Before becoming a famous traveler, Ella Maillart (1903-1997) was a fearless sailor. At a young age, she achieved sailing feats that marked the history of yachting. The boldness and modernity of this woman, a « Wanderer of the Seas » in her time, made her an icon.
Before she became a renowned traveler, photographer, journalist, and writer, Ella Maillart (1903-1997) was a talented sailor who wrote essential chapters in the history of yachting. The first woman to helm a dinghy in Olympic competition in 1924 in Paris, this exceptional regatta sailor honed her skills on a 6.50-meter boat on Lake Geneva. She then sailed in the Mediterranean aboard Perlette, Bonita, and Atalante with Hermine de Saussure, Marthe Oulié, and a few other young women, as the second captain of an all-female crew. She later sailed along the English, Dutch, and Spanish coasts, as both a crew member and a captain. Her nautical journey and the variety of yachts she helmed are truly exceptional.
This book is based on research using photographs and archival documents, often unpublished. It highlights magnificent boats and accomplishments made at a time when yachting was discouraged for women.
Although Ella Maillart did not spend her entire life on the water, as she had dreamed, her love for sailing gave her a taste for adventure, far from social conventions, in harmony with the elements.
This book was created in collaboration with Photo Élysée, the Cantonal Museum of Photography in Lausanne, the Library of Geneva, the association Les Amis d’Ella Maillart, and the Bolle Museum in Morges.
