Éric Tabarly

Éric Tabarly (July 24, 1931 in Nantes – June 14, 1998) was a notable French yachtsman.

A former officer in the French navy who is often considered the father of French yachting.

Tabarly was a record-setting distance sailor who won several notable races aboard his boats, all named Pen Duick. His achievements inspired many French sailors, including Alain Colas, Olivier de Kersauson, Gérard Petitpas, Éric Loizeau, Marc Pajot, Daniel Gilard, Titouan Lamazou, Philippe Poupon, Michel Desjoyeaux, Jean Le Cam to compete in long distance solo sailing.

He was lost at sea when struck by a gaff during heavy swell and knocked overboard from his yacht near Wales while on his way to the Fife Regatta in Scotland. His body was recovered five weeks later off the coast of Ireland by a French fishing trawler.

Tabarly was a two-time champion of the OSTAR, winning in 1964 — for which he was awarded the Légion d'honneur — and 1976. He also competed twice in the Whitbread Round the World Race, finishing second in 1973 and seventh in 1993.

Career Wins

• Transatlantic sailing record from West to East(New York-Cap Lizard), on the multihull Paul Ricard in 1980 in 10 days 5 hours 14 minutes and 20 seconds (previous record was in 1905 held by Charlie Barr on a 50 crewmen schooner)
• OSTAR (Portsmouth-Newport) : 1964 on Pen Duick II and 1976 on Pen Duick IV
• Morgan Cup : 1967 on Pen Duick III
• Round Gotland Race : 1967 (on Pen Duick III
• Channel Race : 1967 on Pen Duick III
• Fastnet Race : 1967 on Pen Duick III and 1997 on Aquitaine Innovations
• Plymouth-La Rochelle : 1967 on Pen Duick III
• Sydney-Hobart : 1967 on Pen Duick III (and second in handicap time)
• Transpac San Francisco-Tokyo (Transpacific) : 1969 on Pen Duick V (with an 11 day lead over the runner-up)
• Falmouth-Gibraltar : 1971 on Pen Duick III
• Los-Angeles-Tahiti : 1972 on Pen Duick III
• 1st leg of the Volvo Ocean Race "Le Cap-Sydney" : 1973 on Pen Duick III
• Bermuda-England : 1974 on Pen Duick VI
• Triangle Atlantique : 1975 on Pen Duick VI
• Transat en double Le Havre-Carthagène (with Yves Parlier) : 1997 on Aquitaine Innovations
• 2nd of the Transat en double Lorient-Bermuda-Lorient : 1979 (with Marc Pajot) on Paul Ricard
• 2nd of the Transat Le Point-Europe 1 Lorient-Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon-Lorient: 1987 on Côte d'or
• 3rd of the Transat en solitaire : 1984 on Paul Ricard

External links

Media related to The Pen Duick at Wikimedia Commons

• An obituary of Tabarly.
• Pen Duick
• 2008 tribute: Tabarly, a documentary film directed by Pierre Marcel, with musical soundtrack by Yann Tiersen (in French).