Anne Quemere
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 (; ) 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 a few small ...
, Belle-Île,
Houat Houat (; , ) is a French island off the south coast of Brittany in the department of Morbihan. It is located, along with two other major islands, in the entrance to the Baie de Quiberon. Its "twin sister" island is Hoëdic. Administratively ...
or
Hœdic Hœdic or Hoëdic (; ) is an island off the south coast of Brittany in northwestern France. Its bigger "twin sister" island is Houat. Administratively, Hœdic is a commune in the Morbihan department. Geography Hœdic is located in the hea ...
. Her father was a sailor. She was the third among three sisters and a brother. After her high school diploma, she went to the
University of Rennes The University of Rennes (French: ''Université de Rennes'') is a public university, public research university located in Rennes, Upper Brittany, France. Originally founded in 1460, the university was split into two universities in 1970: Univers ...
and then in the 1990s she flew to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
where she settled. Residing in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, she worked in tourism, day after day traveling the North American continent, Mexico, Asia, and India. In the early 2000s, she returned to
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
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 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 Hemisphere ...
route. Starting from the island of
Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third-smallest of the archipelago's eight main islands. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. La Gome ...
in the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, she arrived in
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
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 fi ...
. In 2004, she set off from
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
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 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. Kites often have ...
, also called a traction wing or controllable kite. Alone and non-stop, she arrived on the island of
Ushant Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in t ...
(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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
aboard her prototype, called a kiteboat, from
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
to
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
. 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 had left
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and was headed for New York. During the summer of 2010, she flew to southeastern
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
and joined an expedition called "La Grande Dérive" in
Tasiilaq Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik or Angmagssalik ( Danish names: Kong Oscars Havn or simply Oscarshavn), is a town on Ammassalik Island in southeastern Greenland, within the municipality of Sermersooq. With 1,985 inhabitants as of 2020, it is th ...
, 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, they drifted on ice floes and traveled in a kayak for five weeks, completely alone. It was a mission to observe
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. In March 2011, she set off from the port of
Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, 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 ...
,
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
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 Makemo, Rangi-kemo or Te Paritua, is an inhabited atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago in French Polynesia. History Makemo is the home of legendary Polynesian hero Moeava. The first recorded European to arrive to Makemo Atoll was English pearl mer ...
, one of the largest atolls of the
Tuamotu The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to ...
in French Polynesia in May 2011 before joining
Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...
. 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 The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
by kayak and solo, but the ice blocked her way and she was forced to give up her journey. In 2015, along with Raphaël Domjan, she 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 June 2019, and magazine Bretons, June 2019.


References


External links


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