Saint-Louis Festival in Sète: “We are a real couple”, meeting the two helmsmen of the heavyweight tournament

Rémy Minarro et Patrice Macone ont grandi ensemble sur les barques de joutes. MIDI LIBRE – KELMAN MARTI

Rémy Minarro, 46, and Patrice Macone, 48, will officiate for their second Grand Prix de la Saint-Louis, this Monday, wearing their “Patron” hats. Meet these two warm friends.

There are the jousters that we admire and see fall, sometimes spectacularly. The rowers that we respect for their physical dedication. The announcers who explain what is happening on the canal. And more discreetly, people from the jousting world and the most curious recognize the goldsmith work of the coxswains. This year, there are six of them at the Saint-Louis. Among them, one is called Rémy Minarro, the other Patrice Macone. Two "buddies" who got "the Grail" last year, receiving the hats of “Patron” for the legendary heavyweight tournament.

Unimaginable

“When we were little, we would never have imagined becoming helmsmen of the Grand Prix de la Saint-Louis, says Patrice, still with stars in his eyes. You can't dream of anything better!” Just like Rémy, he imagined himself more “raising the shield” during the Monday finals.

As jousters, we weren't exceptional

“We started jousting as kids. Then, we met when we were about 14 and we became great friends. At the time, we jousted against each other. And to train between young people, when we were in our twenties, the old guys sometimes didn't give us a hand. So, we started as coxswains”, remembers the younger of the two. Once adults, those who were among the lighter ones were “middleweights&rdquo then understood that their career as jousters would not be the most successful. “We weren't exceptional”, the two friends laugh, very modestly.

Ambition was however quite permitted to steer the boats. “We started with engines, in the small categories. When we were jousting, we would watch the older coxswains' moves carefully and listen to their advice. Then, the years went by. We started doing juniors and when the opportunity to do big came along, we were there”, explains Rémy. Until we finally became coxswains at the Saint-Louis.

Between friends, we shout at each other

While success seems total today, it was sown over twenty years of work. And friendship too. “To be good helmsmen, you have to be a couple”, Rémy believes. “And we are a real couple”, Patrice immediately adds. Finishing each other's sentences is just one element among many others to compare your two brothers of the heart to a couple. Besides spending a lot of time together, they yell at each other when things aren't going well.

Nobody's perfect, except me

“Our goal is to put the jousters in the best possible conditions. So when we meet on the canal and one of us hasn't positioned the boat well, we yell at each other to correct the situation. We don't take it badly,”, the two strong-willed men congratulate themselves. Moreover, “you have to have it to be a good coxswain”, according to Patrice, who also notes the importance of being receptive and attentive.

Two coxswains always seeking improvement

“You have to know how to remotivate the rowers when they get tired, manage the trajectory and respond to the jousters' requests”, they list. “Everyone asks you something: 'Stay straight, take me in, take me out…'We do our best. We're not robots, so we sometimes miss a few passes,”, Patrice admits.

“The important thing is to miss as few as possible, not only for the jouster, but also for us. When I have the bar in my hand, I feel like I'm still on the floor,”, Rémy always imagines. Self-critical, the two helmsmen admit to a few small failures during the last Gold Cup tournament, but are aware of their potential.

“We can still improve, especially during the crossings, underlines Patrice, very lucid. The main thing is that we have a good tournament. And that we do even better than last year, even if we can never be perfect.” “Except me!”, Rémy concluded with panache, before bursting out laughing alongside his peer.

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