"I like the life of adventures". Florence ARTHAUD settled for a time on the shores of the Mediterranean. She describes her life choices compatible with her desires for freedom and madness, adventures and hazards. To fight against the monotony of everyday life, she escapes by going "at the end of the night" or by taking the sea. When she is not sailing, she is a free mother and woman, living her excesses without worrying about gossip and criticism. She considers herself happy, people are rather benevolent towards her.
Florence ARTHAUD has just finished first of the Route du Rhum. The first woman to win this race, she also broke the record for the crossing. Live from Pointe à Pitre, she admits not yet to realize her feat, to have won a mythical race for all the sailors. She says she has accumulated failures, she finished the race without electronic devices. She blocked 20 hours a day without help, looking at the stars at night. "I won the old-fashioned way."
Florence ARTHAUD admits that, like all sailors, she is superstitious at sea. Faced with the elements and hazards of a solo crossing, respecting the tradition of the navy has a reassuring side.
With her new trimaran the "Pierre 1er", Florence Arthaud is preparing for the race of the English Transat. This event is usually contested in difficult conditions, but the skipper says she likes bad weather. She explains that the bad weather conditions suit her and that they may be the fact that her boat is less ready than those of her competitors. "I need some difficulty to realize myself".
Florence ARTHAUD will be the first woman in the world to cross a trimaran in the Route du Rhum in 1982. She started the preparations. She explains at first, why it is difficult for a woman skipper to embark with a male crew for races off several months, especially because of the living conditions on board and promiscuity. To the question of the journalist who asks him if "she does not fear to run out of biceps" to sail with a large boat of 18 meters, she answers him: "the physical efforts do not scare me too much". If the sailing career is unstable and leaves little room for a family life, it is full of passion.
Arriving in 11th position of the solo transatlantic race "La route du Rhum", Florence Arthaud recounts her moments of depression or low morale during her crossing, but always with only one idea in mind: "Go for it, whatever the mood or fatigue".
Florence ARTHAUD celebrates her 21st birthday on her boat in Saint-Malo. She is about to start the first edition of the Route du rhum. She describes her motivation and expectations.