Do you remember a few blog posts ago…. I had mentioned Trevor and I would sustain a colossal amount of curious “viewers” when we were docked at Le Caudan marina?….. Most of the time we were the entertainment and did not benefit from the onslaught of selfies. But if you know us, you know we always tried to smile, maybe chat it up if we were feeling up to it (or dressed hahaha), because we never know who you are going to meet…and low and behold….we meet our people!!
Early on at our stay at the marina, feeling especially cool having people look at Slow Flight with wide eyes, we stepped off our boat to say hi to a man, Olivier, who was “eyeing” Flo. It turns out he and his wife, Delphine, create custom shirts at a local shop in Grand Baie. Trevor, surprisingly as this is a request I would generally make, asked if they could make us some Slow Flight shirts…we love to support local business. We had a very short discussion about what was possible: 10 polo shirts, darker colors but not black, with our silly boat card logo on it, all done in about a month or so before we leave the country. We assumed they were very busy and we didn’t want to push the subject so we exchanged phone numbers and business cards to keep each other abreast on schedules…..and this was the beginning of wonderful friendship!
They had mentioned they had done some sailing, mostly in Europe on a catamaran so when Trevor and I decided to take the boat to Grand Baie, we contacted them to see if they wanted a ride….why not take strangers on our boat…it’s only 15 miles. So it was agreed that they would take the bus down to Port Louis and sail with us to Grand Baie, we would then dinghy them to shore and Voilà !
Meet Olivier Rencelot, wife Delphine Panissod, and son Florian. Their daughter, Morgane couldn’t make it on this trip. I didn’t take any photos except for this mini Polaroid…guess we were too busy having fun! 
What we didn’t expect was a remarkable vegetarian lunch: Eggplant lasagna and a fresh organic salad! Olivier said he had stayed up until almost midnight the night before making this fantastic dish…. 
Trevor can cook for just about anyone….but not vegetarian dishes (LOL)…let’s just say we were totally spoiled!
With a light 8-10 knots of breeze and we actually turned off the engine for a few hours and enjoyed lunch underway. During our sail, Florian was enjoying the views and we exchanged a few stories and just got to know each other a bit. Mind you French is widely spoken in Mauritius but most people do speak and understand English. Olivier and Delphine spoke very good English, however Google Translate made a few assists during our conversations…some things might of gotten lost in translation : )
Olivier is originally from Belgium but moved to France and met Delphine (they oddly enough went to high school together). They moved to Mauritius 2 years ago. We are not sure why they chose this particular business, must of been a cost/benefit analysis, but they sure seem committed to it and work hard to establish their name. As business owners and expats, they have to show the business is successful within 3 years (the Mauritian government has some way to measure this), otherwise they have to go back home or find another way to stay. We were told that they are required to have a certain amount of Mauritian employees….you might already sense certain issues that come along with this kind of requirement. Similar to how our land based friends/families felt about us going cruising, their family, back in Europe, thought they were “crazy” for wanting to move to Mauritius and start a business….we had this in common : )
After anchoring, we just hung out until just after dusk….time flies when you are having fun!….
These guys are animal lovers too and told us about how they now have 9 animals they have rescued and cared for. But it was dinner time for everyone…including the 4-legged ones at home. We asked them to message us when they arrived home safely and instead we got these photos below….our kind of people! ….man these guys look so happy and healthy…Thank you Olivia and Delphine for your kind hearts!
The friendship continues ….. we contacted them when we decided to sail back to Port Louis and offered them to join us once more…..And so and so they came…with another extraordinary vegetarian lunch of potato au gratin complete with homemade chocolate mousse?! Seriously…Olivier could open a restaurant his food is so good!!! Trevor and I have never felt so pampered : )
Anchor lifted, dinghy up, Olivier stood with me on the bow while we motored through the pass. 
An incredible sail to Port Louis! We were not sure if there was enough wind to fill the spinnaker but it set perfectly…engine off… 
Olivier said to me, “Do you see my kids, they do not have a screen in front of them”…. I responded…. “We are lucky you all are here otherwise Trevor would be on his iPad!”… LOL 
Delphine with her camera, Florian with a beer, and Morgane chilling out! Olivier said to us that Florian kept asking when they were going back on our boat after the first trip…..we were honored by this. 
I absolutely love this photo!!! More exchanges of stories but this time we got the whole family….the kids version and the adult version….hilarious and so much fun! 
Olivier does it again…This Au Grautin was superb…never been fed this well!
Of course don’t forget we did order polo shirt from them and this meant we got to see them one more time.
When they contacted us to deliver the Slow Flight polo shirts, we decided to make a party of it…AGAIN!!! They brought veggie patties and buns…we provided the condiments and baked lemon bars for dessert…finally we can contribute! On our last sail, I had mentioned I would love to meet their 4-legged family so on this night…..they brought one of their dogs for me to love on!
Morgane with puppy….her and I talked a lot about her school and how she is learning 3 languages, TV shows she is watching and music she loves, isn’t she just adorable?! 
Captain Olivier! Maybe they will buy a sailboat?…. 
I can’t remember her name right now. but she was such a good sport being on the boat. She was not sure about us and generally sat in “her spot”. It was so cool to have a dog on Slow Flight and we are so thankful they brought her for us to get a puppy fix…a chore for them I am sure!
Bellies full, more hilarious stories and strange laws in Mauritius exchanged. For example, the government has a schedule to turn on/off the towns water pumps in the early morning and early evening…but what if you are not home at these times? No water for you! Unless you have a water tank at your home, you might not get water. OR…the law that if you smoke in your car, it is only legal to do so when only YOU are in the car. If there are 2 people, it is illegal to smoke. We talked about future plans for them and us and where we all would be in 5 years or so…. but soon, it was time for them to pack up. However, we noticed they kept dodging our statement about paying for the polo shirts they just gave us and wouldn’t tell us how much we owed them…..
They are just as stubborn as we are!
Olivier is a sneaky guy…we offered to pay for the polo shirts multiple times, you know me….have to keep things fair, but when we handed him cash he refused and he actually HID the money so I couldn’t find it in time before they got into their car….sound familiar to anyone?!
I was beat at my own game! Olivier I will get you back somehow….I don’t know how but I will find a way ; )
Short recap of Mauritius’s “miracle economy”
Since Mauritius gained their independence in 1968, sugar cane was the primary economy and I read somewhere that about 90% of the cultivated lands here are sugar cane fields. This certainly stands true to the amount of sugar fields we saw while on our 3 day road trip (a few blog posts ago). In 1975, the EU granted a sugar quota to island nations like Fiji, Jamaica, but none received as large a quota than what was given to Mauritius. This enabled Mauritius to sell sugar at 2 or 3 times the world price. This allowed for profits to be accumulated and when laws changed in the 1980’s, investments were made in textiles and tourism.
The textile industry helped move Mauritius from an agricultural to industrial economy and saw substantial growth in the 1990’s as Mauritius benefited from free trade agreements with the EU and US for exports to be traded duty free. Mauritius is now seen as a re-export hub, where goods are treated or re-packaged before being shipped to the US or EU. Diamonds and vanilla is an example of goods that come from Africa/Madagascar to Mauritius for final “processing” then shipped elsewhere.
More recently, Mauritius’s economy has moved into financial services largely due to a treaty between Indian and Mauritius that exempts Mauritius firms to pay capital gains tax…do you smell tax haven?
From sugar cane to textile/tourism, to tax haven…all this transformation has happened in a single generation…that is impressive!
Le Dodo Masque
We sincerely hope their business continues to see success and they are able to accomplish what they started here in Mauritius. We are ever so grateful for all the time and energy they spent to prepare such amazing meals, produce Slow Flight shirts, and share their family with us. Merci beaucoup Olivier, Delphine, Florian, and Morgane for the incredibly generous gift of our Slow Flight polo shirt…we absolutely love them! Best of luck for you and your family…we are keen to keep in touch and see what new adventures you will embark on. Our time with you will live in our memories accompanied by many laughs and smiles! : )
We got the feeling Olivier and Delphine run a small shop that employees about a handful to a dozen workers. We do know they work with other suppliers and we believe their main customer base are local companies uniforms or events. 
Their shop is located in Grand Baie on the main drag…check them out!
Next up: MU Sails…another fantastic boat repair in Mauritius.