Éric Marcel Guy Tabarly (24 July 1931 – 13 June 1998) was a French naval 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-riggedcutterPen Duick, built in 1898 and designed by William Fife. The previous owners had renamed it Pen Duick, which means coal tit in Breton.[1]
Tabarly's cutter, the Pen Duick, purchased by his parents and later given to him
In August 1956, Tabarly started refitting Pen Duick in his spare time.[1] She was in a state of disrepair since the Second World War, during which she had been decommissioned for fear of being requisitioned, and her wooden hull had rotted. Tabarly endeavoured to rebuild her using polyester resin. The conversion was completed, and Pen Duick was launched in April 1958.[1]
In 1958, Tabarly entered the École Navale; he was promoted to Aspirant the next year, and Enseigne de Vaisseau de deuxieme Classe in 1959.[2] On 16 November 1960, Tabarly embarked on the school cruiser Jeanne d'Arc, for the ritual circumnavigation that is part of the practical teaching at the École Navale.[1]Jeanne d'Arc returned to Brest on 8 June 1961 and the same month,[1] Tabarly was appointed to the MinesweeperCastor with the rank of Enseigne de Vaisseau de Premiere Classe.[2] He was later given command of the landing craftEDIC 9092.[2]
In 1962, Tabarly raced in the Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race on Pen Duick.[1] Determined to win the next edition set for two years later, Tabarly started building the Margilic V, and in autumn 1963, the Pen Duick II, the first sailboat designed specifically for a single-handed trans-Atlantic race. He ran in the 1964 edition and won, with a time of twenty-seven days and three hours, which was 3 days in advance of the runner-up.[1][3] This achievement earned Tabarly instant fame and the rank of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.[1] He received the Blue Water Medal for his victory.
In 1965, he earned his Commandos Marine certification.[2] The same year, he transformed Pen Duick II into a wishbone schooner.[1] The next year, Pen Duick II was shortened to match the regulations of the Cruising Club of America, and Tabarly single-handedly sailed her to New York. He achieved a 5th position in the Bermuda Race, and raced in the Bermuda-Copenhagen race, but had to abandon with a ruptured rudder.[1] In October 1966, he was promoted to Lieutenant de Vaisseau.[2]
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,[5] almost a day ahead of the official winner and record-setter Blackfin.
Tabarly returned to naval service in February 1971 and was appointed to the Technical Inspection for Physical Education and Sports.[2] The same year, he won the Falmouth-Gibraltar on Pen Duick III and the Middle Sea Race, and the following year, the Transpac.[4]
In 1980, Tabarly sailed the hydrofoil trimaran, Paul Ricard, on a transatlantic race, beating Charlie Barr's long-standing transatlantic record.[4] Tabarly was deeply involved with the development of this revolutionary trimaran. In 1975, he worked with a team of naval architects and another team from Dassault company on the design of a foiler-type trimaran (equipped with foils). Subsequently, he searched for financing to build this vessel for 4 years. In 1979, he met Paul Ricard who agreed to finance him.[6] 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.[2] He was promoted to Capitaine de Corvette in 1982.[2]
Tabarly retired from active service in July 1985. He was promoted to Capitaine de Fregate of the naval reserves in August 1988.[2] In 1994, he raced the Whitbread again. In 1997, Tabarly won the Fastnet Race on Aquitaine Innovations.[4]
In June 1998, the Pen Duick was en route from Cornwall to Scotland in order to participate in a rallye of boats designed by William Fife, which included the Pen Duick. The crew consisted of Tabarly and 4 other people.[7] While in transit in the Irish Sea, during the night of 12 to 13 June, a spar threw Tabarly overboard and he drowned.[1][2] A detailed account of the accident was made by people who were on the boat with Tabarly when it occurred.[7]
His body was recovered by the trawler An Yvidig on 20 July. An autopsy confirmed the identity of the body and the cause of death as drowning.[8]
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