Global Solo Challenge: Frédéric Switala is a warrior for 'Pure Ocean'

Frédéric Switala © Frédéric Switala

A "craftsman sailor" on a boat with the soul of a warrior by the name of "Man of War" with the mission of being an ambassador for the "Pure Ocean" foundation, which supports innovative scientific projects for the safeguarding of ocean biodiversity. These are the cornerstones of the project by Frédéric Switala, a French skipper in his fifties, a sailor by passion and profession.

"I discovered sailing in the North Sea with an uncle who worked at the Wauquiez shipyard. He had built his own boat at the shipyard, parallel to his job. His goal was to set sail for Polynesia. My first steps in sailing were on a keel boat. At the same time, I listened to the radio programmes of Antoine (Editor's note: Pierre Antoine Muraccioli), a singer and navigator who recounted his travels around the world. He made me dream."

When he was a child, his family moved to Marseille. Frédéric and his father could go sailing more often. His first family cruise was to Corsica, which was his first taste of offshore sailing. In the early 1990s, he bought his first cruiser boat. In 2010, Switala achieved his first sailing-related dream: a solo crossing of the Atlantic, setting off from Port Camargue, stopping in the Canary Islands, and arriving in Martinique. "The journey was not exactly as described in the books. You'd think you'd have constant trade winds and a long glide downwind.

Instead, I spent the first ten days beating into the wind and the rest in variable conditions, as the trades were not well established. At times, I wondered what I was doing there. But then I started feeling in harmony with nature and the boat, and the rhythm of my life changed. The crossing from the Canary Islands to Martinique took 27 days in total. I enjoyed it and could have continued sailing solo for many more days."

On this occasion, he experienced one of the most beautiful moments of his life at sea: "I encountered an 8- to 9-metre whale that started playing around the boat, and I felt the temptation to stop the boat and dive in the water for a swim with that amazing creature."

'Man of War' - Frers 48 - photo © Frédéric Switala

From passion to profession, sailing became a career for Frédéric. He worked for Bénéteau, selling offshore cruising boats, and had the opportunity to make various crossings with customers. In 2020, he became the manager of the Meta Yachts Services shipyard at Port Navy Service, in Port Saint Louis du Rhône. In a twist of fate, this is the same shipyard that built the "Om", a 14-metre steel schooner, for Antoine, his childhood idol, with which the singer-navigator completed a circumnavigation in 1974.

Today, Frédéric is ready to make his second childhood dream come true: completing a solo round-the-world circumnavigation!

The Global Solo Challenge offers Switala the opportunity to make this voyage a reality. "I am an amateur sailor with a lot of passion, and I am not aiming for fame. I am simply determined to finish the race in the best possible position. I have a very structured approach that should help me in this."

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