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.”