Maïa Gratiet – Laury’s sister – with her special object

“It was a cathartic experience being on a sailing boat with my family as part of Laury’s legacy. He had wanted to sail all the way to South America as his next project and I wanted to understand why. I did the crossing for Laury - I think he would be happy, proud, and pleasantly surprised that I found the courage. I study fashion and Laury had commissioned me to make a sailing jacket during lockdown, but I never got round to it. I have created one now as a tribute to him as part of my degree by using the parachute material that he gave me. I think about Laury every single day, but the pain is getting less, and the trip helped with that. I’m proud of myself that I’ve done the crossing – I feel more confident and courageous as a result. It wasn’t easy – it’s stressful, exhausting and you have to be on your guard the whole time when you’re sailing but it’s also peaceful being at sea and I have bonded more with my English family. I was in charge of changing the flags depending on what country we were in, so these are my special objects.”