This photo was taken in June 2015! It was my very first professional tandem flight in Granville.
Having recently qualified and returned from my first season of tandem paragliding whilst skiing in Valmeinier, in the Maurienne Valley, I decided to launch my business in the spring of 2015.
I’d already been paragliding as a solo hobby for seven years, and the desire to share my passion was growing ever stronger. So I took the plunge and completed my training in the Pyrenees to become an instructor in 2014.
As there were no professional operators in the southern Manche region, I chose the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel to set up my business. The area is indeed ideal for paragliding by the sea, thanks to the Carolles/Champeaux plateau and the cliffs of Granville/Donville. There are a total of five possible launch sites, depending on the wind direction.
All five of these launch sites were established by the local paragliding club, the Club des Archanges.
(The cliffs of Champeaux – Jérôme Houyvet)
So I became the first professional to set up in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, by founding Manche Parapente.
On the day I took that first flight, I hadn’t really done much to spread the word yet; it was whilst I was putting up my information board at the Pointe du Roc that Marie-Hélène decided to give a short tandem flight a go.
And that was the first of many…
It’s now been 10 years since I first took you up with me in flight, soaring above these magical cliffs, which allow us to gain a little height and appreciate the beauty of the surroundings all the more.
Ten years – that’s around 3,000 tandem flights and countless hours in the air in your company.
I’d like to thank you all for placing your trust in me over all these years. And the adventure continues…
