The annual meeting of the members of the Association Les amis d'Ella Maillart will take place on Saturday 13 July 2024 at 2.00 pm at the Salle communale in Chandolin, Val d'Anniviers. The administrative part will be followed at 3.30 p.m. by a lecture with projections, Ella Maillart navigatrice - Libre comme l'eau, presented by Mrs Carinne Bertola.

Before becoming a renowned traveller and writer, Ella Maillart was a great sailor. She first raced on Lake Geneva and was the first woman to helm a sailing boat in an Olympic competition at the Paris Games in 1924. Her sea cruises on Perlette, Bonita and Atalante with her French friends Hermine de Saussure and Marthe Oulié left a lasting impression. This talk, based on the book of the same title recently published by Editions Glénat, retraces in pictures the exceptional career of this pioneer of yachting. Carinne Bertola has a doctorate in museology, trained as a sociologist and is a former curator of the Musée du Léman in Nyon. A freelance writer and exhibition curator, she has produced numerous events and catalogues showcasing the heritage of Lake Geneva.