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She Rode the Waves, and Broke Barriers She Rode the Waves, and Broke Barriers
(about 14 hours later)
Boston — After all the risks she took at sea, Florence Arthaud died on Monday in an accident far from any ocean: a collision between two helicopters in Argentina that also killed nine others, including the French Olympic swimming champion Camille Muffat. After all the risks she took at sea, Florence Arthaud died on Monday in an accident far from any ocean: a collision between two helicopters in Argentina that also killed nine others, including the French Olympic swimming champion Camille Muffat.
They were filming a new French reality show titled “Dropped” for the leading French network TF1 in which small teams of celebrities were to be transported by helicopters into an isolated area without food or maps and asked to return to home base without assistance.They were filming a new French reality show titled “Dropped” for the leading French network TF1 in which small teams of celebrities were to be transported by helicopters into an isolated area without food or maps and asked to return to home base without assistance.
But what was supposed to be a vehicle for entertainment turned instead into tragedy.But what was supposed to be a vehicle for entertainment turned instead into tragedy.
Arthaud, who died at the age of 57, was once the most popular sports figure in France: quite an achievement for a diminutive female sailor in a country with no shortage of soccer, rugby, basketball and tennis stars.Arthaud, who died at the age of 57, was once the most popular sports figure in France: quite an achievement for a diminutive female sailor in a country with no shortage of soccer, rugby, basketball and tennis stars.
But competitive sailing, particularly solo sailing, has long tapped into something deeply embedded in the French psyche.But competitive sailing, particularly solo sailing, has long tapped into something deeply embedded in the French psyche.
“I think the French like solitary heroes: adventurers, travelers,” another French female sailor, Isabelle Autissier, once said. “It’s quite a part of our culture with colonialism, the exploration of America and all the rest. I think our culture is more oriented toward the individual exploit, while the Anglo-Saxons have a culture that’s more oriented toward collective accomplishment. We seem to have trouble getting organized as a group.”“I think the French like solitary heroes: adventurers, travelers,” another French female sailor, Isabelle Autissier, once said. “It’s quite a part of our culture with colonialism, the exploration of America and all the rest. I think our culture is more oriented toward the individual exploit, while the Anglo-Saxons have a culture that’s more oriented toward collective accomplishment. We seem to have trouble getting organized as a group.”
In 1990, when Arthaud became the first woman to win the single-handed trans-Atlantic race, the Route du Rhum, she triumphed not only over nature but also over the preconception that only men were equipped to handle the rigors of such an event.In 1990, when Arthaud became the first woman to win the single-handed trans-Atlantic race, the Route du Rhum, she triumphed not only over nature but also over the preconception that only men were equipped to handle the rigors of such an event.
She was nicknamed La Petite Fiancée de l’Atlantique (the little fiancée of the Atlantic) and became a star and a symbol: a magnet for both the paparazzi and for pop philosophers who wanted to analyze her social significance at length.She was nicknamed La Petite Fiancée de l’Atlantique (the little fiancée of the Atlantic) and became a star and a symbol: a magnet for both the paparazzi and for pop philosophers who wanted to analyze her social significance at length.
Her family, which had founded the publishing house Arthaud, had deep literary roots, after all, and it seemed fitting that the publishing house, run by her father, Jacques, was drawn to grand tales of adventure.Her family, which had founded the publishing house Arthaud, had deep literary roots, after all, and it seemed fitting that the publishing house, run by her father, Jacques, was drawn to grand tales of adventure.
But Florence Arthaud, the family’s most prominent adventurer, struggled to convert her victory in the Route du Rhum into more sailing success. Economic setbacks in France in the early 1990s made it difficult to find sponsors. So, over time, did her tempestuous character.But Florence Arthaud, the family’s most prominent adventurer, struggled to convert her victory in the Route du Rhum into more sailing success. Economic setbacks in France in the early 1990s made it difficult to find sponsors. So, over time, did her tempestuous character.
“Florence was someone extraordinary on the water but uncontrollable on land, and that worked against her,” Autissier told Le Monde. “She ate. She drank. She smoked at a moment when the byword was ‘no limit.’ That was without a doubt not to the taste of the sponsors. Look at today’s sailors. They are more settled, more polished, more good boys.”“Florence was someone extraordinary on the water but uncontrollable on land, and that worked against her,” Autissier told Le Monde. “She ate. She drank. She smoked at a moment when the byword was ‘no limit.’ That was without a doubt not to the taste of the sponsors. Look at today’s sailors. They are more settled, more polished, more good boys.”
The birth of her daughter, Marie, in 1993 kept her closer to home. But sailing in France also grew more competitive: both on the water and in the boardrooms where financial backing for sailing campaigns was secured.The birth of her daughter, Marie, in 1993 kept her closer to home. But sailing in France also grew more competitive: both on the water and in the boardrooms where financial backing for sailing campaigns was secured.
Arthaud became increasingly a peripheral figure in the sport and was unable to secure funding for another Route du Rhum, not even in 2010, which was the 20th anniversary of her victory. Nor did she take part in what has become France’s premier solo sailing event: the Vendée Globe, a quadrennial race around the world.Arthaud became increasingly a peripheral figure in the sport and was unable to secure funding for another Route du Rhum, not even in 2010, which was the 20th anniversary of her victory. Nor did she take part in what has become France’s premier solo sailing event: the Vendée Globe, a quadrennial race around the world.
But Arthaud’s influence on other sailors, particularly other women, was clear, and Frenchwomen of her own generation, like Autissier and Catherine Chabaud, and next-generation stars, like the British prodigy Ellen MacArthur soon followed her lead.But Arthaud’s influence on other sailors, particularly other women, was clear, and Frenchwomen of her own generation, like Autissier and Catherine Chabaud, and next-generation stars, like the British prodigy Ellen MacArthur soon followed her lead.
“She was passionate about the ocean and nature, and it was not something that was meant make her look good as it is for plenty of protectors of the environment,” said Olivier de Kersauson, the prominent French off-shore racer who was one of her friends and mentors, in comments to Le Figaro on Tuesday. “She always made me laugh. She was funny and open and she regularly rose up from the ashes, always trying to restart her projects. She was a magnificent and incredible person.”“She was passionate about the ocean and nature, and it was not something that was meant make her look good as it is for plenty of protectors of the environment,” said Olivier de Kersauson, the prominent French off-shore racer who was one of her friends and mentors, in comments to Le Figaro on Tuesday. “She always made me laugh. She was funny and open and she regularly rose up from the ashes, always trying to restart her projects. She was a magnificent and incredible person.”
Arthaud was sailing by the age of 6 and was involved in a serious car accident at the age of 17 that initially left her in a coma and forced her to be hospitalized for several months. When she recovered, her appetite for sailing was even stronger and in 1978, at the age of 21, she took part in the inaugural edition of the Route du Rhum. The youngest competitor and the only woman in the fleet, she finished 11th and returned to compete in the race in 1982 and 1986.Arthaud was sailing by the age of 6 and was involved in a serious car accident at the age of 17 that initially left her in a coma and forced her to be hospitalized for several months. When she recovered, her appetite for sailing was even stronger and in 1978, at the age of 21, she took part in the inaugural edition of the Route du Rhum. The youngest competitor and the only woman in the fleet, she finished 11th and returned to compete in the race in 1982 and 1986.
During the 1986 event, she changed course to respond to the distress single of competitor Loïc Caradec and arrived to find his catamaran Royal II had capsized. There was no trace of Caradec, dead at age 38.During the 1986 event, she changed course to respond to the distress single of competitor Loïc Caradec and arrived to find his catamaran Royal II had capsized. There was no trace of Caradec, dead at age 38.
But that tragedy did not dissuade Arthaud from pursuing her own career and persuading the French real estate developer Christian Garrel to finance a state-of-the-art trimaran, the Pierre 1er.But that tragedy did not dissuade Arthaud from pursuing her own career and persuading the French real estate developer Christian Garrel to finance a state-of-the-art trimaran, the Pierre 1er.
In August of 1990, she broke the existing record for a single-handed Atlantic crossing, completing the journey in just under 10 days. In November, she won the Rhum, crossing the finish line after 14 days and just over 10 hours despite back problems and other health concerns.In August of 1990, she broke the existing record for a single-handed Atlantic crossing, completing the journey in just under 10 days. In November, she won the Rhum, crossing the finish line after 14 days and just over 10 hours despite back problems and other health concerns.
“Calm down!” she shouted at the scrum of reporters and photographers who were jostling to get close to her as she arrived on the dock in Guadeloupe.“Calm down!” she shouted at the scrum of reporters and photographers who were jostling to get close to her as she arrived on the dock in Guadeloupe.
“I really don’t think the world of sailors is a macho world,” she said. “I think it’s a world where people respect each other for their talents.”“I really don’t think the world of sailors is a macho world,” she said. “I think it’s a world where people respect each other for their talents.”
But her greatest escape at sea would come more than 20 years later in October 2011 when she slipped and fell off her 10-meter yacht Argade II near midnight while sailing alone in the Mediterranean off Corsica.But her greatest escape at sea would come more than 20 years later in October 2011 when she slipped and fell off her 10-meter yacht Argade II near midnight while sailing alone in the Mediterranean off Corsica.
The yacht, with her cat aboard, continued on autopilot without her as she remained behind in the water without a life jacket. She did have a cellphone and a headlamp and was able to type in her pin number and telephone her mother on land for assistance. She was rescued more than two hours after her distress call with the help of a helicopter whose crew was able to locate her by her telephone’s signal.The yacht, with her cat aboard, continued on autopilot without her as she remained behind in the water without a life jacket. She did have a cellphone and a headlamp and was able to type in her pin number and telephone her mother on land for assistance. She was rescued more than two hours after her distress call with the help of a helicopter whose crew was able to locate her by her telephone’s signal.
“I was not at all sure I was going to make it,” she told Le Figaro. “I’m a survivor. The devil didn’t want me.”“I was not at all sure I was going to make it,” she told Le Figaro. “I’m a survivor. The devil didn’t want me.”
Less than four years later, a helicopter ride in Argentina put an end to her life instead of saving it.Less than four years later, a helicopter ride in Argentina put an end to her life instead of saving it.