Route du Rhum 1990 with Florence Arthaud
Unshakable self-confidence
his was already her fourth consecutive Route du Rhum. Florence Arthaud, who celebrated her 21st birthday just before the start of the first race in October 1978, had left behind her family home and her medical studies to cross the Atlantic for the first time with the skipper Jean Claude Parisis, returning from the Ostar.
Now aged 33, Florence Arthaud had a boat that matched her ambitions this time. “I am clearly going for the win”, she explained before passing through the locks in Saint Malo. “I know my strengths, but also my limits…”.
While the Pierre 1er had never been so ready, Florence Arthaud had some cervical vertebrae issues, resulting from a serious car accident. She even wore a neck brace. Her doctor even said that it was unreasonable for her to set out on board these incredibly challenging boats. But the rebel did not care. Florence Arthaud was for the first time one of the favorites, but a host of men, from Philippe Poupon to Laurent Bourgnon and Mike Birch, the winner of the first Route du Rhum, were determined to win.
Cut off from everything
Shortly after leaving the Channel, she took the lead, taunting her opponents on the radio with her colorful language. Sailing in difficult weather conditions, she then experienced communication issues when the electrical panel collapsed onto the chart table after pitchpoling, but she was never able to reconnect it. Almost everything was out of action. So, Florence Arthaud had to rely on Saint-Lys Radio to communicate with Louis Bodin, her route planner.
Yet, she still led the fleet past the Azores, ahead of Mike Birch. True to its reputation during this season, the North Atlantic was unforgiving. A strong storm caused by a deepening depression generated southwesterly winds of nearly 50 knots, creating very rough seas.
“Flo” the Miraculous
What no one knew at the time was that the skipper was faced with a worrying health issue. “I am completely exhausted”, she confessed a few days later during a radio check-in.
“I had to heave to and sleep before I passed out. I wondered if I would ever wake up… I was losing blood and had no strength…”
Shock waves spread through the media and the general public, as she seemed to be showing symptoms of a miscarriage. Without an autopilot due to a lack of power, without any contact with the land, without knowing her competitors’ positions, she was convinced that she had been overtaken.
Queen Florence
She held on… and regained the lead on the evening of November 14. Four days later, Olivier de Kersauson, who met up with her, informed her that she was in first place. She could not believe it.
Her arrival at Pointe-à-Pitre marina, as night was falling, was delirious. Congratulations poured in from her competitors, starting with Philippe Poupon, her long-time friend and the defending champion, who took second place ahead of Laurent Bourgnon and Mike Birch. In 14 days, 10 hours, and 8 minutes, the new heroine of the Route du Rhum set a new race record and made history.