French sailor readies for a world-first solo

Alexia Barrier looks impossibly small at the helm of IDEC Sport-CIC, a 32m trimaran capable of tearing across the ocean at more than 40 knots (74kph). Soon, she is going to be entirely alone.

On Nov. 1, the 46-year-old French sailor is going to climb aboard the giant vessel in Saint-Malo and attempt something no woman has done before: race solo in the giant Ultim class in the Route du Rhum.

“It’s the biggest machine participating in offshore sailing around the world,” Barrier said in an interview. “Only eight of this kind are on the planet. So I’m happy, proud and privileged to be skipper of this machine.”

French skipper Alexia Barrier sails her Ultim sailboat during a training sail off Brest, France, on Oct. 1 as she prepares to become the first woman to race an Ultim multihull in the Route du Rhum transatlantic race next month.

Photo: Reuters

On a bright October morning in Brest, Barrier appears tiny on the deck of the huge red trimaran, 23m wide with a mast towering 34m above the water.

She hoisted the mainsail to the sound of the Black Eyed Peas’ “Meet Me Halfway,” rehearsing maneuvers she soon has to perform entirely alone. Even in the light breeze, the boat quickly accelerated toward 23 knots.

“The sails are huge. It’s really powerful. A sail is more than 100 kilos. I’m 55 kilos,” she said. “It goes so fast and if you make a mistake, it can be terrible because you can hurt the boat and hurt yourself. I’m super happy, but I’m more focused than ever.”

The boat has reached speeds of about 46 knots. Barrier laughs about the prospect of matching that herself.

“The record is about 46 knots, but you have to be a bit crazy to be at the helm at that speed,” she said jokingly.

FIRST ALL-FEMALE CREW

Nine months ago, Barrier was leading the first all-female crew to set a reference time for the Jules Verne Trophy, sailing non-stop around the world. Now, she trades that camaraderie for the peculiar solitude of single-handed ocean racing.

“When I came back from the Jules Verne Trophy, for me it was obvious,” she said of taking on the Route du Rhum alone. “It feels like it was in another life when I’m sailing solo. I miss my crewmates. Sometimes I catch myself looking around, searching for one of them at her usual station and she’s not there.”

Music is one companion. Barrier is still working on the playlist that would carry her through about a week alone at sea.

There is little time for distraction aboard a machine where the combination of enormous power, speed and physical demand means a small error can quickly become a serious one.

Barrier knows that this voyage is about more than a finishing position.

One of only 13 women to have completed the Vendee Globe, and now the skipper who led the all-female Jules Verne attempt, she has become used to being the first woman through doors that have traditionally been difficult to open.

“It’s part of my career. I’ve been racing for 20 years now, and it’s my life. For me, it’s a new step,” she said. “In a way, it’s cool to be the first. I can open a path for other women or little girls that are still wondering: ‘Shall I try, shall I do it.’”

ELITE OF SAILING

Breaking into Ultim racing required Barrier to find not only the experience but the money and team needed to operate at what she calls “the elite of sailing.”

Even now she can scarcely believe where that journey has taken her. Standing on the dock in Brest, Barrier recalled thinking of the challenge ahead: “I dreamed too big.”

With the Route du Rhum approaching, the dream has become very real.

Barrier, naturally, is already dreaming a little bigger.

“In my dreams, if the magic happens, reaching the podium would be amazing,” she said. “It’s also important to allow yourself to dream big.”