There are voices that cross generations, carried by the wind, the sea and memory. Patrick Lamon, president of the Yole Net 2000 association in Le Marin, is one of them. He didn’t learn the yole, he was born into it. Just as one inherits a name, a language, a collective narrative. His story doesn’t begin on the waves, but in a line of sailors where every gesture, every sail hoisted, tells of a past rooted in wood and salt.
A name from afar, between gum tree and skittle pin
For the Lamon family, the sea is as much a tradition as a way of life. The grandfather used to set sail in a gum tree, carved from a tree trunk. Father Didier Lamon made history by becoming the first winner of the official Tour de la Martinique in 1985. As for Patrick Lamon, he watches silently, like an attentive child, before climbing aboard once the fishing is done.
“We’d take the skiff and set sail. That’s how it was.”
The yole was not born for racing, but for survival. It’s the result of an adaptation: when the gum tree became too unstable, sailors rethought its shape. This transformation gave rise to the yole martiniquaise, a hybrid craft, both rounded and flat, designed to take on the sea with agility and finesse.
Memories are anchored in the hull
Patrick Lamon talks about the evolution of the yole as a link between past and future. He remembers sails made of flour sacks, gumboats equipped with two sails, and the first improvised races.
“There were seven yoles with the békés, even before 1985.”
Then came composite materials, carbon sails and racing techniques. But what he remembers most of all is the resourcefulness of the sailors, their ability to turn this traditional craft into a heritage emblem. In 2022,UNESCO recognized the Yole of Martinique as part of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage.
Presiding, yes. But above all to pass on
Becoming president of Yole Net 2000 was never a personal goal. “It’s not about the title. It’s because I was born into it. I have the knowledge.” What drives him is transmission. To young people, the curious, adults in search of the sea and meaning. Although initiation sometimes begins at the age of 6 in schools, the association prefers to welcome young people from the age of 15 or 16, when maturity allows a better understanding. Reading the sea, understanding the wind, choosing the right sail: these are all part of an applied science.
“Today, we teach them the compass rose. It used to be different.”
A boat as a school of life
For Patrick Lamon, the yole is much more than a sport. It’s a school of rigor, solidarity and responsibility.
“It’s like a company. If just one yachtsman doesn’t play along, we drift.”
Here, the individual disappears in favor of the collective. You have to listen to the sea, follow the helmsman’s orders and be one with the team. Learning is open to all. The only prerequisite: not to be afraid.
A volunteer passion, a future to build
Yachtsmen sail for passion. It’s all about volunteering. Rewards are rare, sometimes symbolic: a trip, a tribute, discreet recognition.
But Patrick Lamon dreams bigger. He wants the practice of the Yole to become a real profession.
Patrick Lamon imagines a future in which certified instructors train new generations, within a structured, recognized and remunerated framework.
“One day, I’d like it to be taught, officially recognized, paid for.”
He’s thinking about bilingual training, welcoming tourists and opening up to international markets. He’s also thinking about entrepreneurs:
“Look at a skiff. Coordination, strategy, quick reaction: it’s a model.”
A Caribbean dream beyond borders
The yole has already plied the waters of Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Saint Kitts.
“In Trinidad, we brought in seven boats. In Guadeloupe, we sailed.”
His dream: to see Yole weave bridges between islands, uniting Caribbean peoples around this craft that speaks a universal language. A way of uniting know-how and memories, to the rhythm of shared winds.
The yole is all this... and more
A sport, of course. But also a school of life, a tool for transmission, a mirror of society. The art of sailing, literally and figuratively. When the clouds gather, the wind picks up and the sea gets rough, Patrick Lamon stays the course. He chooses the right sail, the right team. And he holds on. Just as you hold on to what you love.
