133 miles on a paddle
At a time when some people are driving to the office, Erwan picked up his paddle and headed for Corsica. Leaving Porquerolles shortly after 7 a.m., he arrived at the foot of the Calvi citadel, having covered 246.8 km (133 miles) on wave power across the Mediterranean in the early evening. This feat is a historic world first. No one had ever ventured out to sea on this type of support, let alone on such a crossing, as Erwan explains:
" The challenge was enormous for this project, which was reputed to be unfeasible. The symbolism of linking two territories so far apart and separated by the sea is crazy. But failure was not an option, if only to honor the countless support received from my sponsors, friends and family. Today, the satisfaction is equal to the difficulty of the challenge. There were some incredible moments with the dolphins, the turtles, the sight of the Revelata lighthouse in the evening light on arrival, and the welcome from the locals on the water! My team and I made memories that will stay with us forever. Of course, there were also some unforgettable moments of gliding through the immensity of the open sea. But physically and mentally, it was no walk in the park. I was at the end of my rope".
A first trial run
A good week before this successful crossing, with a dream team including skippers Charles Caudrelier and Eric Peron, Erwan carried out a first test which served as a trial gallop for this great crossing:
" We even knew before we set off that the first attempt would be complicated. The weather files were fairly accurate and predicted rough conditions. We set off anyway, knowing that we'd have to turn back. By the time we reached the open sea, the seas had doubled and the wind was over 30 knots, with gusts to 40. But it allowed us to test safety procedures, refuelling."
A 2 e successful attempt
For this second attempt, Erwan pulled out all the stops:
"After our first start, we aimed for a weather window with cursors a notch below, between 20 and 35 knots. We had up to 3 m of swell. It was good, it was still manageable with the accompanying boat and the safety level was assured. As Charles (Caudrelier) was no longer available, we took on board Christopher, who is a mine clearance diver, and Julien, who fulfilled the role of onboard mediaman."
"But I was still surprised by the swell I encountered offshore. I was expecting something cleaner. This wave configuration pumped more energy into me than I expected. There was little slope, and I had trouble finding space to fly. It required a lot of concentration."
Eric followed a parabola below the orthodromy due to several factors:
"I covered more distance than planned, as we were diverted by the French navy due to an on-site exercise. Eric Peron had prepared a fine routing for us, which enabled us to follow a trajectory taking into account a multitude of parameters."
"We raced for wind and sea angles that wouldn't consume energy. We also had to anticipate a progressive west-southwest rotation.
After a beautiful site effect at Revelata, with a 35-knot wind, we finally arrived in Calvi during the day. I was pretty tired, but happy to have succeeded in this challenge that we had prepared for so long. I hope it can serve as an inspiration to other riders who want to take on similar challenges."
