Captain Luc Grandcourt: Meeting one of Seychelles' bravest seafarers

Captain Robert Grandcourt at his home on Praslin. (Mandy Bertin)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Luc Grandcourt, a recipient of the Seychelles' Medal of Honour in June 2023, is a retired seafarer, who at a very young age, decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a sailor.

Grandcourt received the award for his bravery and quick thinking, which helped to save the lives of 22 passengers on board the schooner 'Ero' from Praslin to Mahe, when it capsized and sank on August 12, 1975. He was 27 years old at the time.

Among the passengers was the late Anglican Archbishop Emeritus French Chang Him, who was a young priest at the time, stranded at sea, threatened by sharks. Grandcourt secured all the passengers and managed to swim to Chang Him, bringing him to the rest of the passengers until they were all safely rescued.

Gandcourt received the Seychelles' Medal of Honour in June 2023. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY

Meeting Captain Grancourt

Meeting Grandcourt was a priority on my to-do list as I have always wondered about the incident and how he managed to overcome the obstacles at sea that day. I met the retired seafarer at his home in the district of Grand Anse, Praslin.

First he introduced himself and said, "My name is Luc Grandcourt and I am the son of Japhet and Lucie Grandcourt. My mother was from the main island of Mahe while my father was a native of Praslin. I was born on October 17, 1948 and I was named Luc after Luke the Evangelist, whose feast day falls on October 18. My father's parents came from France on a boat so the love for the sea comes from my father's side."

Grandcourt's father was also a renowned seafarer in Seychelles and started to work on a schooner even before he reached the age of 15 and after hearing his story, Grandcourt followed in his father's footsteps.

"We come from a family of seafarers, from my father, his brother and my brother Pierre. And now some of my children have joined in the business," he said.

He comes from a family of six, with him being the third child of three sisters and three brothers and only his brother Robert, who left Seychelles at almost 18 years old, did not venture into a career at sea.

The 76-year-old is the only sibling living on Praslin while his sisters and brother have left Seychelles' shores.

A portrait of his late brother Captain Pierre Grandcourt who drowned on August 25, 2018, hangs on the wall in his sitting room. Other paintings of his schooners, life at sea and his family, as well as varnished steering wheels from and other items from his vessels, are all part of the interior decor of the house.

He shared his story of nearly drowning story when he was four years old.

"My father was at sea that day, my mother had gone to buy fish nearby and I was with my brother Robert and Lucianne when this happened. My mother ran to rescue me and instead of crying as any child would, I just looked at my mother and smiled with all my might. She knew right there and then that just like my father I was destined to be at sea," Grandcourt remembered.

A painting of Captain Grandcourt on his boat. (Mandy Bertin) Photo License: CC-BY

Being a young seafarer

Grandcour said he started working on a schooner when he was only 14 and after completing Form Three on Praslin, he was accepted at the Victoria Training Centre but did not want to go to school on Mahe, the main island.

"I loved my island and my mother so much that I decided not to leave. I told my parents that what I had learned at school was sufficient. I wanted to work with my father and help my mother. She was into agriculture, mainly livestock and vegetables, and she had to take care of her children as well. So with my father busy at sea every day, life was hectic for my mother so I became her helping hand."

His childhood

Grandcourt said he had a passion for the sea from a very young age and learned how to swim using coconut husks and coir.

"I made life jackets using these and practiced frequently until I knew how to swim. I remember I was about five to six years old when my father bought Ero. When I was eight, my father made some major repairs on the schooner and I was excited at that time, wishing that one day, I would be on that schooner rain or shine," he shared.

His dream came true on January 3, 1963, when he joined his father and his crew on Ero until 1975.

The youngest seafarer to get certified

"I took my tests at the age of 18 and at that time I was the youngest seaman to do so. I remember there was a man known as Captain Hunter who lived on Praslin and one day he told me he can get me to go work abroad and I can even become a captain. I refused because I was very close to my mother and I did not want to leave her," said Grancourt.

"At that time we did not have the Global Positioning System (GPS) so we had to learn how to use navigational instruments such as sextant. Captain Hunter wanted me to learn how to use the navigational chart as well," he added.

He sat his test with two captains, Hunter and Sauvage, and received his certificate and assumed command the La Digue Feast of the Assumption on August 15.

"After years of commanding Ero, my father decided to sell the schooner and a businesswoman who built the Château de Feuilles, one of the first hotels on Praslin bought it and I became the 'patron' (boss) until the incident in 1975," Grandcourt noted.