anime notre petit monde... ». Autant d’impressions desquelles émanent However, the Snark is wiped out even before he takes to water; she faces les mille mots quotidiens de Jack London. Son roman Martin Eden his first ‘storm’: the violent earthquake in San Francisco on 18th April 1906. est écrit à bord. Ces notes donneront lieu plus tard à de nombreux Jack London, having already invested all his income as an author, took on récits d'aventures comme Les Contes des Mers du Sud ou La debt to insure, at all costs, his departure without undue delay. Croisière du Snark. HEADING TOWARDS OAHU ISLAND, Les Marquises, la Polynésie, les îles mélanésiennes, offrent leurs IN THE ARCHIPELAGO OF HAWAII lots de rencontres surprenantes et de paysages extraordinaires qui Stopping off for the first time in 4 months on the Hawaiian archipelago passionnent le couple London. Dès leur arrivée aux Marquises, en décembre 1907, ils sont mus par is necessary to make the adjustments l'envie profonde de connaître le vital for the continuation of the pursuit peuple Taïpi. L'équipage du Snark of his adventure and to look for a more atteint donc les rives de Nuku Hiva experienced team. It’s also in these et découvre la beauté naturelle de heavenly bays that Jack London gives cette île, si bien dépeinte dans une surfing a go for the first time in his life. des lectures d'enfance de Jack : le His wife Charmian, a female writer, roman Dans les Mers du Sud de renowned pianist and feminist, splits John Stevenson. En abordant l'île, her time between journaling on board Jack et Charmian se désolent du and noting down new stories under dénuement du peuple Taïpi. Des the dictation of Jack London. Voyages 2000 “guerriers vigoureux” décrits one after the other for two years, each dans le récit autobiographique de as inspiring as the next and according Herman Melville 60 ans aupara- to Charmian’s writing, they give rise vant, le couple London ne recense to a range of mixed emotions: “This plus qu'une douzaine de survi- impetuosity of wind and waves is vants. Pendant une dizaine de spectacular – a new and marvellous jours, ils partagent ensemble leur life lights up our little world…” So many goût pour la musique grâce à un images and impressions spring forth gramophone installé sur la plage, from the thousand everyday words tandis que les Taïpi les initient aux of Jack London. His book Martin hulas hawaïennes. Eden is written on board. These notes En décembre 1908, un an après later give rise to numerous adventure les Marquises, l'équipage du novels like South Sea Tales and The Snark, épuisé par les maladies à Cruise of the Snark. répétition, doit se rendre à l'évi- The Marquesas Islands, Polynesia dence : le voyage s'arrête là. Jack and the Melanesian islands all bring London, très affaibli par la malaria, Portrait their fair share of surprising encoun- la fièvre noire et des ulcères, est de Jack London ters and extraordinary landscapes admis à l'hôpital de Sydney. Son Portrait which excite the London couple. of Jack London rapatriement sanitaire en 1909 From their arrival in the Marquesas, en Amérique metun point final à in December 1907, they are driven son rêve de tour monde et scelle du même coup, le sort du Snark. by the deep desire to get to know the people of Taïpi. The crew on Snark Cédé pour une bouchée de pain en Australie, il ne vogue désor- reach the edge of Nuku Hiva and discover the natural beauty of this island, mais que dans l'imaginaire des lecteurs passionnés par les récits de so well depicted in one of the childhood readings of Jack: the novel ‘In Jack London. the South Seas’ by John Stevenson. In approaching the island, Jack and The rudderless ship of Jack London Charmian are saddened by the nakedness of the Taïpi people. From the 2000 “strong warriors” described in the autobiographic novel of Herman Melville 60 years previous, the London couple only notice a handful of An imaginary animal invented by Lewis Caroll, the strange name Snark survivors. During 10 or so days, they share their taste in music thanks to a recalls before anything else the expedition in the South Pacific of the gramophone installed on the beach while the Taïpi people introduce them famous author and sailor Jack London (1876-1916). to Hawaiian hula dancing. An explorer with the unquenchable desire for nature and marine adven- In December 1908, the year after the Marquesas Islands, the crew on tures, at the age of 29 he throws himself into the challenge of sailing board the Snark exhausted by recurring sickness, must face the facts: the the oceans on board the ideal sailboat, the Snark. This 17-metre ketch journey ends there. Jack London, weakened by malaria, black fever and is designed according to the will of Jack London and his second wife ulcers is admitted into hospital in Sydney. The repatriation of Jack London Charmian Kittredge, as they wish to accomplish an ambitious dream: to in 1909 to America put an endto his dream of a world tour and at the tour the world by sailboat in 7 years. Built in a shipyard in San Francisco same time sealed the destiny of Snark. Given away for next to nothing between 1905-1907, this avant-garde, two-masted vessel, equipped with in Australia, from now on the Snark only sails along the open seas of a a motor and was designed to be comfortable and highly manoeuvrable. dreamer’s imagination. 41 AINROFILAC ,ONIRAM NAS ,YRARBIL NOTGNITNUH EHT ,SREPAP NODNOL KCAJ FO YSETRUOC©SOTOHP