Abu Dhabi: They eagerly accompanied their husbands on a globally-acclaimed adventure. Now that it has been accomplished, the spouses of pilots Andre Borschberg and Dr Bertrand Piccard say it is time for introspection rather than celebration.
“I realise now we have to spend our time in introspection… about the gains and anything that went wrong,” Yasmine, Borschberg’s wife, told Gulf News on Tuesday after the Solar Impulse 2’s historic landing in Abu Dhabi.
She said the universe was generous to them. “I think we have to understand more [through introspection] how universe helped us in this mission.” Otherwise it would not have been successful, Yasmine said. “We also got support from many wonderful people across the globe.”
In a separate conversation, Michele, Piccard’s wife, shared a similar feeling. “I think now we have to empty our mind. Like we take a long break from work during summer,” Michele explained. “We have always been thinking about the project…every moment of the day,” she said.
Both Borschberg and Piccard praised their spouses at a press conference, after the solar plane’s landing, for their tremendous support during the adventurous trip across the world.
Prince Albert II of Monaco made a special mention about them.
Michele said it is very important for a person to support his or her spouse’s wishes and dreams. “Being flexible will help you. You have to be flexible enough to understand what your spouse wish or do…without making any judgement. Instead of making judgements you have to understand the situation in other’s perspective. This will help a lot,” said Piccard’s wife.
Yasmine and Michele said there was no room to be concerned about their husbands’ safety as they were aware of every minute details of the project. They knew that Borschberg and Piccard had taken all measures to make the project safe and they were confident of them.
Michele has been working with Solar Impulse as head of corporate communications for many years and hence been officially part of the project. Yasmine, an economist, took break from her work and accompanied her husband to the destinations he flew to. Both of them have three children each, who were also eagerly following the plane. Piccard’s three daughters also flew down in Abu Dhabi to celebrate their father’s success on Tuesday.
However, Borschberg’s two sons and a daughter could not visit Abu Dhabi because of personal reasons, although they had followed him to other destinations.
They enjoyed the cultural diversities during the global trip. For Yasemin, India was the favourite destination for its special culture. But Michele liked Oman and Myanmar very much.
