Anne Quemere
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Breton by birth, blood and heart I have grew up along the Atlantic coast, feet in the sea water, head in the spray guided by a father experienced sailor.
My baccalaureate in hand, I join the University of Rennes and realizes very quickly that the dreary and dull life Amphitheaters are not watertight not my thirst for discovery and gradually stifles my dreams of adventure. Determined to get off the beaten track, I flew to North America and settled there for about ten years, working as a tour guide and traveling across the country.
But I miss the sea… And navigation much more. In 2000, I returned to the country and found myself aboard a skiff, an oar in each hand, at the Brest maritime festivals. The click occurs, that's where my place is. One thing leading to another, a desire a little stronger than the others, a will more powerful than reason, and here I am on board in committed navigations and for some, totally innovative and experimental.
2002 and 2004 were thus two years punctuated by two transatlantic rowing races, solo and without assistance. One by the trade winds route (Canaries - West Indies) the other by the North route (United States - France). They both open the door to other horizons for me. The adventure virus is inoculated, it will never leave me.
During the summer of 2006 , I set out again on the North Atlantic, but this time, aboard a small prototype called " kiteboat only powered by a traction wing. I thus achieved a world first in 55 days, a first that I repeated in 2011 on the Pacific Ocean, between Peru and French Polynesia, still alone.
During the summer of 2010 , invited to join an expedition to Greenland called "The Great Drift", I do not hesitate for a second. Along with the Robinsons des Glaces team, I am confronted for the first time with this world of ice cream which has always fascinated me. Universe demanding if necessary and yet so captivating, I make myself then the promise to come back one day.
It was during the summers of 2014 and 2015 that I reconnected with the Arctic world when I set off from Tuktoyaktuk, a small hamlet located in the Northwest Territories in Canada, aboard a kayak with the aim of cross the legendary Northwest Passage. On two occasions, bad weather conditions forced me to turn back, but in no way dampened my enthusiasm.
In June 2018, the expedition " Arctic Solar by Icade” allows me to sail alone through this legendary passage. HAS aboard an innovative prototype powered solely by solar energy. For over four weeks, I walk in the heart of a complex and risky labyrinth that even keeps me prisoner. That summer, the Northwest Passage was blocked by ice and remains closed to all navigation. But the experience is not in vain, since this solar navigation allowed me to navigate more than 800 kilometers at a speed of 4 to 6 knots (about 10 km/h).
My "professional" choices are above all a philosophy of life that offers me a real confrontation with reality. In a world that suffocates a little more every day, they have become a vital necessity for me.
Surrounded by a team of enthusiasts, we think together, prepare and organize meticulously each of my expeditions. Back on land, I take advantage of festivals, conferences or seminars to share my experiences and lessons and discuss issues of concern such as the preservation of the seas and oceans.
While dreaming of new devices, I follow my intuitions and let that little inner voice speak that too often we silence. Thus, patiently, the story is woven...
Bibliography:
Atlantic, 87 days rowing alone (2005 - Éditions le Télégramme)
Participation in the collection Coup de Folie en Mer (Hugo Verlomme2010 – Arthaud)
Passenger of the Arctic (2016 – Locus Solus Editions)
Product in Brittany Award 2016, René Caillié Award 2017, Thomas Allix Award from the Society of French Explorers 2017The Man Who Speaks Right (2018 – Éditions Arthaud)
Catch the clouds (2019 - Editions Locus Solus)