Unpublished recordings, a range of anecdotes, exclusive interviews… Ten years after rowing solo across the North Atlantic Ocean, Mylène Paquette is launching her podcast show Méandres: the underside of a crossing.
This 10th anniversary was the perfect opportunity for Mylène Paquette to reveal all these memories that never appeared either in her book, nor in the play presented in 2019, nor in her 900 conferences. That’s good to say.
Throughout the navigator’s crossing, her ground team recorded many conversations that took place, with or without her. In total, we’re talking about 50 hours of recording.
“I told myself that it would have to come out one day, that I would put the team in the spotlight,” says the 44-year-old woman on the line. People often talk about me, but it would never have been possible without the support of an incredible team. […] There are lots of things we don’t know. It tempted me, finally, to take these things out of the wardrobe. »
Among the selected audio tracks, we will hear, among other things, the various exchanges between the ground team and the Canadian Coast Guard. Given the weather conditions, the director of the search and rescue program sometimes insisted that Ms. Paquette give up.
“All the arguments were there. Hermel [Lavoie, his mentor] called me and said: “Don’t you want to give up?” I said, “No, don’t tell me about it. If the Coast Guard comes, I’ll throw distress flares at them.” I was saying the same thing, it doesn’t make any sense! », exclaims the friendly adventurer, laughing.
On a completely different note, Ms. Paquette will also recount funny moments, such as her calls with her ground team 10 days before arrival. A story of a storm and sandwiches which, 10 years later, still makes her laugh…
“I call my ground crew to say, ‘You didn’t order enough sandwiches for the homecoming party!’ […] The guy in the room said to me: “Am I talking to Ms. Paquette? Don’t you have anything else to do at the moment?” I said, “No, I’m in a storm. Order more sandwiches!” »
The Montrealer, who will publish one episode per month, also plans to speak with different people who have had an impact on her adventure in one way or another. Listeners will be able to hear, among others, his press agent, his video router and certain crew members of the Queen Mary 2.
It was the liner that agreed to deviate from its route to meet the navigator, after three months without her having encountered a single human being.
“I think it’s an opportunity to say thank you to them and to demonstrate that it’s by working as a team that we can move mountains, because alone, I couldn’t have done it. »
Mylène Paquette offers this podcast to those who followed her epic 10 years ago, as well as to those who know nothing about it. She delivers her content with a lot of emotion, in order to transmit to her listeners “the values of this great adventure”. Values that she still carries every day.
From this 129-day crossing, the navigator summarizes a great lesson: “we are therefore nothing! “, she says. “During my crossing, I saw so much plastic on the ocean and I thought to myself that my paddle looks so insignificant. But if we judge our stroke, we won’t make it. I think we are very small compared to the immensity of the planet, compared to the universe. »
Ah! And for those who are wondering what has happened in Mylène Paquette’s life over the last 10 years, the answer is a long one. She had a little boy, Paco, with her ex-partner, then a little girl, Léontine, alone. She gives dozens of conferences annually. She mentors adventurers who decide to embark on marine projects. She supports causes related to environmental protection. She is involved in Leucan and the Charles-Bruneau Foundation, she tells us with the dynamism that characterizes her.
“And I paddled this year! », she concludes with enthusiasm.
We expected nothing less.