Alain Gerbault(1893 — 1941)
Alain Gerbault
France
6 min read
Alain Gerbault (1893-1941) was a French sailor, World War I aviator, and top-level tennis player. He made the first solo east-to-west crossing of the Atlantic, then a solo round-the-world sailing voyage between 1923 and 1929.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born on 17 November 1893 in Laval, died on 16 December 1941 in Dili (Timor)
- Fighter pilot during World War I (1914-1918)
- First solo east-to-west crossing of the North Atlantic in 1923 aboard the Firecrest
- Solo round-the-world sailing voyage from 1923 to 1929
- Author of successful travel narratives, including “In Quest of the Sun” (1929)
Works & Achievements
First solo crossing of the North Atlantic from east to west, from Gibraltar to New York in 101 days. A navigational feat regarded as legendary.
The account of his crossing, which became a best-seller and made him famous throughout France.
A circumnavigation of nearly 40,000 miles aboard the Firecrest, one of the first ever completed single-handed.
A two-volume account of his voyage around the world, from New York to Tahiti and then along the return route.
A book celebrating the beauty and culture of the Pacific islands he had explored.
A posthumous book denouncing the ravages of colonization on the Polynesian peoples and their culture.
Anecdotes
In 1923, Alain Gerbault left Gibraltar aboard the Firecrest, an old English cutter built in 1892, to reach New York single-handed. The crossing lasted 101 days: his boat took on water, his food supplies rotted and he nearly starved to death, but he became the first person to cross the North Atlantic solo from east to west.
Before becoming a sailor, Gerbault had lived two other lives: a fighter pilot during the First World War, then a skilled tennis player in the 1920s. It was while gazing at the sea from the French Riviera that he decided to give everything up and set off under sail.
When he arrived in New York in September 1923, Gerbault was welcomed as a hero by an enormous crowd and the American press. Back in France, he received the Legion of Honour for his feat — he who had set off almost unknown.
During his voyage around the world, Gerbault fell in love with Polynesia. He learned the language, organized sporting competitions for young Tahitians and defended their traditions, which he saw as threatened by colonization — he would write a book about it with a disillusioned title, “A Paradise Is Dying.”
Gerbault died alone in 1941 on the island of Timor, carried off by illness in the midst of the Second World War. Six years later, in 1947, his ashes were brought back to Bora Bora, the island he had loved so much, where he rests today.
Primary Sources
I was setting off alone, on a small boat, to cross the Atlantic. No insurance, no possible rescue: I would have to rely on myself alone and on my old Firecrest.
Happiness — I found it in these Pacific islands, among people who had remained simple and free, far from the noise and money of the cities.
The civilization we bring to these happy peoples has given them nothing but diseases, new needs, and sorrow.
Key Places
Alain Gerbault's birthplace in 1893, far from the sea that would become his passion.
Starting point of his solo crossing of the Atlantic on June 6, 1923.
Port of arrival of the first east-to-west Atlantic crossing, after 101 days at sea; he was welcomed there as a hero.
Port where Gerbault triumphantly completed his round-the-world voyage in July 1929.
Polynesian island he cherished and where his ashes were buried in 1947.
Pacific island where Gerbault died alone and ill in December 1941, during the Second World War.