#Women's Day | Meet Katell Ropert!

Where are you based?

I live in Quimperlé in Finistère, but often return to my family home at Courégant on the Ploemeuroise coast.

What is your sea-related activity?

The sea is a wonderful playground!

I love sailing, canoeing and scuba diving, but I'm particularly keen on surfing and, in my case, parasurfing, as I've been using a wheelchair since 2018.

What does it involve?

My sport isn't yet an Olympic discipline, but it's developing rapidly around the world (I won 2 world podiums in California). I surf accompanied by a partner who compensates for my inability to paddle to catch the waves, so he pushes me and I ride the waves alone. It's not just an individual sport, it's a way of working that's very connected with the other person. It means getting to know each other well and trusting each other, and when I manage to give my best on my wave, we experience this euphoria together! Whether you're surfing standing up or lying down, the thrill of being at one with the elements doesn't change: the speed, the wind and the feeling of fullness are the same whether your body is intact or damaged!

How is the sea a source of well-being for you?

Our family home is 50 metres from the rocks, so the sea has always been part of my life! My 5 children all learned to walk and swim around the same time! Some in Brittany and others in Tahiti, but always close to the sea.

The ocean was the place of my rebirth, when, deprived of voluntary movement following an accident, I was stretched out on a board at La Torche and pushed! I wrinkled, I fell, I drank the cup... and then I did it again! That day, I felt more alive than ever!

The ocean has always been my life's companion, sometimes soothing when I was diving with the manta rays at Rangiroa, sometimes terrifying in the middle of a storm on a sailboat with my parents, or far away when we went camping in the islands of the Golfe du Morbihan, living for a few days Robinson Crusoe-style!

The ocean is untamable, it has no master! It's still the only place where we can enjoy all our freedom as men and women, so let's make the most of it!