On January 5, Olivier Defranc, 55, landed back home in French Guiana after windsurfing across the Atlantic Ocean from Senegal, Africa in 26 days and 8 hours.
This shatters the previous record set by Christian Marty in 1982. Marty completed the same 4,100km route in 37 days and 16 hours and was the inspiration behind the challenge.
As a teenager, Defranc watched Marty’s arrival in Kourou, French Guiana, and even accompanied him on the final 12km. This ignited a lifelong passion for windsurfing and a dream to reproduce Marty’s transatlantic feat.
“I was lucky enough to accompany Christian Marty from the Îles du Salut to the Place des Roches,” he told FranceInfo. “It was a revelation for me…My passion for windsurfing was born at that moment and has never been lost.”
The journey, which began December 10, was fraught with challenges. Defranc stayed on his board for the whole journey. To sleep, he secured a tube around the board for stability and used an awning to shield himself from sea spray.
Despite this, sleep was scarce. After seven days during which he had very little rest, his support team noted, “The big problem is his recovery at night because he is very uncomfortable and he has trouble finding energy.”
Defranc’s sleeping set-up. Photo: Olivier Defranc
Safety boat
Unlike Marty, Defranc was followed by a safety crew on a catamaran for the whole crossing. Every day, they brought DeFranc food and the equipment for his sleeping set-up. They collected the gear back every morning.
Despite decades of windsurfing experience, the middle-aged Defranc found it hard going. After two weeks at sea, he commented, “At 55 years old, carrying out such an operation may have been a little pretentious. Despite good physical preparation, holding a boom 5 to 7 hours a day is difficult…My physique scares me: tendonitis, blisters, cramps, back pain, hydration problems…I hurt everywhere.”
Photo: Olivier Defranc
Sold his house to finance journey
After witnessing Marty in 1982, Defranc threw himself into windsurfing. He competed on a national level. In 1992, he tried to organize his first transatlantic crossing, but after three years, he had to give up because of a lack of sponsorship. To fund his 2024 attempt, he sold his house.
Arriving in Kourou, he was greeted by friends, former classmates, and notably, Jerome Marty, Marty’s son. Marty was a French aviator and athlete. The first person to windsurf across the Atlantic Ocean, he died tragically in 2000. He was the captain of the infamous Concorde Air France Flight 4590, which crashed shortly after take-off.
Christian Marty eats lunch on his Atlantic crossing. Photo: Philippe Lallet
Defranc hopes his crossing honors Marty’s memory. After stepping back on land, he was full of emotion.
“I realized my 40-year dream,” he said. “It’s priceless. I started windsurfing here. I finish here. Windsurfing for me is over.”
