I'm Stéphane Le Diraison, skipper of the IMOCA Time for Ocean. What I wanted to tell you about was the sensations of my first day at sea, of my first single-handed transatlantic race.
That takes us back to 2007, when I set off from La Rochelle, a town where I'd been living for a few years, and I'd already had the opportunity to cross the Atlantic with a crew.
But this was the first time I'd ever done that big solo jump. The start was postponed, which was important for my anecdote, as when you have a race start, you have a lot of spectators and followers, but the start was on Monday at 11am, so there weren't many people to watch, especially as it was an amateur series and the conditions were just absolutely perfect. That is to say a downwind in the back, flat sea, exceptional light. And there I actually remember when I launched my bow, the bow of the boat attacking the Atlantic with the sea as my only horizon, completely exhilarated by the feeling that the sea the world belonged to me, that I was attacking the ocean alone on a small 6.50m boat. It was a very special feeling that lasted several days and I'd even like to say the six days that the first leg took me to Madeira. It was like a kind of long surf, long glides with the downwind, with the waves and not a cloud that came to grey the sky and exceptional sensations of gliding. Indeed in this completely idyllic context is perfect that it would be difficult to renew as all the parameters were so fixed, it was a feeling of euphoria and joy on board I spent my time singing, whistling, contemplating what was around me. It's a huge, beautiful memory with very, very beautiful sensations. And on that day, I wouldn't have swapped my place for anyone else.
