Violette
DORANGE

From a young age, Violette Dorange has been immersed in the world of competitive sailing. After excelling at the highest level in the 420 class, she caught attention with extraordinary challenges: crossing the English Channel in an Optimist at just 15 years old, followed by the Strait of Gibraltar the next year. The young sailor from La Rochelle quickly developed a passion for offshore racing and, in 2018, decided to embark on the Mini Transat adventure. At 18, she became the youngest woman ever to start this legendary race.

She went on to race three seasons of the Solitaire du Figaro, then in 2023 acquired an IMOCA steeped in history: the Farr design on which Jean Le Cam completed five round-the-world races. Despite a limited budget, she ran at the front of the daggerboard fleet alongside her co-skipper Damien Guillou, then confirmed her talent solo in the Retour à La Base.

In the 2024 Vendée Globe, she won people over with her authenticity and drew a new audience to offshore racing. Facing conditions too dangerous at Cape Horn, she chose caution, even at the cost of losing places, before staging an impressive comeback. Despite several technical issues that forced her to climb her mast, she made it to the finish and received a triumphant welcome in Les Sables-d’Olonne, establishing herself as one of the great revelations of this edition.

In 2025, she joined Sam Davies’ team as co-skipper of Initiatives-Cœur.