James Codrington stepped aboard the Belle Poule for the first time in three weeks yesterday to receive a certificate and meet with his former crew.

"I'm back home," said Mr. Codrington as he set foot on the ship.

In January, Mr. Codrington was working at Stafford Flooring and listening to the radio when he heard an ad looking for volunteers to sail with the Tall Ships.

"I thought, I'd love to go to Spain, and so I got involved," Mr. Codrington said.

A few months later, he was climbing aboard French naval academy ship the Belle Poule in Vigo, Spain to take part in the 2009 Tall Ships race.

"Honestly it was not what I expected," said Mr. Codrington. "I was on a French boat and I knew no French. I was in Spain and I knew no Spanish.

"It was all French Navy. That was the interesting part to me. It's not like the Spirit of Bermuda is a military ship."

Despite the language barrier, Mr. Codrington quickly became comfortable with his fellow crew. "Everyone was cool. I got comfortable so fast. There were a few jokers, but I just said 'I'm going to do what I've got to do. Do you drink black rum?'."

Even after becoming friendly with the rest of the ship's crew, Mr. Codrington's fears were not completely alleviated, and bad weather at the trip's onset did nothing to help.

"I expected it was going to be rough," said Mr. Codrington. "I thought it was going to be a lot worse. I really expected dark waters the entire journey, and it was rough for a few days, but then it cleared up."

The ship sailed south, past Portugal to Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

"The voyage only took nine days, and when we got there it was good fun," said Mr. Codrington. "I met a lot of cool people, I did a bit of partying, the food was excellent, even on the ship. I was impressed. I'd have loved to have done the whole race, but I had to work."

Before he left for Bermuda, the Captain of the Belle Poule, Olivier Lebosquain, offered Mr. Codrington the Sea Masters Certificate for his participation on the ship.

"I was completely surprised," said Mr. Codrington. "They were just going to give it to me on the boat, but I said, 'Hey, you're going to Bermuda. Give it to me there'."

The Belle Poule pulled into harbour Tuesday night, and yesterday Mr. Codrington returned to the ship and received his certificate.

"I'll put this on my wall in a nice cedar frame," said Mr. Codrington. "It was a good experience for us having James on board," said Capt. Lebosquain. "It's a nice mix of different cultures."

Mr. Codrington talked to his former crew, discussing beaches, bars and dive spots with them.

"Now they're on Bermuda, so I'm their goodwill ambassador," he said.

Mr. Codrington said the experience on the Belle Poule changed his outlook on life. "It opened my eyes to what really matters," he said, adding he's now interested in learning a second language.

"As soon as I got back I started to wonder, why did I come back to Bermuda? To work and pay bills? I need to get back out to sea. I've started to consider a lot of things. I've been thinking about joining the military, about travelling, what I'm doing in my spare time, what I'm doing to get ahead."

Near the end of their journey, the ship's crew put on a presentation saying where they were going next. "Some of the guys are going to work in a submarine, others are going to be divers," said Mr. Codrington. "It amazed me that you can do this. It's possible. You just have to go online and sign up."

Mr. Codrington feels that some people miss out on opportunities like the Tall Ships experience because of fear.

"I heard it and figured, why not? Others are just confined mentally," Mr. Codrington said.

"I would really recommend it. I would also recommend learning French, but I started to work out bits and pieces just from dinner, just from being there.

"You've got to try it. The boat leaving without me, that's the hard part."