The news would have been lost in the noise: A Polish single-handed sailor had overlooked the French flagship! Or vice versa - which still needs to be clarified!
The course of the incident
According to the Préfecture Maritime de Méditerranée (Premarmed), the aircraft carrier CHARLES DE GAULLE was on a training voyage about 40 miles south-east of Toulon in mid-November when a 10-metre sailing yacht was spotted off the bow early in the morning at dusk in wind force 6. But by then it was already too late to take full evasive action. The boat lost its mast in the unavoidable collision (it can't have been more than that, judging by the pictures), the skipper swapped his sleep for shock without injury, the porter did his best to help and finally had the boat brought to Toulon by a naval tug.
Clarification of the facts - how could this happen?
All that remains to be clarified is why, in a sea area where the wake of Italian and French Mediterranean ferries leaves a tightly woven pattern, a sailing boat - even if it is not exactly large - can be overlooked. Or, to put it another way, why the use of modern navigational aids such as AIS and collision warning systems, which are necessary for single-handed sailing, could not prevent this situation. Judging by the sailor's service flag, it cannot be ruled out that this encounter will be an item on the agenda of the next French-Polish staff talks.
Do good - but don't talk about it
Ironically, the day before, the CHARLES DE GAULLE had rescued a sailor who had fallen overboard in the sea off Toulon with its on-board helicopter and had him flown to the hospital at the local naval base.
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