During a decade of competitive marathon sailing, Isabelle Autissier demonstrated nearly supernatural sailing prowess and unmitigated bad luck. She is the first woman to sail around the world alone and she piloted a yacht from New York to San Francisco by way of Cape Horn in world-record time. She also... Read more
During a decade of competitive marathon sailing, Isabelle Autissier demonstrated nearly supernatural sailing prowess and unmitigated bad luck. She is the first woman to sail around the world alone and she piloted a yacht from New York to San Francisco by way of Cape Horn in world-record time. She also capsized and barely eluded death—twice—in violent, remote seas near Antarctica. Autissier retired from the sport as a national heroine in her native France and is widely regarded as the best woman ocean racer ever. “When you get down to it,” Cruising World magazine concluded, “there is no one else on the planet like Isabelle Autissier.”
After graduating from college in 1978 with a degree in nautical engineering, Autissier taught at “fishing schools” in France where local fishermen learned better techniques and gained a background in research and marine sciences. For three years, she spent her nights and weekends welding together a 30-foot, steel-hulled cruising boat called Parole. In 1986, she sailed Parole across the Atlantic single-handedly. “When I returned to France,” Autissier recalled, “I decided to try racing, just to see what it was like, to have the experience. I thought it would help me know more about the sea and sailing.” In 1987, she won her class and finished third overall in the Mini Transat, a solo race across the Atlantic. She finished fourth in La Solitaire du Figaro in 1989. “In the beginning, I said I would race just for the experience and then go back to my job, (but) racing and trying to go fast in a small boat was such fun.”
Autissier entered the 1990-91 running of the BOC around-the-world yacht race, the first woman to compete in the contest. The grueling race, which has been renamed Around Alone, is run every four years and requires sailors to travel 27,000 miles over eight months. It begins and ends on the East Coast of the United States, with stops in South Africa, Australia, and Uruguay. During the second leg of the race, Autissier’s 60-foot yacht, named Ecureuil Poitou-Charentes, lost its mast in rough seas and high winds as she neared Australia.
She fashioned a makeshift rig, limped into port, made repairs, and set out again. She completed the voyage, finishing seventh. It was the first time a woman sailor had circumnavigated the globe alone. “It was wonderful because I discovered everything: I discovered sailing alone for a long time, the Southern Ocean, everything,” Autissier said in a Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service article. “It was really a wonderful experience.… I came back to Newport (Rhode Island) and … I thought: I did what I have wanted to do in life. Since I was a little girl, I wanted to sail around the world, and now I have done it. The rest of my life is extra.”
Isabelle Autissier again displayed her sailing prowess—including expert understanding of weather patterns, currents, and navigation—while setting a world record in the spring of 1994. She and a three-man crew piloted her new yacht, the Ecureuil Poitou-Charentes 2, around Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco in just sixty-two days, five hours, and fifty-five minutes—beating the old record by two weeks.
You can book Isabelle Autissier through London Speaker Bureau by submitting the enquiry form on this page or calling our team. One of our consultants will respond promptly with Isabelle's current availability, speaking fees and any specific requirements for your event.
Isabelle Autissier's speaking fees depend on the event format (in-person or virtual), the location, the length of the engagement and the level of customisation required. Please contact London Speaker Bureau for an up-to-date fee quote for Isabelle tailored to your event.
Isabelle Autissier speaks on a range of business, leadership and industry subjects. Talks can be shaped around your audience, industry and strategic objectives - share your event brief with London Speaker Bureau and we will work with Isabelle to align the content with your delegates and goals.
London Speaker Bureau can book Isabelle Autissier for events worldwide, subject to Isabelle's schedule. Please send us your event date, location and format and we will confirm availability and handle travel and logistics on your behalf.
Virtual and hybrid keynotes are now a standard part of the speaking industry. Please contact London Speaker Bureau to confirm whether Isabelle Autissier is available to deliver a virtual session for your event and on which platform (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, a bespoke studio or your own).
Most keynote speeches run between 45 and 60 minutes, often followed by a 15-30 minute Q&A. Other formats - shorter conference slots, panel appearances or longer workshop sessions - may also be possible. Share your agenda with London Speaker Bureau and we will confirm what Isabelle can accommodate.
London Speaker Bureau will brief Isabelle Autissier on your audience profile, sector and objectives so the keynote can be shaped around your event. The level of customisation possible depends on the speaker and the lead time - contact us with your brief and we will confirm what Isabelle can offer.
Isabelle Autissier delivers keynotes in French. If you require simultaneous interpretation or a multilingual format, please mention this in your enquiry and London Speaker Bureau will arrange it for you.
Isabelle Autissier's areas of expertise include a range of business, leadership and industry subjects. To get a clear sense of Isabelle's style, credentials and how they engage an audience, please review the biography, popular talks and any videos or testimonials shown on this page, or request a detailed speaker brief from London Speaker Bureau.
Isabelle Autissier can be booked through London Speaker Bureau for corporate conferences, leadership events, internal team meetings, association gatherings and private client engagements where expertise in a range of business, leadership and industry subjects is relevant. Details of Isabelle's background and previous engagements are included in the biography above; contact us if you would like a more detailed list of past clients or case studies.
Beyond keynote speeches, many of the speakers on our roster also take part in workshops, executive masterclasses, panel discussions and fireside chats. Contact London Speaker Bureau with your preferred format and we will confirm what Isabelle Autissier is able to offer alongside or instead of a keynote.
We generally recommend enquiring at least three to twelve months in advance to secure your preferred date with Isabelle Autissier, particularly during peak conference seasons. Where possible we also accommodate shorter lead times - please contact London Speaker Bureau to check Isabelle's current availability for your dates.