Alain Bombard

Alain Bombard (; Paris, 27 October 1924 – Paris, 19 July 2005) was a French biologist, physician and politician, famous for sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat without provisions. In 1951, while working as a physician, he was unable to save the victims of a shipwreck. Motivated by this experience and hoping to save future lives, he theorized that it was possible to survive at sea for an extended period by living off the ocean. To test his theory, Bombard decided to sail across the Atlantic in an inflatable Zodiac bringing no food and water.

He was a Member of the European Parliament from the Socialist Party for France from 1981 to 1994.

Biography

Born in Paris to a medical family on 27 October 1924, Alain Bombard later became a physician. In a preliminary test of his theories in 1951, he attempted to swim the English Channel on a diet of only butter, but he failed and needed rescue.

He was associates with Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the Polar explorer Paul-Emile Victor, and the vulcanologist Haroun Tazieff.

Books Naufragé Volontaire (1953) The Bombard Story, Andre Deutsch (1953)- Europe edition The Voyage of the Heretique, Simon and Schuster (1953) - US edition La dernière exploration (1974) Les grands navigateurs (1976) Au-delà de l’horizon (1978) La mer et l’homme (1980) Aventurier de la mer (1998)