A year later, in 1995, I completed a Master’s degree in management in Brest. My passion for adventure and the sea sparked off the idea of rowing solo across the Atlantic, a feat never achieved by a woman before.

In 1996, I was employed in a major group as an export financial engineer in Paris, and came back to Brest every weekend. At the same time, I  tried to find sponsors, took part in weather training courses, and studied the best choices of boat, route, shipyard and team (preparer, electronics technician, weather router, doctor, etc.). 9 months later, I left my job as a financial engineer to sail across the Atlantic as a crew in order to have a greater experience of the sea.

At the end of December 1997, after having invested my savings in the purchase of my rowing boat, a sponsor placed his trust in my project for this world first. In January 1998, I resigned as Logistics Manager at 3M and set up my own company to manage and organize my adventure.

On March 10, 1998, at 24, after two years of meticulous preparation with my team, the dream finally came true: departure from the Canaries, bound for the West Indies. After 5500 km, alone on the ocean for 79 days, rowing more than 10 hours a day, I was finally nearing my goal, but the sea was becoming raging. The dream turned into a nightmare: I was shipwrecked the day before my arrival, less than 130 km from Guadeloupe. I then endured 9 long hours straddled on the hull of my sinking boat and was rescued at the very last minute.