At the port of Beaulieu-sur-Mer at 11 o’clock this Friday morning, many gathered to welcome Nathan Mesiano, alone on his boat since September 3rd. The 19-year-old young man, amputated of his right arm following a suicide attempt, sees his dream of participating in the Mini Transat 2027 close to becoming reality.
Some life paths forge respect and admiration. The story of young Nathan Mesiano, 19 years old, is one of them. A story that was close to ending a few years ago and that continues, today, to write itself in the most beautiful way.
Passionate about boats since his earliest age, Nathan lived a childhood at the rhythm of wind and sails, until the turning point of his life, in 2022. That year, at 15 years old, Nathan comes close to death. He attempts suicide by letting himself be hit by a train and loses his right arm as a result of the impact.
Very quickly, this accident becomes a catalyst, and the young man from Beaulieu decides to live his dream to the fullest, that of participating in the world’s greatest yacht racing competitions: « the fact of coming so close to death allows you to realize how precious life is. What helped me get back up are my loved ones, and the passion I have for sailing. »
First objective of his dream, to participate in the Mini Transat 2027 next September. A solo race of around forty days across the Atlantic Ocean, connecting La Rochelle to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil.
To achieve this, the young man from the Azure Coast had to validate several qualifying races to attest to his abilities. The emotion was therefore palpable this Friday morning just minutes before his return, at the port of Beaulieu-sur-Mer.
After 15 days spent alone on the Mediterranean Sea, on his boat Eos, the young man’s loved ones did not hide their impatience at the thought of hugging him.
Nathan Mesiano: « Sometimes, I wanted to stop everything »
Barely a first foot on solid ground, and Nathan is already assailed with hugs. His mother, his little brother, his uncles, his aunts, his grandparents, all rushed one by one onto the dock, as close as possible to the sailboat, to hug their hero. « It feels weird to see so many people when you’ve just spent 15 days alone », exclaimed the young man from the Azure Coast, smiling.
After the emotion of reunion, it was time for Nathan to tell his adventures, and life alone on a 6.50 meter sailboat is far from easy: « the hardest part for me was the lack of sleep. You don’t sleep more than 20-30 minutes at a time, to always be operational on the boat. I had to sleep 10 hours during the last five days. »
And sometimes, in addition to lack of sleep and solitude, climatic conditions also come to harden the crossings: « sometimes the wind was very irregular, and just by sleeping 20 minutes, the boat had completely turned. I found myself with the sails in the water, then upside down, my nerves were really put to the test, I wanted to stop everything. I broke down several times during this race, at one point at 3 o’clock in the morning I had lots of sail problems. I collapsed in the boat and cried for an hour. »
But very quickly, passion takes over. Sophie, Nathan’s mother, also recounts these more difficult moments experienced by her son: « when I told him to go for it and realize his dreams, I was far from realizing what it meant. The other day he called me at 6 o’clock in the morning to tell me how difficult it was, and that he wanted to stop everything. We talked, and then very quickly after a quarter of an hour he told me he was in his element and that despite the trials he was living his dream. »
Photo: DR – @Marc Lapolla
Unwavering support
Around him during his story, applause breaks out in bursts. A silence that says a lot about the depth of the moment. Without flinching, Nathan Mesiano alternates between adventure stories and deep gratitude for his loved ones, without whom he would not be here today.
His boat, Eos, he owes to a crowdfunding campaign launched online to raise funds, and to Benjamin Mondou, president of Century 21 Lafarge Transactions and Nathan Mesiano’s patron.
It all started with a video posted by Nathan on social media in which he explained his journey, his dream of participating in the Mini Transat 2027, and his desire to find financial support. Benjamin Mondou, moved by his story, then proposes to the young man to meet him: « this boy is sunny, I immediately told him I would help him, without even really knowing how I would go about it. I called my sports buddies, my artist friends, and together we organized an auction. We raised over 20,000 euros in November 2025, and that allowed us to fund part of the boat. »
Today the relationship between the two men is particularly touching. Without filter, the young skipper wanted to thank profusely the one without whom this adventure would probably never have seen the light of day: « Benjamin is an extraordinarily human person, he was the first to believe in my project. I thought it was too good to be true, and my mother did too, and ultimately he has kept all his promises from the start. Before each race departure he checks up on me, I get a call, a message. Thanks also to his family, to his children. Just to mention, I even went fishing with them before leaving for my qualifier and it was great. »
Same feeling on the other side, for the patron, who now considers Nathan as « a son »: « Nathan is fantastic, he never complains about his disability, he doesn’t even talk about it. For him it was obvious to compete alongside able-bodied people. He has strength, determination, commitment, he has a lot of lessons to teach us, and I often use him as an example. With Nathan, life is beautiful, and it’s fabulous. »
Photo: DR – @Marc Lapolla
Heading for Mini Transat 2027
Nathan experienced emotions right through his speech. After discussing his race adventures, the young man turned to the future, evoking the costs to participate in the Mini Transat 2027, related to boat repairs, equipment transport, etc…
As he explained he was opening a new crowdfunding campaign, the young skipper was interrupted by Stéphane Cherki, mayor of Eze, who committed to helping him financially: « I take the liberty of interrupting you for three minutes to tell you that the 15,000 euros, I’m giving them to you. »
Photo: DR – @Marc Lapolla
This was followed by another round of applause, and quite a few misty eyes seeing the boy’s joy at the announcement of the news. Another moment tinged with emotion that proves how much sport can be unifying.
Now that he has met all the sporting criteria, and probably financial ones too, Nathan Mesiano must wait until January 2027 to obtain validation of his participation in the Mini Transat 2027.
In the meantime, sleep, nutrition, knowledge of his boat, Nathan is determined to leave nothing to chance to make his dream come true, and he advises each of us to do the same: « go for it, realize your dreams. You are neither too young, nor too old, nor too disabled to do what makes you happy in life, you are just you, and that’s enough to realize your dreams, so go for it. »
NicePremium is a free, independent local news outlet.
Help us keep going by supporting our work from €5 per month.
