Left: Corinne Migraine in her studio in Le Havre mocking up a trompe-l’oeil proposal for another Parisian client… the wafting soft pink corals a very typical reminder of Migraine’s deep marine influences. And with father Gilles Fournier (above) and the Pintia Fastnet 2023 team on arrival in Cherbourg where they finished 8th overall and winners in IRC 1 after a 695nm tussle with the previous overall winner Sunrise. Opposite: early July so of course it’s time for another Cowes-Dinard-St Malo race…
‘But it was quickly obvious that, as with
many other clubs, our relations with the French federation (FFV) were not always easy. So when Jean-Pierre Champion, then FFV president, invited me to join him I thought that I would be more useful trying to improve things from the inside rather than sitting outside criticising. ‘This is how I eventually joined the
board of the French federation and later became vice-president, first under Nicolas Hénard and then with current FFV presi- dent Jean Luc Dénéchau. It’s very interest- ing work but also very time-consuming [Corinne is also vice-chair of the Offshore Racing Committee of World Sailing!] and this term at the FFV will be the last for me.’ Among various achievements during
her time with the FFV Corinne is proud to have relaunched the Tour de France à la Voile, returning the event to one-design keel boats and primarily dedicated to young sailors learning about offshore racing. ‘The Tour Voile is once again a fabulous step for young people who want to go from dinghy to offshore competition.’ In our conversation I quoted to Corinne
the words of another French competitor who I had asked to sum up this summer’s Fastnet. He had replied: ‘The race took place.’ This is very important because in France, in 2023, the start of the race would certainly have been postponed on the pretext that the weather was too bad. Corinne, very aware of current French
regulations, explains: ‘French and English laws are very different in terms of respon- sibility and now this drives everything… In England everyone is responsible for him- self and, in case of trouble, there is no appeal against the organiser. In France the organiser is legally responsible. If the start of the race is given during a gale warning, and if there is an issue, then the courts can find against the organisers, which is not the case in England.
‘That said, the RORC [of which
Corinne is also a member] in this instance did briefly discuss whether or not to start on schedule. But not because of the condi- tions at the time but because another deep low was developing further down the course that could also be a problem. In fact, it was better to leave on Saturday on schedule so the boats were still close to the coast in the worst of the weather. ‘Then, less than two hours into the race,
we heard a Mayday and Pan-Pan on the VHF! It was scary but we quickly heard that everyone was safe.’ (A two-handed entry sank before leaving the Solent). But offshore racing does make such tough demands… too easily forgotten after a few weeks of sailing in pleasant conditions. About the J/133 Pintia, bought second-
hand in Spain in 2012, Corinne likes to remind me that the boat was originally bought for family cruising. ‘Of course, we only ever did one cruise… in Sweden. ‘There we first learned how fast the boat was upwind; we entered a small local regatta and we won it quite easily! ‘Soon afterwards we crossed the
Channel and started competing in the RORC races… We immediately did well, which prompted us to sign up for the 2017 Fastnet Race. So in season 2 we won the RORC championship… which included our first Fastnet. Since then more good results have followed. So Pintia turned out to be a good IRC boat; and my dad still doesn’t know what cruising is.’ Corinne actually spends a lot of time on
the ‘family boat’ and the longer the race course the more she likes it. She has fond memories of her first Transat on the Mylius 60 Lady First 3 in 2021. The day after finishing serious treatment following a health scare she flew to Lanzarote and started the RORC Transatlantic race. ‘For a lot of reasons this is my best sailing memory; I love more than anything when
you no longer see the land on the horizon.’ She loves it so much that she will be
doing it again this winter, always with her father and her friend Jean-Pierre Dréau, owner and skipper of Lady First 3, a Marseille boat that also raced the last two editions of the Fastnet. Later, in 2024, Corinne wants to race Cork Week and the Middle Sea Race, but on Pintia. However, do not believe that this
woman, whose charm is not the least of her many assets, only spends her life simply having a good time. For some 10 years Corinne has also managed the large Le Havre division of the family business, SIE, specialising in the repair of industrial electric motors. Upon her arrival Gilles Fournier’s daughter immediately set up a competent but young new team to lead the company forward. And it works pretty well. Inspite of the now rarer sightings of ‘the boss’ on the premises, SIE has seen its workforce grow from 35 employees on her arrival to 100 people today. So what does Corinne do today when
she is not sailing, or busy at the FFV, or at the SIE, or taking care of the ‘menagerie’ at home (the sailor also rides horses!) since her four children have now grown up? Well, of course she paints, her other great passion. She paints her love of nature and dreams of sea adventures – painting on ancient charts that she has found or received from around the world. So do not throw away your old navigation charts however faded or stained, these are Corinne’s latest inspirations. This woman definitely has a busy life: ‘I
have an intense and exciting life because I continue to do everything I love to do. I am very lucky to have a husband who sup- ports me and encourages me to sail as much as I want… Besides, he began sail- ing, and so I began horse riding (laughs)!’ Nothing seems to stop the hyperactive Corinne Migraine.
SEAHORSE 43
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PAUL WYETH/ROLEX
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