Sheltered by its lantern, protected by a transparent Plexiglas carrying case with no back plate so that it can breathe, the Olympic flame presides in the forecastle, at the lookout station. First placed in its cradle on the counter in the large deckhouse between two Phrygians (the Paris 2024 mascots), it then found itself at the lunch table in the mess hall among crew members enjoying a tasty hamburger and fries. And tomorrow, or one of the following days, it might be spotted somewhere in the masts. On the Belem, the flame is indeed the 65th crew member, as the captain, Aymeric Gibet, respectfully calls it.
It seems to be everywhere, the center of attention, never alone. Watched over like milk heating over a fire, or rather a fire over water, 24 hours a day, by three guards recognizable by their beige canvas pants, their navy blue T-shirts, and their socks and shoes branded "Paris 2024 Torch Relay." The seriousness of the mission seems disproportionate given the size of the flame, about which all speculate, risking prognostications to the nearest millimeter: 1.5 cm, 1.7 cm, 2 cm? It's a far cry from the flames blazing up from the torches of the relay runners, but whatever its measurements, the symbolism remains the same. Plus, one has to admit that the light of that original fire lit in Olympia, Greece, captivates the gaze.
"Our main role is to look after it," explained François Blaizot-Bonnemains, a native of Cherbourg and one of the three keepers, along with Kévin Gendarme, from Marseille, and Erwan Le Pape, from Brest. Le Pape was the first keeper of the flame, which was handed over to Tony Estanguet, the president of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OCOG), at the handover ceremony in Athens on Friday, April 26.
Same model for 30 years
When the flame was put back in the large deckhouse, where it spends most of its time, the operation was explained to crew members curious to know how this little flame manages to survive far from the hushed salons of the French Embassy in Athens, where it spent a night before embarking. "It's simple, but essential," explained the guards. "Every eight hours, we refill the lantern with about 50 milliliters of liquid kerosene. Once it's full, we close the latch on the lantern and off we go again. The wick is also changed every 15 days."
A relatively strong wind provides for a test on the aft part of the boat. The flame, still in its transport box, doesn't move one iota. Although the lanterns have not been wind-tunnel tested up to 120 km/h like the torches have, they are tougher than they look. Their design has been the same for 30 years, and each one is fitted with particle filters to reduce smoke emissions.
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