"Beyond the coconut-lined beaches and tropical landscapes one sees in tourist ads, 1,200 islands are home to people who need better living conditions."
After years of preparation, engineer-turned-sailor Jacques Luc Autran set sail in 1987 on the Listaos, a rebuilt trawler, for the Indian Ocean and the isolated archipelagos that dot this area. Supported by the association Seamen without Borders, which he created, Jacques embarked on a series of journeys that would fulfil a long-held dream: to bring medical relief, technical assistance and food to communities cut off from civilization by the sea.
40,000
nautical miles Jacques has traveled on his missions, equivalent to sailing twice around the world
5
days of travel, by boat, for some Maldives citizens to see a doctor
200
tonnes of supplies transported in the 1990-1991 campaign
500
number of Seamen without Borders members in 1987
