Felix Dumay - A True Story.

On his first faraway trip with the French marine in 1852 he stored a small flask of precious cognac in his suitcase, with the intention to share it with those he would meet and appreciate during his expeditions. With his crew, he explored the Northern Seas, sailed Cape Hoorn, was among the first to navigate the Suez Canal in 1869, and discovered the marvelous harbours of Hong Kong and Macao. From there he purchased several handmade objects: statues, paintings and little storage boxes, all of which he brought back to the family estate in the Cognac area, and that are still there.

After a heavy storm on the way back from a trip to Hong Kong in 1854, the vice admiral of the sailing ship was swept away into the seas, but rescued by one of the young sailors on the boat. With a broken foremast and some injuries among the sailors, yet in relief and appreciation for the achieved rescue, Felix Dumay gathered the troops around his secret bottle, containing what Victor Hugo some years later called “the liquor of the gods” – some drops of finest Cognac from his family estate.

In his diaries, Felix noted :

“It was a fearsome but also strengthening experience. We didn’t know if we would make it through the gale. Baptiste, this young boy from Southern France, proved to be brave as one single man could be. Against our orders, he plunged over the railing, dove into the whitewater, and crawled across the giant waves. Within minutes, the crew managed to reverse the ship. With two of the longer ropes on the boat - and under the encouraging roar of the entire crew – my comrades and myself pulled the boy and the wounded admiral back up onto the vessel. Several hours later, when the sea got calmer, I gathered the troops in relief.

I ordered Baptiste to go down to my cabin, and to pick up the precious little object I had kept at the bottom of my suitcase. I knew of its convivial value, but had not imagined a moment as powerful to share it with my companions.“

Dumay Cognac

THE SECRET IS IN THE ROOTS

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