Everything happens for a reason

This winter has been a long exercise in resilience and perseverance. It didn’t work out the first time, or the second… but eventually the project started to take shape.

This year, thanks to the support of those who stand by me in the good times and the not-so-good ones, we’ve taken on a new challenge: to compete in the Transat Café de l’Or – Le Havre Normandie 2025, aboard a Class40.

For those unfamiliar with it, the Transat Café de l’Or is a transatlantic race starting in Le Havre (France) and heading across the Atlantic to Martinique. It’s the Transat of big boats and legendary sailors. A demanding, unassisted crossing, designed for pure racing boats and one-designs of 40 feet or more. We’ll be racing in the Class40, the smallest category. We’ve been selected for the Cap Pour Elles 2025 program, sponsored by Engie, which has allowed us to secure 35% of the project’s budget.

I’m sharing this project with Axelle Pillain, a sailor with extensive experience on larger boats (IMOCA, Ocean Fifty,…). I couldn’t imagine a better partner for this challenge. We’ve both crossed the Atlantic solo on 6.5-meter boats, and now it’s time to do it again—on a much faster boat—showing what we’re capable of.

First images of the new project

I couldn’t be more excited to get onboard and start sailing. It’s incredible! Not everything is in place yet, but sometimes you just have to take the leap and begin—because if you wait for everything to be perfect, you might never start. With this project, we want to inspire everyone who has challenges to face and dreams to chase. To dare, even if it’s scary. Even if you’ve fallen once, twice, or three times.

Join us on this journey. This is just the beginning.

— Aina Bauza