His hair bleached by the sun, his skin tanned, a dyed-in-the-wool Caribbean boy, Miguel Danet could audition for the role played by Johnny Depp, but hey, Miguel is not an actor, he is a real sailor. A native of Saint Barthélemy, with parents who love the sea, and two grandfathers who were sailors, Miguel already had salt water running in his veins as a child, that's for sure!

As a kid, he was often at the Saint Barth Yacht Club where Jean-Paul Berry, his instructor, showed him the ABC's of navigation. "He taught me a lot. I have great memories of sailing with him. One day, I must have been eight or nine years old, we were setting sail when a rainstorm surprised us. Jean-Paul collected us, one by one, into his dinghy and we returned safe and sound to the sailing school. But we had quite a scare and if it were not for the calm nerves of Jean-Paul it could have turned out badly. My grandfather always said, "In the ocean, there are no branches!"

After completing studies at the Mireille Choisy junior high school in Saint Barth, Miguel left for Martinique where he was able to integrate his interest in sailing into a program of general studies, and split his time accordingly. He graduated from high school and headed to the south of France, where at the age of 18 he got his national sailing diploma and at 19 his captain's license. He was without doubt the youngest person in France to have earned that diploma. When Miguel returned to Saint Barth, Arnaud Grandclerc asked him to serve as skipper for his 45-foot charter catamaran, Wayayaï.

"I was just 21, but in spite of my young age, and thanks to the profession I have chosen, I have a strong sense of responsibility. You have to be strict, vigilant, and live a perfectly clean lifestyle aboard a boat. There are rules that must be respected, since just the slightest error could have dramatic consequences."

Miguel has raced in many competitions, including the 2002 French Laser Championship in Martinique, where he placed 20th out of 90 competitors. Now he is dreaming of following the footsteps of older sailors Christopher Johnson, Guillaume Barraud, Luc Poupon, Markku Harmala and Jeff Lédée, and participating in the next transatlantic AG2R. To do so, he is seeking sponsors to assure his presence on the starting line and represent his island in the race. This dream could well become a reality as Miguel has what it takes to succeed. What an example to set!