Message in a Bottle Marks Halfway Point for World Record Paddleboard Effort

Paddling across the Atlantic at night.

Imagine this: Midnight in the North Atlantic ocean. Blackish blue night radiates out from you endlessly in all directions; darkness so deep and boundless you almost can’t tell which way is up. Starlight twinkles faintly on the waves sloshing around you. The milky way fluoresces in the unthinkable black canopy above you. The water is frigid, the waves relentless. You are on a paddleboard 50 centimeters wide, over a thousand miles from land, attempting to set a world record by crossing the entire pitiless ocean using nothing but the power of your arms and this paddleboard.

Almost a month ago, you started paddling off the coast of Canada, pointed toward France. With two teammates, you trade off paddling for two hours at a time, and you never get more than one or two hours of sleep between shifts. After nearly four weeks of nonstop paddling, you are only halfway there…

If you can possibly believe it, what I am asking you to imagine is actually real. This happened. And on August 5th, 2009, professional paddleboarders Stephanie Barneix, Flora Manciet, and Alex Lux where in exactly this position. Cape Breton, Canada was 1,267 miles behind them, and Capbreton, France was 1,267 miles ahead.

Filmmaker Lucie Robin documented this team’s effort to set the world record for distance traveled by paddleboard. She accompanied the women aboard the support vessel, capturing their highs and lows. On a whim, at the halfway point, full of joy for the women and pride of their achievement so far, not knowing whether they would reach their goal, Lucie sent a message in a bottle to commemorate their journey.

French Paddleboarders’ Message in a Bottle Found

In 2019, just before the pandemic, I knew I had found something special when I stumbled upon this message in a bottle.

Lucie Robin & French paddleboarders’ message in a bottle, in situ.

Clint Buffington with French paddleboarders’ message in a bottle on the beach where it was found.

Why? I can’t really say…

It was beautiful; it was dry; it was written in French, in cursive…

Most messages in bottles are very brief. But this one? The scrawling handwriting covered the whole page! Like it told a story. But what story?

Check it out:

An Impossible World Record, Captured in a Message in a Bottle

As soon as I opened the bottle, I began to type the words into Google Translate. What did it say? Who sent it? Why?

I could not believe what I read… The story of Stephanie, Flora, and Alex unfolded in broken, translated lines. I kept reading, thinking – they paddled where? They were crossing WHAT?! Headlines emerged about these women starting out from Canada to set a paddleboarding world record.

But my biggest, burning question was: Did they make it?! Did they get across the ocean safely?!

Stephanie Barneix and Alex Lux, “signing” the halfway point of their world record setting paddleboard journey, as Flora Manciet paddles in the background. This is the day they sent the message in a bottle I found. Photo: Lucie Robin.

Then I found the blog they all kept of the journey. One post from skipper and accomplished French sailor Yves Parlier mentions that Lucie has stepped outside the cabin of the support vessel to toss a message in a bottle commemorating the trip! My jaw dropped as I read the translation of this post:

“The moon and Jupiter are setting, Venus has risen, and the sun is about to come…Nothing in this infinite space bears witness to the major event that will occur at this precise location at 44°27 34 N and 30°58′ 62 W. We have crossed half the course. At 5:33 a.m. universal time, right on the rotation between Flora and Alexandra, we found ourselves equidistant from the island of Cape Breton in Canada and Capbreton in France, i.e. 2346 km. It’s party time on board, we kiss each other, the siren on board blares to wake the crew off watch. A hot drink enhanced with a liquid dear to our Caribbean islands of an amber color flows freely. Like Sir Edmond Hillary when he reached the summit of Everest, here we are at the top of the mountain, we now only have to go down to the finish line and Lucie, as a flag, throws a bottle at the sea ​​with the whole history of the Ucar Cap Odyssée.”

That’s THIS message in a bottle! This one right here in my hands! I thought, as I read. WILD! Bananas! Never before have I found a message in a bottle that was written about before it was sent! But here’s this one, documenting a paddleboarding world record attempt while the paddlers are still at sea!

So their message in a bottle made it safely to shore after ten years adrift… But what about the women?

Clint Buffington with message in a bottle sent by Lucie Robin, Stephanie Barneix, Alex Lux, Flora Manciet.

Paddleboard World Record Effort Largely Absent From English Press

I felt frantic as I slowly pieced together their story from old French news articles. But eventually, I found that they DID complete their journey! When they climbed ashore in Capbreton, France after 54 days of non-stop paddling they achieved something totally unique. They set the world record for distance traveled by paddleboard!

The more I translated 10-year-old French articles about their expedition, the more I understood the importance of what they had done. I also was blown away to realize that there is almost no coverage in English of their incredible achievement to this day. In fact, other than Guinness’s blurb and some Getty images, you’d be hard pressed to find any mention of their story in English anywhere.

No one had crossed the Atlantic on paddleboard before them, and no one has done it since. They hold the Guinness World Record for longest journey by paddleboard.

These three women did something so physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding, that no one else has ever even dared attempt it.

So: Why in the absolute hell is there practically no coverage of their achievement in English? In a fair world, they’d be on the front of the bloody Wheaties box!

The only other similar paddleboarding world record is held by South Africa’s Chris Bertish. In 2017, Bertish crossed the Atlantic on a standup paddleboard that looked considerably like a boat, including a long oar for paddling and a small cabin to sleep in. Totally impressive, of course, and Chris Bertish is clearly a beast! But these women? They did it by hand. Chris Bertish received loads more press, and I wonder why. Possibly because English is his native language and it’s just easier for him to give interviews in English? Possibly because by 2017 this type of story was likely to go viral online? Maybe because he did it alone? Who can say?

(Amazingly, but in keeping with their often breathtaking obtuseness, neither the French women nor Chris Bertish are mentioned on the Wikipedia pages for paddleboarding or standup paddleboarding, even though many who have completed much shorter journeys are. But then, Wikipedia still claims Queen Elizabeth I had an “Official Uncorker of Ocean Bottles” even though I have thoroughly debunked this myth, and they still claim Theophrastus sent messages in bottles in 310 BC, which is another myth I’ve debunked. Sigh.)

To be clear, I don’t think Chris Bertish deserves any less attention than what he got – his achievement is truly remarkable.

I’m just saying that Stephanie Barneix, Flora Manciet, and Alexandra Lux, who paddled across the ocean by hand, day and night, for 54 days, while submerged in frigid water among jellyfish and sharks, deserve a little more recognition for their paddleboarding world record.

That’s all I’m saying.

Lucie’s Bottled Message Tells Of French Women Paddleboarding Across Ocean

Lucie Robin told a beautiful, moving story in her message in a bottle.

Here is the full message, translated:

5 August 2009

1267 miles from Cape Breton (Canada) – 1267 Miles to Capbreton, France

In the North Atlantic Middle

This is the story of three women, three athletic young women, passionate about the ocean, who decided to cross the Northern Atlantic on their paddleboard. A tiny little plank 50 cm wide and 5 m long, propulsed by the current, by the sole strength of the arms of the rower.

It’s already an incredible thing that these three young French gals, Stephanie, Flora, and Alexandra (took off / did it). Every 2 hours, the three friends and coast guard professionals, took turns rowing, progressing by their bare hands on this unpredictable sea.

Beyond the athletic exploit, it is proof of shared work and solidarity, of defense of the environment, of respect for the ocean and belief in mankind that motivates this challenge. A story I hope to tell you one day…

Don’t hesitate to contact me when you will have found this courageous bottle that survived the ocean elements.

Lucie

In her message, you can really sense the love and admiration Lucie feels toward Stephanie, Alex, and Flora. But my favorite thing about Lucie’s message is the emphasis on shared effort, the larger goals that are possible when people work together. Through the shared effort Lucie describes, Stephanie Barneix, Flora Manciet, and Alex Lux paddled over 2,000 miles by hand, setting the paddleboarding world record for distance. It’s simply amazing.

Finding Lucie Robin

Lucie Robin is a film maker, and she made a documentary about these women and their world record setting paddleboard journey. You can see the teaser for the film, called, L’Odyssée d’un rêve, on her website (and order a DVD). You can also see a longer clip posted by Stephanie Barneix on Stephanie’s Youtube channel.

When I wrote to Lucie, telling her of my discovery, I waited for a reply…and waited…days went by, and I began to worry she didn’t receive it. Or hell, these days, I thought…what if she died of Covid or something awful?

It’s amazing how much you can worry about someone you’ve never even met, once you have found their message in a bottle. It’s a connection like nothing else…

Then – Boom. Lucy wrote back!

“What a hell of a surprise!!” she said, “I’m very surprised and so happy that my message got somewhere! lucky you found it!”

She mentioned that she could show the message to the paddleboarders, and I nearly had a heart attack! These French women had become my personal heroes! I never dreamed I would get to speak with them directly! But sure enough, their emails soon followed Lucy’s…

A truly magical message in a bottle, sent by Lucie Robin, Stephanie Barneix, Alex Lux, and Flora Manciet.

World Record Paddleboarders Respond to Ten Year Old Message in a Bottle

Stephanie wrote first: “I can’t believe you find this bottle!! Amazing!” Stephanie continued, “When I receive the mail from Lucie about the bottle … I cried! Unbelievable!!!” I felt the same way!

Alex wrote next! “It’s so amazing to find this bottle with Lucie’s message just now,” she said, “If you come in France, we are so happy to meet you and share a little moment together.”

Flora wrote, too! “Wow, this is amazing, this bottle find by a treasure hunter 🙂 What a story to tell!” Flora added an invitation, too! I was amazed!

Stephanie, Alex, and Flora offered to meet little old me! You may as well have told me Michael Jordan was willing to hang out with me, or Ed Sheeran. In my eyes, these women are total celebrities, and personal heroes of mine. Here’s hoping I can visit someday – nothing would make me happier!

Alex Lux, Stephanie Barneix, and Flora Manciet arriving in France after crossing the Atlantic ocean on paddleboard.

Dreaming Bigger, Stephanie & Alex Eye New Paddleboarding World Record!

Stephanie Barneix, Flora Manciet, and Alex Lux all continue to be badass women, doing hard, awesome things all the time.

Through email, Stephanie told me something truly staggering about what she and Alex have planned next…

“We are working on another crossing from Peru to French Polynesia! About 8000 KMs to raise money to help children who suffer [from] cancer!” And she sent the following link to the expedition website: www.capoptimist.com

This mission is especially close to Stephanie’s heart, because she is, herself, a cancer survivor. In fact, just 5 years before crossed the Atlantic with Alex and Flora, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent treatment, and fought as hard as you would expect her to (I don’t think she’s ever heard of “giving up”).  In part, the Cap Optimist mission will show children with cancer that the disease does not have to define them. That not only is there hope of defeating the disease like Stephanie did, but there is also hope for each of them to go on to do great things in life, too.

Stephanie also sent a teaser for the expedition, with English subtitles: Cap Optimist Teaser.

If you want to donate to this worthy cause, go here!

A Message in a Bottle…With a Message!

What I love about Lucie’s message in a bottle and the story it tells is quite simply this: It reminds me that there are good people everywhere, doing good things all the time. People who inspire us to do better ourselves, to believe in ourselves and each other, and to “live your dreams” as Stephanie says. To me, that’s the real “message” in this bottle. Like Lucy Robin, I am inspired by these women 🙂

I don’t know if a message in a bottle can change the world. But this one changed me! I don’t think I’ll be crossing the ocean on a paddleboard any time soon. But if Stephanie, Alex, and Flora can do that, then surely there’s something little I can do, in my own life, perhaps even today, that makes the world a little bit better… Something that says “No!” to doubt, “No,” to bickering and petty grievances. Maybe, if they can do something that hard, I can, at the very least, do something nice for someone. Pick up some litter. Help a neighbor, be kind to a friend who is feeling down. Goodness knows we all need a little grace, and there’s no one to give it to us but us.

Thank you, Stephanie Barneix, Alex Lux, Flora Manciet, and Lucie Robin for reminding me to believe in myself, and to live my dreams!

Clint Buffington holding the message in a bottle sent by Stephanie Barneix, Alex Lux, Flora Manciet, and Lucie Robin.

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