Éric Tabarly
| Éric Tabarly | |
|---|---|
Éric Tabarly in 1997
|
|
| Born | 24 July 1931 Nantes |
| Died | 12 June 1998 (aged 66) Pen Duick, Irish Sea, off Wales |
| Allegiance |
 France
|
| Years of service | 1953 — 1985 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Battles/wars | |
Éric Marcel Guy Tabarly (24 July 1931 – 12 June 1998) was a French Navy officer and yachtsman.
Tabarly was born in Nantes on 24 July 1931 to a family of yachting tradition. His parents took him for sailing excursions on their cutter Annie when he was still a baby. In 1938, Tabarly's father purchased the gaff-rigged cutter Pen Duick.
Tabarly enlisted in the Navy as a volunteer in 1953 and joined the French Aéronavale. He served at Saint-Mandrier airbase before transferring to French airbases in Morocco. After earning his pilot licence and the rank of Second Maître de deuxième classe in December 1954, he fought in the First Indochina War, appointed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base.
In August 1956, Tabarly started refitting Pen Duick in his spare time. She was in a state of disrepair since the Second World War, during which she had been decommissioned for fear of being requisitionned, 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.
In September 1957, he was appointed to Lann-Bihoué airbase, near Lorient.
In 1958, Tabarly entered the École Navale; he was promoted to Aspirant the next year, and Enseigne de Vaisseau de deuxieme Classe in 1959. 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.Jeanne d'Arc returned to Brest on 8 June 1961 and the same month, Tabarly was appointed to the Minesweeper Castor with the rank of Enseigne de Vaisseau de Premiere Classe. He was later given command of the landing craft EDIC 9092.
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