Эрик Табарли: Француз теңізшісі және яхтшының өмірі мен жетістіктері

French Navy officer and yachtsman

Éric Marcel Guy Tabarly (24 July 1931 – 13 June 1998) was a French Navy officer and yachtsman. He developed a passion for offshore racing very early on and won several ocean races such as the Ostar in 1964 and 1976, ending English domination in this specialty. Several of his wins broke long standing records. He owed his successes to his exceptional mastery of sailing and of each one of his boats, to both physical and mental stamina and, in some cases, to technological improvements built into his boats. Through his victories, Tabarly inspired an entire generation of ocean racers and contributed to the development of nautical activities in France. Although very attached to the boat given to him early on by his parents — the Pen Duick — he played a pioneering role in successive innovations in naval architecture, including the development of the multihull via the design of his trimaran, Pen Duick IV (1968). His was one of the first offshore racing multihulls and confirmed the supremacy of this type of boat relative to monohulls. Many of the boats that embodied his innovations carried the name of Pen Duick.

Éric Tabarly discovered sailing at the age of three aboard Annie, the family boat. In 1938, his father Guy Tabarly purchased the gaff rigged cutter Pen Duick, built in 1898 and designed by William Fife. The previous owners had renamed it Pen Duick, which means coal tit in Breton. Tabarly enlisted in the Navy as a volunteer in 1953 and joined the French Aéronavale. He served at Saint Mandrier airbase before transferring to French airbases in Morocco. This achievement earned Tabarly instant fame and the rank of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. In 1968, Tabarly raced Single Handed Trans Atlantic Race again, on Pen Duick IV, a brand new trimaran that was competitive in all wind conditions. The new Pen Duick was damaged by Hurricane Brenda on 11 June, and never finished the race. In 1969, Tabarly shadowed the Transpacific Yacht Race (from Los Angeles to Hawaii) on Pen Duick IV. He had originally intended to enter the race but was unaware that multihulls were not invited. Having started with all other participants, Tabarly and his crew set an unofficial record of 8 days and 13 hours, almost a day ahead of official winner and record setter Blackfin. Tabarly returned to naval service in February 1971 and appointed to the Technical Inspection for Physical Education and Sports. This 16.50 meter aluminum trimaran displacing 7 tonnes is characterized by its unique, streamlined connecting arm which rests on two small floats, themselves fitted with foils (submerged streamlined carrier surfaces). Tabarly then sailed the Paul Ricard and beat the record for crossing the North Atlantic, held since 1905 by Charlie Barr's fully manned schooner Atlantic, thereby launching a race for crossing records by multihulls. In June 1980, Tabarly joined the Académie de Marine. While in transit in the Irish Sea, during the night of 12 to 13 June, a spar threw Tabarly overboard and he drowned.