French windsurfer (born 1960)
Raphaëla Le Gouvello |
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Rafaëla le Gouvello in Douarnenez, a few days before the start of her first transoceanic boat race, the 2013 Transat 6.50. |
Born | 1960 (age 63–64)
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Honours | Commander of the Order of Tahiti Nui |
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Raphaëla le Gouvello du Timat (born 1960)[1] is a French windsurfer and conservationist. She has successfully completed four windsurfing crossings, solo and unassisted, of the Atlantic Ocean in 2000, the Mediterranean in 2002, the Pacific Ocean in 2003[2] and the Indian Ocean in 2006.[3] She later founded the NGO Respect Ocean to protect the marine environment.[4][5]
Le Gouvello was born in Paris and is of Breton descent.[1] She initially trained as a veterinarian.[3] She began windsurfing in 1976 and eventually competed at a national level.[1]
In November 2003 following her passage from Peru to Tahiti she was made a Commander of the Order of Tahiti Nui.[6]
In 2019 she completed a PhD on the circular economy in a small-scale fishery-dependent socio-ecological system through the University of Western Brittany's School of Marine and Coastal Sciences.[7]
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