She is the first woman to participate in and complete a solo transatlantic race in the Ocean Fifty class! With a diverse background, Anne-Claire Le Berre has fulfilled a dream by skippering the trimaran for which she was selected by MerConcept to take on the role of a pioneer.
A former Olympic and match-racing sailor (competing in the 470 and Yngling classes), this 44-year-old INSA-trained engineer—who long worked in the design office for the Initiatives-Cœur team—has transitioned to a new role as an offshore racing skipper. Having previously taken part in the Transat Café L’Or alongside Elodie-Jane Mettraux, she tackled another transatlantic crossing this year—this time solo. While she had hoped to sail with the lead pack, a weather system (a thalweg) closed off her path on the third day of the race. Forced to sail within the second group, she nonetheless found the inner strength to complete this particularly demanding transatlantic crossing in an Ocean Fifty trimaran. Like Alexia Barrier, she will forever be the first woman in this category to have sailed from Saint-Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre.
Crossing the finish line at 11:36 PM (local time)—or 3:36 AM (UTC)—this Thursday, she completed the course in 10 days, 15 hours, and 34 minutes. Her race in numbers
Arrival time (in Pointe-à-Pitre): 23:36, 07
Arrival time (in Paris): 04:36, 07
Race duration: 10 days, 15 hours, 34 minutes, 7 seconds
Distance covered: 4,036 nautical miles
Average speed (great-circle route): 13.81 knots
Average speed (actual): 15.79 knots
Gap behind the class leader: 22 hours, 23 minutes, 44 seconds
Her first words on the dock
"I am very happy to have arrived in Guadeloupe; thank you for such a warm welcome—it makes me want to come back. I want to return and enjoy the race with the trade winds. The 'Rhum' [Route du Rhum] is everything: the start, the festivities, the lock gates, the intense racing—the days just flew by. We went through a whole range of emotions during this race, which was far from a 'classic' Rhum. I’m happy to have made it to the finish; it wasn’t easy. A 'door' [weather window] closed right in front of us, and it was tough to swallow seeing the rest of the group move on while I was left behind. I’m glad I managed to regain a position and nearly catch up to Luke—we had a great battle.
I’m happy to have taken on this challenge aboard these incredible boats, proving that this entire initiative to promote women in sailing—and specifically in multihull racing—is working.
We had a few scares, particularly in a large trailing weather system following the depression near the Azores, with very erratic winds, and then later, that tropical depression." We steered around the storm cells where they appeared less intense, but we could clearly see on the charts that for 24 hours, we weren’t making much progress. I had an excellent routing team—Yann Eliès and Justine Mettraux—who supported me tremendously. They worked incredibly hard; they often go unmentioned, but if I’m here, it’s also partly thanks to them.”