BOC challenge, in the wake of Isabelle Autissier

Isabelle Autissier does not like to be called a pioneer and often states that her love for sailing was her only motivation, not a desire to claim a special place as a woman. Her name first appears in the rankings in autumn 1987 when, after 11 days of racing, she is first across the finish line in the first leg of the Mini Transat in Tenerife. 

She comes in ahead of around 40 other solo sailors, including many seasoned champions at the helm of highly refined prototypes. A rigging failure just after leaving the Canaries will unfortunately prevent her from racing at full speed in the second leg to Martinique, but she does not give up and, despite everything, manages to secure third place overall, less than four hours behind Gilles Chiori and Laurent Bourgnon. Before this incredible debut, there had not been any offshore races, but there had already been a lot of boats for the fourth of the five Autissier girls, born in eastern Paris in October 1956. She first discovers the sea in the Bay of Lancieux during her holidays, with summer outings on board the family’s Vaurien, then off-season training sessions at the Vaires-sur-Marne water sports center. 

Later on, her family acquires a Corsaire, followed by a Mousquetaire then a Coquelicot (9.60m aluminum Harlé design shared with 16 co-owners…), which opens up new horizons across the English Channel. A talented and methodical student, Isabelle becomes an agronomic engineer, with a specialization in fisheries, allowing her to pursue a career connected to the sea. She spends time in Le Guilvinec and Lorient for missions with local fishing committees, then in La Rochelle, where she truly sets sail: she buys a steel Chatam hull, spends three years finishing the boat, and in 1985 embarks on an Atlantic tour via Cape Verde and Brazil with friends, except for the return crossing, which she insists on doing solo. This successful experience inspires her to head out again and race solo: this marks the start of her adventure with the Mini, which she prepares for while living on her boat Parole to manage her modest budget. 

This initial success enables her to aim higher and secure funding to take part in the 1990 BOC Challenge, a solo round-the-world race in four stages (Newport – Cape Town – Sydney – Punta del Este – Newport) launched by Robin Knox-Johnston in 1982. Held every four years, the first two solo races were dominated by Philippe Jeantot and inspired the creation of the Vendée Globe. For this event, Isabelle Autissier charters Jean-Luc Van Den Heede’s former 60-foot yacht 3615 MET, renamed Écureuil Poitou-Charentes, coming in seventh despite a dismasting that forces her to finish the second leg with a makeshift rig. She is the first woman to finish a solo round-the-world race.

Four years later, she returns to the BOC Challenge with greater ambitions, at the helm of a state-of-the-art boat that has already set the “Gold Route” record between New York and San Francisco. Designed by Jean Berret and Olivier Racoupeau, and built in 1992 by Pinta in La Rochelle, the Écureuil Poitou-Charentes 2 is one of the first yachts to test a lateral canting keel system with hydraulic cylinders. This new round-the-world voyage gets off to a dream start for Isabelle, who sails faster than her competitors, deftly navigates the Saint Helena anticyclone and reaches Cape Town, the first leg’s endpoint, five days ahead of America’s Steve Pettengill and nearly a week ahead of the defending champion Christophe Auguin. The 1994-95 BOC Challenge seems to be over: who could catch up with such a lead?

Unfortunately, the dream turns into a nightmare. Isabelle dismasts a week after leaving South Africa. Tenacious, she puts together a makeshift rig and in around 10 days reaches the Kerguelen Islands, where, with help from the Port-aux-Français scientific base team, she fits a temporary mast that should enable her to reach Sydney in time for the third leg’s start. Unfortunately, this does not happen! On December 28, around 1,000 miles south of Australia, a storm with winds of over 70 knots rolls her boat with a massive wave: the mast is shattered, the deckhouse is torn off, and the Écureuil Poitou-Charentes 2 is filled with icy water when the Australian navy rescues her from this deadly trap three days later. 

Heroic and unfortunate, Isabelle Autissier, who looked set to win this BOC, will once again be forced to retire in the 1996-1997 Vendée Globe after a rudder failure on her new 60-foot PRB when she was in a winning position…