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Anne Quemere (born May 19, 1966) is a French sailor and sportswoman.


Biography

From an early age, she found herself close to the sea on which she sails, as a family living in the Glénan archipelago, on the islands of
Groix Groix (; br, Enez Groe) is an island and a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France. Groix lies a few kilometres off the coast of Lorient. Several ferries a day run from Lorient to Groix. There are ...
, Belle-Île, Houat or Hœdic. Her father was a sailor. She was the third among three sisters and a brother.) After her high school diploma, she went to the Fac de Rennes and then in the 90s she flew to the United States where she settled. Residing in New Orleans ( Louisiana), Vermont and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...
, she works in tourism, day after day traveling the North American continent, Mexico, Asia and India. In the early 2000s, she returned to
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...
and began new activities.


Ocean crossings


2002-2004: Atlantic and solo records

In 2002, after two years of meticulous preparation, she rowed across the Atlantic following the
easterlies The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...
route. Starting from the island of
Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third smallest of the eight main islands of this archipelago. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tene ...
in the Canary Islands, she arrived in Guadeloupe 56 days later, thus establishing the new female record held until then by the American
Tori Murden Victoria Murden McClure (born March 6, 1963) is an athlete, adventurer, chaplain, lawyer, and university administrator who was the first woman and the first American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1999. She was also the fir ...
. In 2004, she set off from
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
in the United States, rowing and solo, to reach the French coast, which she set foot on 86 days later, having covered some 6,450 km. This trip was for her, the opportunity to claim a new female record.


2006: the North Atlantic by kite

In June 2006, she left New York aboard a small prototype 6 meters long towed by a
kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...
, also called a traction wing or controllable kite. Alone and non-stop, she arrived on the island of Ushant (Brittany coast) at the end of her trip, 55 days later. This crossing was a world first.


2008-2011: Pacific and mission in Greenland

In November 2008, she tried to cross the Pacific aboard her prototype, called a kiteboat, from San Francisco to Tahiti. This time things were not so easy. "I was stuck for 4 weeks at sea. Communications were cut. Later a cargo vessel rescued me." She was rescued safe and sound by a cargo ship that left China and was headed for New York. During the summer of 2010, she flew to southeastern Greenland and joined an expedition called "La Grande Dérive" in Tasiilaq, whose mission is scientific and the objective is raising public awareness of the fragility of the ice floe. In the company of Emmanuel Hussenet, Luc Dénoyer and Gauthier Mesnil-Blanc, she drifted on ice floes and traveled in a kayak for 6 weeks, completely alone. In March 2011, she set off from the port of
Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Cal ...
( Peru) for a solo crossing of the Pacific aboard her kiteboat Adrien whose only driving force was a traction wing. Despite some technical problems and a radio silence of two months (following a failure of her satellite phone) she completed her journey of approximately 7,000 km in 78 days. She landed on the island of Makemo, one of the largest atolls of the Tuamotu in French Polynesia in May 2011 before joining Papeete. This Pacific crossing was a world first.


2014-2018: Northwest Passage

In June 2014, she returned to the Arctic and attempted to cross the Northwest Passage by kayak and solo. But the ice blocked her way and she was forced to give up her journey. In 2015, she, along with Raphaël Domjan, attempted to make the first crossing of the Northwest Passage in a solar powered kayak. Unfortunately, the weather conditions were unfavorable and they had to turn back after 300 km. The expedition nevertheless constitutes the first solar polar navigation in history. A book recounting these two journeys came out on March 11, 2016 (Passagère de l'Arctique, ed. Locus Solus). During the summer of 2018, she tried the Northwest Passage again, aboard a solar boat, this time with better weather conditions. She had to give up before it could be completed, but drew from the experience a documentary of the same name as her previous book.Anne Quéméré : “C’est en Arctique que j’ai réalisé l’importance de conserver son identité”
20minutes, 7 juin 2019, et magazine Bretons, juin 2019.


References


External links


official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quemere, Anne French explorers Sportspeople from Quimper 1966 births Living people French female sailors (sport) 20th-century French women 21st-century French women