Isabelle Autissier, a woman sailor to emulate
IN our last column, we paid tribute to Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. Today, as National Women’s Month begins, we celebrate Isabelle Autissier of France, widely regarded as the best woman ocean racer.
After earning her degree in nautical engineering in 1978, Autissier taught in fishing schools in France. In 1986, she sailed her cruising boat Parole across the Atlantic single-handedly. Back in France the following year, she decided to try racing and finished third in a solo race across the Atlantic. Two years later, she finished fourth in La Solitaire du Figaro. By then, she was hooked. She abandoned her original plan to go back to her job after trying racing “just for the experience.” She discovered that racing was “such fun.”
She spent the ‘90s competing in grueling races, encountering rough seas and high winds. She took on the BOC Challenge in 1990-91 and made her mark in maritime history, becoming the first woman to complete a solo world navigation competition. In 1994, she piloted a new yacht with a three-man crew around Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco in just 62 days, breaking the old record by two weeks.
She had accomplished her dream. “Since I was a little girl,” she said, “I wanted to sail around the world, and now I have done it. The rest of my life is extra.”
It can hardly be called an extra, but after achieving her personal goal, her next objective is to help in marine conservation efforts. Having witnessed the disturbing shifts in marine ecosystems as she sailed around the world, Isabelle transformed herself from an adventurous sailor to a passionate advocate for marine conservation. She spoke before international audiences, calling for urgent action to reverse the damage. Collaborating with global environmental organizations, she advocated sustainable fishing and responsible marine practices.
In a speech she delivered a few years ago, she shared lessons she learned from the sea. If you want to win a race, she said, or even just go somewhere by sea, you have to deal with nature. One must, therefore, learn to observe, understand, and adapt. First, “look around you, not only at your computer. Look at the changing colors of the sea and the shape of the clouds.” Next, understand what’s going on. “We have progressed from praying to gods and offering sacrifices for good winds to computerized and meteorological provisions and better instruments, but still, I must adapt my strategy to what nature offers me.” Collaboration with nature is always paramount.
In addition to public speaking, Isabelle has also discovered a love for the written word. She meticulously chronicled her travels in her books, giving her readers the vicarious thrill of conquering a storm or sailing on calm waters under a starlit sky.
In her novel “Suddenly,” she tells the story of a young couple from Paris who sets out on the adventure of a lifetime: a journey by sailboat around the tip of Cape Horn, only to end up stranded on a deserted island. Unprepared to survive in the harsh conditions on the island, the book becomes a harrowing tale of survival told by an expert in sailing and nature. It shows what we become when faced with the daunting and awesome power of the natural world and what happens to those who live through such experiences.
Isabelle Autissier’s life is an eyeopener to those who continue to believe that a life at sea is for men only. The Philippines is one of the top suppliers of the world’s 1.6 million seafarers. Sadly, women account for only 2 to 3 percent of sea-based workers deployed every year. Sadder still is the fact that 90 percent of the 3 percent are in the hotel and services sector, while less than 10 percent are officers and ratings.
IMO believes that equality for women means progress for all. One only has to look at companies with more women leaders to know they perform better because of more varied perspectives. The world’s most gender-equal countries have better economic growth. Legislative bodies with more women pass more laws on vital social issues such as health, education, anti-discrimination, and child support.
With IMO’s gender-specific fellowships and programs that facilitate access to high-level technical training and career development opportunities for women in the maritime sector, particularly in developing countries, we can reasonably hope for more Filipino women to join and make substantial contributions to the maritime world.