Visiting different places and meeting new people are some perks of working onboard a ship in the open sea for Anne Le Chantoux.

She’s part of the Race for Water Foundation odyssey around the world as the only technician on board the Race for Water. 

It’s been 19 months since they left France and she’s visited 12 countries, including Samoa. 

“I came to Samoa in 2011 as a tourist. I didn’t know we were going to travel here. When I saw that we were going to Samoa I said oh this is the only country that I’ve been to so far,” Anne said to the Samoa Observer. 

“There have not been so many changes since I last came, maybe just a few buildings that grew, but otherwise no. 

“First time I came to Samoa I liked it and it hasn’t changed in that way, so that’s cool. Samoan people are really nice as well.” 

Every country is different and unique in its own way, she said, making reference to their mission in promoting clean ocean and reducing plastic wastes leaking into the ocean. 

“Cuba was very interesting and we stayed for three weeks there. That was a bit of a challenge, it was a challenging stopover because the water in the harbor was just disgusting, so it was a mixture of oil and plastic contamination and other wastes,” Anne said.

“We didn’t have any fresh water available like here, you can go to the tap bring the hose to the back boat and all that, in Cuba it was completely a different kind of boat that had to come twice in a week, come next to us and then we have to fill our tanks with the water. So it was very challenging and superhot as well. 

“It’s interesting as well because the Cuban lifestyle, even if it’s a country that is quite poor, the Cubans always have the smile, they’re always joyful and happy, even if their living conditions aren’t the best.”

Anne is not only a technician; she also helps the engineers in changing the solar panels if she needs too. 

“I work with different materials. I can work with wood, I can work with carbon fibre, and I do a bit of everything really,” she said. 

“It’s a bit of a challenge, but if ever I have questions I ask the others for advice, but otherwise I think it’s a great opportunity. I get to travel the world for five years. 

“We have stopovers, we have longer stopovers for maintenance issue and this is when I take my holiday. Otherwise it’s a great job, it’s super challenging, I mean every day you have a different job to do.”

Anne is looking forward to spending her Christmas in Fiji as it is their next stop after Samoa. 

“I have two weeks off so I am going to stay in Fiji because it’s too far to travel back,” she said.