On 23 April 1994, aboard her monohull Ecureuil Poitou-Charentes II, navigator Isabelle Autissier and her crew broke the New York San Francisco crossing record by making the trip in 62 days. The images of the finish alternate with the interview of Isabelle AUTISSIER and Lionel LEMONCHOIS, one of his teammates.
Navigator Isabelle AUTISSIER talks about her attitude towards danger. When she goes to sea for a race, she thinks of the danger to the other candidates. She explains why she doesn’t mean it for her. In the toughest circumstances she thinks that the navigators have a "commando" approach. "When we consider that our life is at stake or that the life of our boat is at stake, we have absolutely no mood, we have a kind of detachment from reality... we do things with logic...". There is an upstream reflection on the possible consequences of his choices to go to sea and we have prepared for that.
A few weeks after being the first woman to complete a solo sailing round the world race in the Boc Challenge, navigator Isabelle AUTISSIER looks back on this experience. She says that being the first woman involved in such a race did not matter to her: "I happened to be the first woman to do it, it had to start one day, that’s done". It had among its sponsors the State Secretariat for Women’s Rights but did not feel particularly flag-bearer. "I did a race like any skipper would have done a race". However, she realized that in the ports of call in South Africa and South America, she received an enthusiastic welcome from women. She was touched because her participation was important to these women who often did not sail and had difficulty expressing themselves as women.
Sailor Isabelle AUTISSIER explains why she joined the WWF and then accepted the French presidency. She goes on to talk about the need to sound the alarm on the various problems (energy, waste, overexploitation of the oceans) but thinks that "if we really start we will find solutions".
Navigator Isabelle AUTISSIER finished 7th in the Boc Challenge in 1991. She is the first woman to sail solo around the world in competition. On arrival in Newport (Rhode Island, USA) she is welcomed by family and friends. She looks back on this experience and points out that women are just as able as men to participate in this type of race because reflection counts more than pure physics.
Bravo to Isabelle AUTISSIER who arrived in Les Sables d'Olonne at 1 pm after 110 days at sea, including a 4-day forced stopover in South Africa, a stopover synonymous with disqualification.
After a solo round the world race, a great performance in the Vendée Globe and an off-classification finish in Les Sables d'Olonne, Isabelle AUTISSIER has returned to the port of La Rochelle today aboard her PRB boat: Atmosphere in La Rochelle with a warm welcome with fanfare. It tells the beauty of the flight of the albatrosses on the sea. Interviewed at sea on her boat, she recalls the storm she faced during the Vendée Globe race.
This is the first time that women sailors have taken part in the Vendée Globe race: Catherine CHABAUT and Isabelle AUTISSIER confide their fears a few days before the start of the race and give their feeling about being the first women to participate in this race.
While the last two candidates in the Vendée Globe Challenge arrived on Sunday, we haven’t heard from Gerry Roufs since January 8th. Two sailors who participated in the same race express themselves on this disappearance: Isabelle AUTISSIER: at the start of the race, "when we say goodbye, we know that we may not see each other again... Gerry left because it was his story... he was in this race". Eric DUMONT: "As long as he has not arrived, he sails".
Meeting with Isabelle AUTISSIER, professor at the École maritime et aquacole de La Rochelle. She will participate in the solo transat between Concarneau and the Antilles sur Écureuil. The commentary on images of Isabelle AUTISSIER skipping her sailboat alternates with an interview.
Mood on the pontoons just before the start of the Vendée Globe Challenge. Farewell of families, emotion and Ambrassade. Last exchanges between skippers Isabelle AUTISSIER and Catherine CHABAUD "We’re going to tell each other stories of girls. Don’t go after the albatrosses before me";
The INA Galaxy 
