Tamata y la alianza

by Bernard Moitessier

Tamata y la alianza es el relato de la aventura de una vida. Bajo la mirada atenta de los dioses de su Asia natal, Bernard Moitessier nos cuenta su mágica juventud en Indochina. En su pueblo del golfo de Siam, que dejó en él una huella indeleble, oye por primera vez la llamada del mar. Después se inicia una guerra fratricida entre franceses y vietnamitas, que le obliga a salir se su país hacia el inmenso horizonte a bordo de su junco Marie Therèse. Inicia una aventura marítima y humana con múltiples facetas, la de un pionero, marcada por continuas luchas por conquistar y preservar sus opciones fundamentales. Después de cumplir los cuarenta años emprenderá el “Largo viaje”, asombrosa navegación en solitario durante seis meses y sin escalas y de la que saldrá transformado para siempre.
Después de este giro fundamental y durante los siguientes veinticinco años, se esfuerza por transmitir (en Polinesia, en América y en Europa) las cosas esenciales que la vida le ha enseñado: participar en la evolución del mundo transformando nuestros sueños en actos creadores.
Tamata y la Alianza se lee como un cuento épico en donde, en cada encrucijada de una existencia plena de vueltas imprevisibles, se enfrentan el niño mimado por los dioses y su terrible enemigo el Dragón.
Tamata y la Alianza es el resultado de una fe absoluta en nuestro libre albedrío: somos nosotros solos quienes, en vez de sufrirlo, guiamos nuestro destino. Moitessier, en este libro, lanza un grito de alarma a sus contemporáneos sobre la urgencia del despertar de las conciencias a nivel planetario.
Tamata y la Alianza es la mirada serena de un hombre hojeando su álbum de fotos, el recorrido de un vagabundo que se atreve a plantear objetivos más grandes que su propia persona. El último objetivo que atañe a todos los humanos.

Genres: Biography, Travel, Adventure, Nonfiction, Memoir

398 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Bernard Georges Moitessier was a French sailor and writer, most notable for his participation in the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race.

Bernard Georges Moitessier est un navigateur et écrivain français, auteur de plusieurs livres relatant ses voyages. En 1968, il participe à la première course autour du monde, en solitaire et sans escale, le Golden Globe Challenge.

Reviews

[Otaycec · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sucked into this exotic biography from the first page. I loved following the early life of Bernard Moitessier and observing the events that led to his passion for the sea and for sailing. This man was born to sail, and I learned as much about the lifestyle of sailing as I did about the technology and the art. I have sailed all kinds of boats from Sabots to catamarans to an ultra-light, high-aspect rig Santa Cruz 50, but I never sailed solo around the world. Moitessier is the archetype for this kind of adventure, and his aesthetic view of the experience and places transforms his life into a poetic praise for this mode of existence. He not only learns to endure the power of the seas as he transits Cape Horn, but how to plant coconuts and fruits on isolated atolls, and to create the proper eco-system to sustain them there. I could say many things about this book, but the best suggestion is to pour yourself a tall, cold pina colada or a margarita, and sit down for one of the best reading pleasures any lover of the sea or sailing could ever hope for.

[David Rudin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book was a game changer for me in so many ways! An autobiography that is both a rousing adventure yarn about sailing all over the world and a philosophical treatise on life, love, the demons we all face and how to live sanely on this planet.
I don’t think I’m overstating the case to say this book is like no other that I’ve ever read and it kept me going through the 350 pages of the hardback edition. If I had to quibble, I’d say the one fault is Moitessier’s over use of metaphors during the sections of his book when he philosophizes on his life, especially at the end.
Bernard lived quite the adventurous life, born in what is now Vietnam in 1925 to French parents, he experienced an amazing childhood. He spoke the native language fluently, immersed himself in nature and got his first taste of sailing. His life as a soldier, sailor, environmentalist and community activist continues to amaze and astound. The highest praise I can give this book and its author is that it has inspired me to seek my own adventures!
Favorite Excerpt: This is a quote from Roger Garaudy’s “L’Appel aux Vivants".
The creative act is the fundamental experience and the revelation of the divine within us.
And also from the same longer quote: The imagination has prophetic and subversive value because it hints at possibilities whose conditions are not contained in what already exists. It suggests that the world is not a ready-made reality, but a work to be created.

[Artnoose McMoose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read one of Moitessier’s sailing books— The Long Way— I was interested to read what is essentially his autobiography. He certainly has led what could in some way be considered a charmed life— it’s incredible how often people just have him things like boats. Of course, he does talk a lot about growing up in colonial French Indochina as a son of a French couple given land by the colonial French government.

Themes of indigenousness weave through the book in ways that I’m not sure Moitessier intended. Born and raised bilingual in colonial Vietnam, he didn’t really consider himself French, but once the Japanese threw off the colonial rule, it was clear that the Vietnamese people considered him one of the French. Similarly, he and his second partner moved to the Ahe atoll and worked with the land but never seemed to be on the the same page as the majority of the Polynesian people there.

[Bkspil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful descriptions of old Indochina and the magic of Moitessier's wanderings. He is a great story teller and his story is given without excesses and heroisms. He is however a hero!
It provides also an interesting historical background of the events that finally led to the Vietnam war.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring, poetic, magic.

[G. Cabral · Rating 1 out of 5]

B. Moitessier may have been a great sailor. He was definitely not a writer though. The book is sheer rubbish. Don't waste your time!

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Moitessier's books, and I've read all of them. This book fills in the blanks, and actually talks about what happened after he made it to Tahiti in The Long Way. But it's eye opening too, in that he's honest about his actions and his feelings, and to be quite frank--Moitessier was a little bit of a deadbeat. This book is told from his perspective, so everything is a little whitewashed and rose-colored, but beneath it all I can kind of see a manic-depressive individual who probably would've been much better off had he not abandoned the Golden Globe race. This book is still a great insight into his later years, and if you're a fan of Moitessier, then I highly recommend reading this book, as well as Moitessier: A Sailing Legend by Jean-Michel Barrault.

[Stefy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno dei libri più belli che io abbia mai letto!

É un libro autentico in cui ci si immerge nella vita di uno dei più grandi navigatori del secolo scorso. Si parte dall’infanzia vissuta in Indocina, più precisamente in Vietnam, per poi scoprire pagina dopo pagina i luoghi in cui Bernard Moitessier decise di fermarsi una volta che ha capito che la sua più grande passione era navigare, viaggiare, e poi scrivere. Non programmava mai nulla, era davvero uno spirito libero!

Vi consiglio davvero questo libro!

P.S. Su YouTube: trova anche il documentario di Bernard Moitessier La Lunga Rotta che vi invito a vedere (ecco il link: https://youtu.be/Ohhh06kcT58?feature=...)

[Nino Magro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plus je lis Moitessier, plus j’ai envie de le lire. Cette autobiographie est l’une des plus passionnantes que j’ai pu lire. Non seulement l’histoire de Bernard Moitessier est incroyable, mais sa vision de la vie est plus qu’admirable. Ce que j’ai aimé dans ce livre, c’est que l’on apprend et comprend le long cheminement qui l’a mené à sa philosophie de vie. Et sa philosophie de vie, je la trouve tout simplement incroyable. Arriver à vivre, à ma manière, comme lui, ce serait pour moi une véritable réussite.

[William Graney · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Long Way and now Tamara and the Alliance I've decided that Moitessier gets my vote for most interesting person of the 20th Century.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, well written and translated! Enjoyed the many interesting images and characters that visited him. Left you wondering whether he had gone mad or not. Interesting life indeed!