed to the outstanding "sea wolves", since he went out to sea only twice, both times on a boat without a rudder and without sails. However, his feat was one of the most outstanding achievements of mankind in the confrontation with the ocean.

Being a practicing doctor in a seaside hospital, Alain Baum-bar was literally shocked by the fact that every year tens and even hundreds of thousands of people die at sea! And at the same time, a significant part of them died not from drowning, cold or hunger, but from fear, they died only because they believed in the inevitability of their death.

They were killed by despair, lack of will, apparent aimlessness to fight for their lives and the lives of their comrades in misfortune. "Victims of the legendary shipwrecks who died prematurely, I know: it was not the sea that killed you, it was not hunger that killed you, it was not thirst that killed you! Swinging on the waves to the plaintive cries of seagulls, you died of fear," Bombar said firmly, deciding to prove it from his own experience strength of courage and self-confidence.

Every year, up to fifty thousand people die in boats and life belts, and at the same time, 90% of them die in the first three days! It is quite understandable that during shipwrecks, for whatever reason they occur, people get lost, they forget that the human body is able to live without water for ten days, and without food even up to thirty.

As a doctor who knows the reserves of the human body well, Alain Bombard was sure that many people who, for one reason or another, were forced to leave the comfort of the ship and escape on boats, rafts or other improvised means, died long before their abandoned physical strength: they were killed by despair. And such a death overtook not only random people in the sea - passengers, but also professional sailors accustomed to the sea. This habit was for them connected with the deck of the ship, reliable, although swaying. They are accustomed to looking at the sea from the height of the ship's hull. A ship is not just a means of transportation on water, it is also a psychological factor that protects the human psyche from fear of an alien element. On a ship, a person has confidence, the conviction that he is insured against possible accidents, that all these accidents are foreseen by experienced ship designers and builders, that a sufficient amount of all kinds of food and water is prepared in the holds of the ship for the entire period of the voyage and even beyond that .. .

Not without reason, back in the days of the sailing fleet, it was said that only whalers and fur seal hunters see the real sea, as they attack whales and seals in the open ocean from small whaleboats and sometimes wander for a long time in the fog, carried by sudden storm winds from their ship . These people rarely died: after all, they were prepared in advance to sail the sea on a boat for some time. They knew about it and were ready to overcome the elements on their fragile and yet reliable whaleboats.

Even having lost a ship in the open ocean for one reason or another, they traveled enormous distances and still came to land. True, not always either: if some died, it was only after many days of stubborn struggle, during which they did everything they could, exhausting the last forces of their body. All these people were mentally prepared for the need to spend some time on the boat. These were their normal working conditions.

Wanting to make unprepared people believe in themselves, in the ability to overcome both the forces of the elements and their apparent weakness, Alain Bombard is not a St. John's wort or a sailor, but an ordinary doctor set sail across the Atlantic Ocean in an ordinary inflatable boat.

He was sure that there is a lot of food in the sea and you just need to be able to get this food in the form of planktonic animals and plants or fish. He knew that all life-saving equipment on ships - boats, boats, rafts - have a set of lines, sometimes nets, they have certain tools for fishing for marine life, and finally, they can be made from improvised means. With their help, you can get food, since almost everything that our body needs is contained in marine animals. Even fresh water.

However, sea water, consumed in small quantities, can help a person save the body from dehydration. Let us recall that the Polynesians, who were sometimes blown away by hurricanes far from the earth, knew how to fight for their lives and, perhaps most importantly, accustomed their bodies to the consumption of sea water. Sometimes for weeks and months the boats of the Polynesians rushed across the stormy ocean, and yet the islanders survived by catching fish, turtles, birds, using the juices of these animals. In all this, they did not see anything special, since they were mentally prepared for such troubles. But the same islanders dutifully died on the shore with a full abundance of food, when it became known to them that someone had "bewitched" them. They believed in the power of witchcraft and therefore died. Out of fear!..

To the equipment of his rubber boat, Bombar added only a plankton net and a speargun.

The bomber chose an unusual route for himself - far from the sea routes of merchant ships. True, his "Heretic", as this boat was called, was supposed to go in the warm zone of the ocean, but this is a deserted zone. To the north and south are the routes of commercial ships.

Previously, as a preparation for this journey, he and his friend spent two weeks in the Mediterranean. For fourteen days they made do with what the sea gave them. The first experience of a long journey dependent on the sea was a success. Of course, and it was difficult, very difficult!

However, his friend, by the way, an experienced sailor who crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a small yacht all alone, but provided with everything necessary in abundance, at the last moment got scared and simply disappeared. Two weeks was long enough for him to refuse to tempt fate any further. He assured that he believed in Bombard's idea, but he was scared away by the thought of the impending need to eat raw fish again, swallow the healing, but so disgusting plankton and drink the juice squeezed from the body of the fish, diluting it with sea water. Perhaps he was a brave sailor, but a man of a different stock than Bombar: he did not have the purposefulness of Bombar.

Bombard prepared for his voyage theoretically and mentally. As a physician, he knew that water was more important than food. And he examined dozens of fish species that he could meet in the ocean. These studies have shown that 50 to 80% of the weight of the fish is water, and at the same time fresh, and that the body of marine fish contains significantly less salt than the meat of mammals.

Having carefully checked the amount of various salts dissolved in the ocean water, Bombar was convinced that, apart from table salt, each 800 grams of sea water contains approximately the same amount of other salts as there is in a liter of various mineral waters. We drink these waters - often with great benefit. During his journey, Bombar became convinced that it was extremely important to prevent dehydration of the body in the early days, and then a decrease in water rations would not be detrimental to the body in the future. Thus, he supported his idea with scientific data.

Bombard had many friends, but there were also skeptics, ill-wishers, and people who were simply hostile to him. Not everyone understood the humanity of his idea. Newspapermen were looking for a sensation, and since there was none, they invented it. Experts were unanimously indignant: shipbuilders - that Bombar was going to cross the ocean in a boat that supposedly could not be controlled; sailors - because he is not a sailor, but go ahead ... the doctors were horrified that Bombar was going to live on seafood and drink sea water.

As if challenging all his skeptics, Bombar called his boat "The Heretic"...

By the way, people who are well acquainted with the history of navigation and shipwrecks warmly supported the idea of ​​Bombard. Moreover, they were confident in the success of the experiment.

Alain Bombard sailed across the ocean for sixty-five days. In the very first days, he refuted the assurances of "specialists" that there were no fish in the ocean. Many books about the oceans are full of such expressions as "desert ocean", "water desert"...

Bombar proved that this is far from the case! It was just difficult to see life in the ocean from the big ships. Another thing is on a raft or on a boat! From here you can observe the diverse life of the sea - life, sometimes unfamiliar, incomprehensible, full of surprises. The ocean is often deserted for many weeks of travel, but it is inhabited night and day by creatures that can be useful or harmful to man. The fauna of the ocean is rich, but we still know little about it.

Alain Bombard proved that a person can do a lot if he really wants to and does not lose willpower. He is able to survive in the most difficult conditions in which he may accidentally find himself. Describing this unprecedented experiment on himself in the book "Overboard of his own free will", which sold millions of copies, Alain Bombard may have saved tens of thousands of lives of those people who were alone with the hostile elements - and were not afraid.

| Voluntary human autonomy in the natural environment

Fundamentals of life safety
6th grade

Lesson 18
Voluntary human autonomy in the natural environment

Voluntary autonomy is an exit planned and prepared by a person or a group of people into natural conditions for a specific purpose. The goals can be different: active outdoor recreation, the study of human possibilities of independent stay in nature, sports achievements, etc.

Voluntary autonomy of man in nature is always preceded by serious comprehensive preparation taking into account the goal: the study of the characteristics of the natural environment, the selection and preparation of the necessary equipment and, most importantly, physical and psychological preparation for the upcoming difficulties.

The most accessible and widespread type of voluntary autonomy is active tourism.

Active tourism is characterized by the fact that tourists move along the route due to their own physical efforts and carry all their cargo with them, including food and equipment. The main goal of active tourism is active recreation in natural conditions, restoration and promotion of health.

Tourist routes Hiking, mountain, water and ski trips are divided into six categories of difficulty, which differ from each other in time, length and technical complexity. This provides ample opportunities for people with different backgrounds to participate in the campaigns.

So, for example, a walking route of the first category of complexity is characterized by the following indicators: the duration of the hike is at least 6 days, the length of the route is 130 km. The pedestrian route of the sixth category of complexity lasts at least 20 days, and its length is at least 300 km.

Voluntary autonomous existence in natural conditions can also have other, more complex goals: educational, research and sports.

In October 1911, two expeditions rushed to the South Pole almost simultaneously - a Norwegian and a British one. The goal of the expeditions is to reach the South Pole for the first time.

The Norwegian expedition was led by Roald Amundsen, a polar traveler and explorer. The head of the British expedition was Robert Scott, a naval officer, captain of the first rank, who had experience as a winter leader on the Arctic coast.

Roald Amundsen exceptionally skillfully organized the expedition and chose the route to the South Pole. The correct calculation allowed Amundsen's detachment to avoid severe frosts and prolonged snowstorms on their way. The Norwegians reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911 and returned back. The trip was completed in a short time, in accordance with the timetable determined by Amundsen, within the Antarctic summer.

Expedition of Robert Scott reached the South Pole more than a month later - on January 17, 1912. The route to the pole, chosen by Robert Scott, was longer than that of the Norwegian expedition, and the weather conditions along the route were more difficult. On the way to the Pole and back, the detachment had to experience -40-degree frosts and get into a protracted blizzard. The main group of Robert Scott, which reached the South Pole, consisted of five people. All of them died on the way back during a snowstorm, about 20 km before reaching the auxiliary warehouse.

So the victory of some and the tragic death of others immortalized the conquest of the South Pole by man. The perseverance and courage of people moving towards the intended goal will forever remain an example to follow.

Frenchman Alain Bombard, being a practicing doctor in a seaside hospital, was shocked by the fact that every year tens of thousands of people die at sea. At the same time, a significant part of them died not because of drowning, cold or hunger, but from fear, from the fact that they believed in the inevitability of their death.

Alain Bombard was sure that there was a lot of food in the sea and you just need to be able to get it. He reasoned as follows: all life-saving equipment on ships (boats, rafts) have a set of fishing lines and other tools for fishing. Fish contains almost everything the human body needs, even fresh water. Drinkable water can be obtained from raw fresh fish by chewing it or simply squeezing the lymphatic fluid out of it. Sea water, consumed in small quantities, can help a person save the body from dehydration.

To prove the correctness of his conclusions, he alone, on an inflatable boat equipped with a sail, spent 60 days in the Atlantic Ocean (from August 24 to October 23, 1952), living only due to the fact that he mined in the sea.

It was the complete voluntary autonomy of man in the ocean, carried out for research purposes. Alain Bombard proved by his example that a person can survive in the sea, using what it can give, that a person can endure a lot if he does not lose willpower, that he must fight for his life to the last hope.

A striking example of human voluntary autonomy in the natural environment with a sporting purpose is the record set by Fedor Konyukhov in 2002: he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a single rowboat in 46 days. and 4 min. The former world record for crossing the Atlantic, held by French athlete Emmanuel Couand, has been improved by more than 11 days.

Fedor Konyukhov started the rowing marathon on October 16 from the island of La Gomera, which is part of the Canary Islands, and on December 1 he finished on the island of Barbados, which is part of the Lesser Antilles.

Fedor Konyukhov prepared for this voyage for a very long time., accumulating experience of extreme travel. (He has over forty land, sea and ocean expeditions and voyages and 1000 days of solo voyage. He managed to conquer the North and South geographical poles, Everest - the altitude pole, Cape Horn - the pole of yachtsmen-sailboats.) Fyodor Konyukhov's journey is the first in the history of Russia, a successful rowing marathon across the Atlantic Ocean.

Any voluntary autonomy of a person in nature helps him develop spiritual and physical qualities, educates the will to achieve his goals, increases his ability to endure various life hardships.

Test yourself

What was the goal pursued by Alain Bombard, having spent 60 days in an autonomous stay in the ocean? Did he achieve the desired results, in your opinion? (When answering, you can use the book of the French writer J. Blon "The Great Hour of the Oceans" or the book of A. Bombard himself "Overboard")

After lessons

Read (for example, in the books of J. Blon "The Great Hour of the Oceans" or "Geography. Encyclopedia for Children") the description of the expeditions of Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott to the South Pole. Answer the question: why was Amundsen's expedition successful, and Scott ended tragically? Record your answer as a message in your safety diary.

Use the Internet (for example, on the site of Fedor Konyukhov) or in the library to find materials about one of the latest records of Fedor Konyukhov and answer the question: what qualities of Fedor Konyukhov do you consider the most attractive? Prepare a short message on this topic.

Just a little over sixty years ago, the doctor Alain Bombard alone, in a small rubber boat, crossed the Atlantic Ocean. It took him sixty-five days. He drank sea water and ate what he caught in the ocean. He wanted to prove that shipwrecked victims have a chance of survival. And he proved.

Alain Bombard - overboard of his own free will

Rubber boat Heretic - on it Alain Bombard went to conquer the ocean

The bomber kept a diary. He wrote everything down. For example:

“Eating raw fish makes a person very susceptible to infection. The slightest wound breaks." He threw antibiotics overboard - what if the victims of disasters do not have them.
He found out that you need to drink sea water in small portions, and then the kidneys cope, but you can only drink this way for six days - then you have to catch fish and squeeze out its juice. The skin is cut into the fish, and lymph is released from it, so they drink it. Or they chop the fish into small pieces, and then wrap it in a cloth and squeeze it out. They drink fish juice for a day, and then you can drink sea water again.

The itinerary of an incredible journey

Alpina Publisher's book about Alan Bombard's journey

“About half a liter of water can be collected in the morning - dew falls. It covers the entire boat and can be assembled with a sponge.
To reduce thirst, you need to moisten any rag and put it on your face.
If you throw a sock on a leash overboard, then in an hour plankton will pick up in it. A tablespoon a day satisfies the need for vitamin C. No need to take off your clothes, even if they get wet. Clothing keeps you warm."

What only Bombar did not experience. Storms, and calm, and scorching heat fell to his lot. The skin on my legs came off in tatters, my fingernails grew into the meat, and everything on my legs came off. He developed bloody diarrhea, at times it was difficult to keep his psyche within the normal range. He was talking to the doll. The little doll was given to him by his friends. And Bomber won. Sixty-five days later he landed on the island of Barbados.

“To achieve victory, you must believe in it!” - he wrote in a note to his friend Jack, who abandoned him just before the start of this voyage. After that, Bombar and went across the ocean alone.
He won because he knew that a person dies first of all from fear. So the passengers of the Titanic died in lifeboats. So many victims of shipwrecks perished.

The bomber gave them a chance. He proved that man can do everything. In the summer of 2005, Alain Bombard, a man of insane courage, passed away. He was in his 81st year.

This man is not easily attributed to the outstanding "sea wolves", since he went out to sea only twice, both times on a boat without a rudder and without sails. However, his feat was one of the most outstanding achievements of mankind in the confrontation with the ocean.

Being a practicing doctor in a seaside hospital, Alain Baum-bar was literally shocked by the fact that every year tens and even hundreds of thousands of people die at sea! And at the same time, a significant part of them died not from drowning, cold or hunger, but from fear, they died only because they believed in the inevitability of their death.

They were killed by despair, lack of will, apparent aimlessness to fight for their lives and the lives of their comrades in misfortune. "Victims of the legendary shipwrecks who died prematurely, I know: it was not the sea that killed you, it was not hunger that killed you, it was not thirst that killed you! Swinging on the waves to the plaintive cries of seagulls, you died of fear," Bombar said firmly, deciding to prove it from his own experience strength of courage and self-confidence.

Every year, up to fifty thousand people die in boats and life belts, and at the same time, 90% of them die in the first three days! It is quite understandable that during shipwrecks, for whatever reason they occur, people get lost, they forget that the human body is able to live without water for ten days, and without food even up to thirty.

As a doctor who knows the reserves of the human body well, Alain Bombard was sure that many people who, for one reason or another, were forced to leave the comfort of the ship and escape on boats, rafts or other improvised means, died long before their abandoned physical strength: they were killed by despair. And such a death overtook not only random people in the sea - passengers, but also professional sailors accustomed to the sea. This habit was for them connected with the deck of the ship, reliable, although swaying. They are accustomed to looking at the sea from the height of the ship's hull. A ship is not just a means of transportation on water, it is also a psychological factor that protects the human psyche from fear of an alien element. On a ship, a person has confidence, the conviction that he is insured against possible accidents, that all these accidents are foreseen by experienced ship designers and builders, that a sufficient amount of all kinds of food and water is prepared in the holds of the ship for the entire period of the voyage and even beyond that .. .

Not without reason, back in the days of the sailing fleet, it was said that only whalers and fur seal hunters see the real sea, as they attack whales and seals in the open ocean from small whaleboats and sometimes wander for a long time in the fog, carried by sudden storm winds from their ship . These people rarely died: after all, they were prepared in advance to sail the sea on a boat for some time. They knew about it and were ready to overcome the elements on their fragile and yet reliable whaleboats.

Even having lost a ship in the open ocean for one reason or another, they traveled enormous distances and still came to land. True, not always either: if some died, it was only after many days of stubborn struggle, during which they did everything they could, exhausting the last forces of their body. All these people were mentally prepared for the need to spend some time on the boat. These were their normal working conditions.

Wanting to make unprepared people believe in themselves, in the ability to overcome both the forces of the elements and their apparent weakness, Alain Bombard is not a St. John's wort or a sailor, but an ordinary doctor set sail across the Atlantic Ocean in an ordinary inflatable boat.

He was sure that there is a lot of food in the sea and you just need to be able to get this food in the form of planktonic animals and plants or fish. He knew that all life-saving equipment on ships - boats, boats, rafts - have a set of lines, sometimes nets, they have certain tools for fishing for marine life, and finally, they can be made from improvised means. With their help, you can get food, since almost everything that our body needs is contained in marine animals. Even fresh water.

However, sea water, consumed in small quantities, can help a person save the body from dehydration. Let us recall that the Polynesians, who were sometimes blown away by hurricanes far from the earth, knew how to fight for their lives and, perhaps most importantly, accustomed their bodies to the consumption of sea water. Sometimes for weeks and months the boats of the Polynesians rushed across the stormy ocean, and yet the islanders survived by catching fish, turtles, birds, using the juices of these animals. In all this, they did not see anything special, since they were mentally prepared for such troubles. But the same islanders dutifully died on the shore with a full abundance of food, when it became known to them that someone had "bewitched" them. They believed in the power of witchcraft and therefore died. Out of fear!..

To the equipment of his rubber boat, Bombar added only a plankton net and a speargun.

The bomber chose an unusual route for himself - far from the sea routes of merchant ships. True, his "Heretic", as this boat was called, was supposed to go in the warm zone of the ocean, but this is a deserted zone. To the north and south are the routes of commercial ships.

Previously, as a preparation for this journey, he and his friend spent two weeks in the Mediterranean. For fourteen days they made do with what the sea gave them. The first experience of a long journey dependent on the sea was a success. Of course, and it was difficult, very difficult!

However, his friend, by the way, an experienced sailor who crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a small yacht all alone, but provided with everything necessary in abundance, at the last moment got scared and simply disappeared. Two weeks was long enough for him to refuse to tempt fate any further. He assured that he believed in Bombard's idea, but he was scared away by the thought of the impending need to eat raw fish again, swallow the healing, but so disgusting plankton and drink the juice squeezed from the body of the fish, diluting it with sea water. Perhaps he was a brave sailor, but a man of a different stock than Bombar: he did not have the purposefulness of Bombar.

Bombard prepared for his voyage theoretically and mentally. As a physician, he knew that water was more important than food. And he examined dozens of fish species that he could meet in the ocean. These studies have shown that 50 to 80% of the weight of the fish is water, and at the same time fresh, and that the body of marine fish contains significantly less salt than the meat of mammals.

Having carefully checked the amount of various salts dissolved in the ocean water, Bombar was convinced that, apart from table salt, each 800 grams of sea water contains approximately the same amount of other salts as there is in a liter of various mineral waters. We drink these waters - often with great benefit. During his journey, Bombar became convinced that it was extremely important to prevent dehydration of the body in the early days, and then a decrease in water rations would not be detrimental to the body in the future. Thus, he supported his idea with scientific data.

Bombard had many friends, but there were also skeptics, ill-wishers, and people who were simply hostile to him. Not everyone understood the humanity of his idea. Newspapermen were looking for a sensation, and since there was none, they invented it. Experts were unanimously indignant: shipbuilders - that Bombar was going to cross the ocean in a boat that supposedly could not be controlled; sailors - because he is not a sailor, but go ahead ... the doctors were horrified that Bombar was going to live on seafood and drink sea water.

As if challenging all his skeptics, Bombar called his boat "The Heretic"...

By the way, people who are well acquainted with the history of navigation and shipwrecks warmly supported the idea of ​​Bombard. Moreover, they were confident in the success of the experiment.

Alain Bombard sailed across the ocean for sixty-five days. In the very first days, he refuted the assurances of "specialists" that there were no fish in the ocean. Many books about the oceans are full of such expressions as "desert ocean", "water desert"...

Bombar proved that this is far from the case! It was just difficult to see life in the ocean from the big ships. Another thing is on a raft or on a boat! From here you can observe the diverse life of the sea - life, sometimes unfamiliar, incomprehensible, full of surprises. The ocean is often deserted for many weeks of travel, but it is inhabited night and day by creatures that can be useful or harmful to man. The fauna of the ocean is rich, but we still know little about it.

Alain Bombard proved that a person can do a lot if he really wants to and does not lose willpower. He is able to survive in the most difficult conditions in which he may accidentally find himself. Describing this unprecedented experiment on himself in the book "Overboard of his own free will", which sold millions of copies, Alain Bombard, perhaps saved tens of thousands of lives of those people who were alone with the hostile elements - and were not afraid.

, Toulon) - French physician, biologist, traveler and politician. In 1952, as a scientific experiment and campaign to promote the methods of survival he developed for shipwrecked on the high seas, he single-handedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands to the island of Barbados, breaking 2375 nautical miles (4400 kilometers) in 65 days (from October 19 to December 22). On the way, he fed on caught fish and plankton. At the time of the end of the experiment, he significantly undermined his health. The bomber lost 25 kg, the level of red blood cells and hemoglobin bordered on fatal, he had a serious visual impairment, his toenails fell out, his entire skin was covered with a rash and small pimples. In general, his body was dehydrated and extremely exhausted, but he reached the shore.

Travel

Alain Bombard is the first person in the world to sail across the Atlantic Ocean in an inflatable rubber boat, modeled on the lifeboats of his time, equipped with only a standard set for shipwrecked and an emergency supply of food, the safety of which was officially certified at the end of the experiment.

“Victims of legendary shipwrecks who died prematurely, I know it wasn’t the sea that killed you, it wasn’t hunger that killed you, it wasn’t thirst that killed you! Swinging on the waves to the plaintive cries of seagulls, you died of fear., he said in the early 1950s. He believed that a person is quite capable of enduring a solitary transoceanic voyage without food, and decided to prove it personally.

Bombard already had sailing experience - from Monaco to about. Menorca (May 25 - June 11), from Tangier to Casablanca (August 13 - 20), and from Casablanca to Las Palmas (August 24 - September 3).

Initially, Alain planned to cross the Atlantic with yachtsman Jack Palmer (Herbert Muir-Palmer, an Englishman, a citizen of Panama) - a friend and fellow Monaco sailor, but as a result he sailed alone - Palmer did not appear at the appointed time of the solemn sailing. On the morning of October 19, 1952, Alain, having seen his newborn daughter, began his solo voyage across the Atlantic, sailed on an inflatable boat 4.5 meters long, called "Heretic". In his book, Bombard writes that the reason for choosing this name for the boat was that so many people regarded as "heretical" his statements "that a person can live on seafood alone and drink salt water", and also that it is possible to achieve a certain point on an "uncontrolled" boat.

Quote from Bombar's book:

I spent all of Friday, August 15, studying these wisdoms. There were few oncoming ships. Fortunately, Mr. Climens' fishing tackle was excellent, and I caught several large castagnols, or, as they are also called, "brama rai". I now have water and food. And in abundance. Too bad Jack isn't with me. He lost his courage just when the most crucial moment came. 'Cause now I'm a real castaway! Well, from now on, I will measure my blood pressure and count the beats of my pulse every day. Jack didn't come because he didn't have the courage.

During the voyage, Alain Bombard survived by fishing, using fish as food and as a source of fresh water. With a previously designed and personally designed hand press, he squeezed juice from fish - fresh water. In small quantities, he also drank sea water, which proved to the world that in small doses, the salty water of the ocean can still be drunk, alternating it with fresh water. During the 65 days of the transition, Alain Bombard lost more than 25 kilograms of his own weight due to dehydration.

After the journey

In the second half of the 1950s. The bomber participated in the development of one of the designs of an inflatable life raft, which was supposed to equip all French ships. On October 3, 1958, tests of this raft headed by Bombard in severe meteorological conditions in the wide and full-flowing river Ethel near the city of the same name (Morbihan department) ended tragically: nine people died - four test participants and five sailors of the rescue ship. As a result, Bombar experienced a prolonged depression up to an unsuccessful suicide attempt.

Then, however, the entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul Ricard invited Bombard to work at his private oceanographic institute on the Cote d'Azur, on the island of Ambier near the city of Sis-Fours-les-Plages. In 1967-1985. Bombar headed the marine biology laboratory at this institute.

From 1975, Bombard served as environmental adviser to the Socialist Party of France. In 1979-1985. Bombard was a deputy for the canton of Cis-Fours-les-Plages on the general council of the department of Var. In 1981, for a month (from May 22 to June 23), Bombard served as secretary of state in the French Ministry of the Environment, in the first government. The protagonist of the story, a little boy, thinking about his future profession, decided that “It would be nice to become a brave traveler like Alain Bombard and cross all the oceans in a small shuttle, eating nothing but raw fish.” Subsequently, the boy abandoned this idea - “This Bombar lost twenty-five kilograms after his trip, and I only weighed twenty-six, so it turned out that if I also swim like him, then I will have absolutely nowhere to lose weight, I will weigh only one kilo at the end of the trip . What if I don’t catch one or two fish somewhere and lose a little more weight? Then I’ll probably just melt in the air like smoke, that’s all.”