The global adventurer, Arctic explorer and boat builder moored in Hong Kong looking for his next expedition
- Pierre Sauvadet talks about discovering a passion for adventure as a child, what draws him to the Arctic and why he feels at home in his Hong Kong ‘village’
My father was an engineer and after World War II he helped at a regional level with the modernisation of telecommunications in France. My mother was a medical doctor. I was born in Thiers, Puy-de-Dome, in central France, in 1960, and have a sister who is a couple of years older.
Although my parents worked in the city, I grew up in the countryside and went to a local school. As a child, I had a passion for geography. I was also quite naughty and from the age of about 12 or 13, I started travelling by myself.
I’d jump on a train – I had to evade the ticket inspector because I didn’t have the money for a ticket – and see how far I could get. Often, I got caught at the border and the police would send me back home. I went all over Europe like this.
My other passion was drawing, and I went to l’ecole des Beaux Arts de Clermont-Ferrand. As soon as I turned 18, I got my own passport. My passion for travelling was stronger than my passion for drawing and I quit school and went to Canada. Of course, my parents weren’t too happy about that.
Pole to pole
I got a job in the north of Canada assisting a vet on a dogsled farm. I was responsible for feeding and looking after the dogs. That was my first taste of life in the north and I’ve loved it ever since.