On August 14, 2006 Anne Quemere successfully completed the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Brittany in a special boat powered only by a kite.
Anne's historic and epic crossing was noted as follows in her daily journal on her web site:
Launched in New-York (USA) on June 18th, 2006 the Oceankite, piloted solo by Anne Quéméré, crossed the “Ile de Ouessant” this day, after some 55 days of a 3450 (total) nautical mile Atlantic Ocean crossing.
At dawn, weather conditions became extremely difficult, (North-East wind with 30 knot squalls, accompanied by heavy seas and strong currents close to the “Ile de Ouessant”), increased the safety risks. The team that met Anne took the decision to tow the Oceankite because of the heavy sea-going cargo ships.
The crossing thus ended on August 13th, 2006 at 6. 45 PM at 5°50 W. latitude.
The Connétable 2006 Challenge was a true achievement in all fields: the navigator Anne Quéméré completed this solo crossing with a new sailing concept; on the physical plain: the piloting required excellent physical conditioning as well as requiring constant attention. From a technical aspect, the Connétable prototype, conceived and produced by architect Marc Ginisty showed its true capabilities. An extremely difficult weather pattern, accompanied by long periods of calm weather during these 55 days, slowed the crossing of the Connétable.
After crossing the Finish line Anne admitted that this challenge had been more difficult than the previous two, on the Southern Atlantic in 2003 and on the Northern Atlantic in 2004, where she had paddled the complete distance.
The dramatic story of Anne's complete voyage can be found on her web site. Her accomplishment is a major milestone for kite traction and a personal triumph of determination and careful planning by both Anne and her team. Congratulations Anne!
For previous entries on this story see: