Stepping out of the shadow of a famous father

Marie Tabarly, the daughter of French sailing legend Eric Tabarly, has stepped out of her famous father’s shadow and made history by crossing the finish line first in the Ocean Globe Race – a feat that eluded Eric in his three attempts to complete the 27,000-mile race.

“We did it… We won in real time… Nobody can beat us… That was always our goal,” shouted Marie Tabarly as she steered her father’s 52-year-old ketch. Pen Duick VI crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron finish line just before midnight on April 11. She had built up a huge lead of 250 miles over the former Whitbread race winner The spirit of the team in this repeat of the 50th anniversary of the Whitbread circumnavigation of the world.

Half Amazon, half pirate, Marie Tabarly displays a determined attitude on land and sea. When we first met at a dinner in Ocean Village, Southampton, before the start of the Ocean Globe Race, she was carrying a large Bowie knife on her back. No one had the audacity to suggest that this display of aggression could be in any way illegal.

When she met them again seven months later, after Marie and her mixed team had defeated their opponents, she was calmer and overjoyed about the victory.

Half Amazonian, half pirate: Marie Tabarly is determined. Photo: The Elemen’Terre Project association/PPL

Marie was 14 when her father fell from the original Pen Duicka classic Fyfe cutter which he inherited from his parents when he sailed from France to the Clyde in 1998 to take part in the annual Fyfe Regatta.

Marie’s passion at the time was horses, not boats. She became a “horse whisperer” – Marie prefers the title “horse behaviorist” – but put that career on hold after her own horse was injured and focused instead on sailing and the environment.

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“I love wooden boats and have participated in many classic yacht regattas in the Mediterranean,” says Marie, her eyes sparkling at the thought. She has also participated in Open 60s and Volvo Ocean Race boats, but she always referred to Pen Duick VI in the masculine sense. I rudely point out that we usually refer to boats in terms of the opposite sex. “Oh no… Pen Duick is definitely a ‘homme’… just look at him!” She’s right: 33 tons of bare aluminum and black paint, this 73-foot ketch-rigged Global Gladiator, designed by André Mauric specifically for Eric Tabarly’s participation in the 1973 Whitbread Race, definitely looks masculine.

Is the boat difficult to sail? “Absolutely – just look at those masts,” says Marie. “So heavy. In heavy weather it takes all ten of us to tack.”

I ask her about her father’s greatest victory with Pen Duick VI – the Observer Single-handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) in 1976, where he survived five transatlantic storms, defeated all his rivals and won. That he did this with a yacht designed for 10-12 people was an extraordinary feat of seamanship that surprised many.

Pen Duick VI can be a real challenge. Photo: Aïda Valceanu/PPL

“I’m surprised too, but this race was entirely against the wind. In a downwind race with 50 knots of wind, Pen Duick becomes a real challenge. We were sailing towards Cape Horn in these conditions when a monster wave knocked us over. I couldn’t do anything at the helm,” she remembers. Shortly afterwards, a school of dolphins jumped out of the water next to Pen Duick. “With 50 knots of wind and breaking seas – crazy!” Marie enthuses.

This reveals her other great passion – the environment. In 2018, Marie embarked on a four-year world cruise aboard the Pen Duick VI, which was titled the “Elemen’Terre Project” and became a TV documentary series focused on reconnecting humans with nature through sailing, art and outdoor sports.

During the trip, Marie was joined by famous French names, including Breton musician and composer Yann Tiersen, writer Sylvain Tesson, sailor Franck Cammas and freediver Aurore Asso, as they discussed and participated in activities to highlight the hardships and joys of nature.

Exuberant cheers as the team crosses the finish line in Cowes first. Photo: Tim Bishop / PPl

It is also significant that this journey gave Tabarly and her crew, who rotated on each stage, the practice and preparation that made them race winners.

What were the highlights? “There were so many outstanding moments. The wildlife, the nature, the dolphins at Cape Horn. I will remember the rivalry I had with Marco Trombetti’s Translated 9 and against Girloften within sight. Then there are all the buddy chats four times a day over the radio. I’ll miss that too. There were just too many great moments.’

Marie Tabarly’s career highlights

2001: Marie served as a crew member on several record-breaking voyages aboard the multihull Geronimo.
2008–2016: She took part in the Classic Yacht Series in the Mediterranean.
2018-2021: Sailed around the world with the Elemen’Terre project and raised awareness of environmental problems.
2021: Participated in the transatlantic race Transat Jacques Vabre with Louis Duc and finished 14th.
2022: Completed the Seven Star Round Britain & Ireland race at Pen Duick VI – 1st in class
2023: Fastnet race at Pen Duick VI
2024: Marie hopes to break Jules Verne’s round-the-world record as part of an all-female crew.

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