What a shame. No English-language webpages about Bernard. So, until
 someone comes up with something better or I get the time to work up
 something more appropriate, this will have to do.

 Bernard was a sailor. Though both of his parents were French citizens
 he was born and grew up in Vietnam in the 30's. His father managed the
 Saigon branch of an import company for his French employer and his 
 mother was a housewife and an artist. While Saigon was his hometown,
 the family travelled often throughout the country and spent their 
 summers near the sea. While they lived in colonial style, his parents
 insisted on a rather spartan lifestyle with great emphesis on physical
 prowess and a simple, healthy lifestyle. Like his brothers and sisters,
 he naturally 'went native'. He enthusiastically embraced the Vietnamese - 
 their language and their ways.

 It was from the Vietnamese that Bernard got his love for the ocean. 
 While still in school, he often used to hang around the river bank
 watching the junks and their crews. Once he even worked up the nerve
 to ask a tai cong if he could come on board for a look around. A
 little amazed at finding a French child who spoke fluent Vietnamese,
 the tai cong brought him aboard and proudly showed off his amazing
 craft. When Bernard begged him to make him a crew-member, the tai
 cong understood - he had once been a young man with the same fever. 
 Some men are born with the sea in their blood. But he gently refused 
 Bernard's request and returned him to shore. It was the failed start 
 of what was to become a lifelong obsession. He eventually did crew 
 a junk where he learned to sail with his eyes, ears and nose with 
 minimal equipment. The Vietnamese, with their thousands of years of
 experience at sailing the sea, taught him well.

 He is best known for his single-handed adventures. He was one of the
 earliest of these sea-vagabonds - a genuine Citzen of the Sea. The 
 famous French chef Jean Gau was another. Chef Gau would sail for a 
 year or two, make land and tie up his boat, announce his presence 
 and, because of his reputation, have no difficulty getting work in 
 the kitchens of famous hotels in New York City, London, Roma, etc. 
 Once he saved up enough money and got restless, he set sail again. 
 Bernard did much same though, not being a famous chef, he had to 
 settle for more humble jobs.

 Unlike the handful of people who lived this sort of life, Bernard
 was a rather articulate sea-bum and an early activist both in
 environmental causes and anti-nuclear efforts. He wrote many books 
 about his adventures. Beautiful, poetic books with an almost spiritual 
 aura about them. He loved the ocean passionately. He loved the musky 
 odor of her waters, the caress of her windy fingers, the tempetuous 
 flair of her angry moments. And he loved the solitary life. He got 
 along very well with himself. But he wasn't a hermit or a monkish-man.
 He often ran into obscure others like himself - citizens of the sea -
 in distant ports and enjoyed their company as well. And eventually he 
 married and raised a family. 

 This almost spiritual aspect of his was made him unique amongst the
 men and women who sailed single-handed. To the others it was always
 a great struggle for survival and challenge to 'conquer' the ocean 
 and her many moods. To Bernard it was more a matter of tuning in to 
 her moods and bending accordingly. While the others fought the ocean,
 he embraced her. I liked his attitude and admired his style. He was
 very different from the others.

 While these books no doubt paid a few bills, they also inspired 
 many people in many different ways. Some felt moved to emulate his
 lifestyle. Most simply gained a new appreciation for Mother Ocean
 and her creatures. While most of his 'following' was in Europe,
 he had enough admirerers in England and North American to justify 
 translating and publishing English editions of his books. 

 He died in 1993 - sadly, not at sea but rather in a hospital bed
 with cancer.

 BOOKS:
 * Sailing To the Reefs
 * Cape Horn: The Logical Route
 * The Long Way
 * Tamata and the Alliance