"It’s in my blood. It’s not easy to explain, but the Vendée Globe is a need for me. Sometimes I look at the sea and wonder what I’m doing ashore. I simply have to get out there. I like being alone at sea, conveying the pleasure I experience in the adventure and telling a great story. That is why I really want to be at the start in Les Sables d’Olonne on 10th November.” She has said it. At the age of fifty, Anne Liardet does not hide things and says what she thinks. She has never done anything other than that, in fact. The sailor from Finistère is today actively looking for partners to be able to compete in her second solo round the world race. She has therefore decided to put on hold her attempt at sailing around the world “the wrong way” against the prevailing winds and currents. “I’ve filed that away in my brain, as it’s something I’d like to do, but I’ve decided to do the opposite of what Dee Caffari did. A round the world race in the right direction first, next winter, and then the other way after that… In fact, it would be a bit silly to go the wrong way, when everyone else was going the right way...”

The sea in her blood
Anne has done just about everything and sailed on all the oceans: the Mini Transat, two Route du Rhum races, two Transat Jacques Vabre races and the Transatlantic Race from Plymouth… She has sailed all sorts of boat, solo and very often double-handed, and occasionally with a crew. We all remember her 2004-2005 Vendée Globe (11th place), the way she made it through some tricky moments (for example when she repaired her keel housing, after an ingress of water). Above all, there was her ability to tell her story, the great adventure, the sea, the birds, the southern skies… “I can’t really explain it. I’ve got the sea in my blood and now is the time to sail away again,” she quite simply states. You need to hear her in her moments of deep thought, as she weighs up every word, and you can feel the power of her emotions. “I can remember remaining for hours watching the reflection of the sunlight on the waves at sunset and being fascinated. It was a bit like watching the flames dance hypnotically from a fire.”

In Les Sables, many people remember the moment when she finished the race after 119 days, 9 hours and 28 minutes. “I promised my kids I’d be back within 120 days and I kept my word,” she said smiling. When she crossed the finish that day after four months at sea sailing alone around the planet, her staysail halyard was stuck. She had to cut it with a knife to be able to bring her sail down. Her whole team were there a few metres away in a RIB. They could just gaze in awe instead of going to her assistance. “I watched them… They were all in tears. They had given it so much. That’s what the Vendée Globe is all about… such strong emotions to convey to others.”

So, “I’m going to give it my all to be there again for this round the world race,” promised Anne, showing her usual commitment. From a technical point of view, she knows that this time she could get her hands on a better boat, which would not lag behind in terms of performance in comparison with the more recent boats, which is what happened in her first Vendée Globe. She believes that “for a partner, they can offer themselves this fantastic race for 1.7 million euros, including the sale of the boat, which is not that much in comparison to those that set off four years ago aboard brand new boats.”

Maybe she is less aware that others are not as good at telling tales about the oceans as she is. That she is probably one of the sailors, who shows the most emotion and is therefore the most human. Anne will be taking lots of dreams with her on 10th November. But to make things perfectly clear, she explains, that “Even if I’m offering more of a story than a good place in the rankings, I am a racer and I’ll be fighting hard. I love racing too. If not, I’d simply sell my home in Daoulas and set off to cruise around the world. Racing is something that I’m passionate about – the ability to do battle with others, to hate them out on the water… and then hug them when they step ashore.”

What do Morgan, Manon and Margot, her three children think? “They have grown up now. When I told them I was going to be doing the Vendée Globe again, they were jumping around with delight and said that it was fantastic.”