In the summer of 2018, Clara Dumard - daughter of the router Christian Dumard - made a first attempt at the Northwest Passage under sail with her father. After more than 9,000 miles, the test was aborted due to ice blocking the main channels between Davis Strait and Baffin Bay in the east and the Beaufort Sea in the west. On June 30, 2019, at the departure of the Trinité-sur-Mer she will return to the Great North. A challenge that she will take up again without assistance and only under sail on her Sun Fast 37 always accompanied by his father.
We asked her about this new attempt, as she juggles between these last university exams ( NDLR She is completing her 4th year of pharmacy ) and the preparation of his expedition.
What motivates you to try again such a expérience??
When we stopped last year, we immediately cheered ourselves up by thinking that we would leave again next year. Before we left, we thought that if we turned back, we would try again. It was already recorded.
If we had made it through one way, I would have tried to make it through the other way this year. The boat would have stayed in Alaska and we would have gone the other way. It is a unique experience. I'm really very lucky to be able to do it again.
Finally not to succeed, it is the opportunity to be able to do it again (Laughs) .
What lessons do you learn from your previous tentative??
I am much more serene than last year. Before this first attempt, I had never done any big sailing before. Those carried out in 2018 were not the least with a crossing of the Atlantic first, then a navigation in the ice.
Last year, I was terrified after the passage of the southern tip of Greenland. I made films about the ice, about what could happen to us, isolated in the Arctic Circle. I finally got used to these landscapes, these atmospheres. We know the places, the places where we can stop or anchor.
Of course, we must always keep a little apprehension, because it is an environment that remains dangerous.
I also know my boat much better. Last year, we had very little sailing on it. It was a big step into the void, a leap into the unknown.
How do you finance this projet??
Last year I took out a personal loan to buy the boat. Next door I had partners who supported me. I have two types of partners. The people who finance me and the people who equip me. It's super important.
I am fortunate to have partners who are very involved in the project, which requires regular updates. It's a human adventure and they're very supportive. Some of them are leaving with us on this new attempt and renew their confidence in us.
Why share this challenge with your père??
When he was a child, he sailed around the world with his mother and stepfather. At that time, Willy de Roos was the first boatman to cross the Northwest Passage. He transmitted via an amateur radio frequency to tell his adventures and it made my father dream.
As a child, he told me about the Far North, the Arctic. I wanted to see whales, killer whales. I am the first of the siblings and he promised me that we would sail around the world. Then my first brother was born, then my second, then life made us not leave.
I studied and left sailing. As I repeated my 4th year of pharmacy, I had time to rethink this sailing project. So I suggested to my father that he set up a project and accompany me. He invited me to think about it carefully, because it was a big navigation project. The idea was not to disgust me with sailing. Once I was sure, I set up a partnership file.
What I like about sailing is exploration and not racing at all. I'm pretty stressed out having people around. So the Far North is perfect. My grandmother had a completely crazy life, full of adventure and also participated in this taste I have for the trip. I've always wanted to go on an adventure, to explore. Except that everything has been done. The Arctic is one of the last mystical places that brings this taste of adventure.
