The Impossible Takes Just A Little Bit Longer

Six years after she was fitted with a pacemaker to control a potentially-fatal heart condition, a Frenchwoman who is a four-time French windsurfing champion and European champion, began her 2,500 mile journey

The thing that makes this journey so special is that Sarah Hebert, will make the trip aboard a sail board, that’s right she intends to windsurf the Atlantic Ocean. On Wednesday February 22, 2012 she set off from a beach in Senegal just north of the capital Dakar. The trip is expected to take her 25 days to reach the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Her parting words were the crossing was "above all a way for me to live my passion of sailing on the ocean" adding that she was looking forward to having only the sound of the waves as her companion.

Riding what Herbet refers to as a garden variety windsurfing board, she will be accompanied by a support vessel with a four man crew; her intentions are to windsurf from 6 to 8 hours daily and sleep aboard the support vessel each night. The support vessel is carrying her four replacement boards, a dozen extra sails, satellite telephone, a VHF radio and a global positioning system.

She will begin her journey each morning using the GPS coordinates to begin at the exact point where she stopped the evening before.

This trip is a testament to Herbert’s drive, determination and iron will. In 2005 she was diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia. A condition that could have cost her life, during hard exercise her heart rate would shoot up to 300 times a minute. To avoid a heart attack, doctors implanted Herbert with a pacemaker to regulate her heartbeat using electrical impulses. This caused the French sailing authorities to withdraw her license to compete.

Herbert was back on her board within two months of surgery and won the European championship in 2006. She competed for Armenia and was runner-up in the 2007 World Championships. And in 2008 she qualified for the Olympics.

Her transatlantic attempt is taking precedence over competing in this year's Olympic Games and even though she won’t be able to win a medal, Herbert said she is not downcast about it, "all I need is to be on the water, then to prove that with courage, nothing is impossible."

Here’s hoping She has all the best of luck with this attempt!!