Transat Café L'Or: Three German women compete for a Transat ticket for two

The 17th Transat Café L'Or starts on 26 October. Many people still know the renowned classic under its former name Transat Jacques Vabre. Many Imoca greats from the recently concluded Vendée Globe will be at the starting line of the two-handed race to Martinique. These include winner Charlie Dalin and Team Malizia with Boris Herrmann. There will also be the Ultim, Ocean Fifty and Class40 classes. In the Class40, the organisers have announced a sponsorship project for female sailors: the Cap pour Elles.

Transat Café L'Or: Support project for women

Ambitious female Class 40 duos were able to apply. Six teams made it to the final selection. Three German female sailors are competing in two teams for the special sponsorship. The project was launched four years ago. This is the third time that the initiative has supported a women's team both financially and with support and counselling during preparation and at the Transat Café L'Or.

In 2021, Julia and Jeanne Courtois benefited from the sponsorship. In the last edition, Pamela Lee and Tiphaine Ragueneau enjoyed the intensive support in 2023. "Cap pour Elles enabled us to immediately tackle a major project that I might not have thought of straight away," Tiphaine Ragueneau later said about the appeal and the opportunities she experienced with the concept. Tiphaine Ragueneau is now heavily involved in the Figaro Circuit.

The kick-start gave the Frenchwoman a huge boost. She says: "Once we had made it, I was much less afraid to start my own project. I simply convinced myself that I was capable of doing it." Now international women's teams have once again applied for funding.

Six duos want a ticket to the Transat Café L'Or

The organisers have now published a short list of the six two-handed teams that have made it to the final selection. Among them are Sophie von Waldow and Oda Hausmann as a duo and Susann Beucke with the Frenchwoman Sasha Lanièce including three German sailors. Sophie von Waldow and Oda Hausmann have known each other for a long time and are currently sailing together on "Red Bandit", which last sailed to overall victory in the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2024.

Both sailors are from Berlin, but currently live in Munich. Sophie von Waldow (26, Potsdamer Yacht-Club) is currently finishing her master's degree in mechanical engineering there and, like Oda Hausmann (24, Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee), is also a member of the Bayerischer Yacht-Club.

Susann Beucke recently withdrew from her Figaro campaign. Now the 33-year-old wants to make a fresh start alongside Sasha Lanièce. "She has already crossed the Atlantic single-handed in a Mini 6.50 and has a scientific background. I have sailed in the Olympics and turned into an offshore sailor," said Sanni Beucke, describing the complementary partnership with Transat-Ziel.

Please help us to be selected for the Cap pour Elles project." Sanni Beucke

Sanni Beucke explains the Cap pour Elles project: "It's an initiative to create opportunities for women in sailing. Because that's what women need: Opportunities, visibility and role models." The conditions to be fulfilled by all female candidates: Applicants must be of legal age and must not have participated in a transatlantic ocean race before (except the Transat 6.50).

Professional support for Transat Café L'Or

The fact that one or two sailors have already sailed across the Atlantic as a crew member - for example Sophie von Waldow at the very beginning of her sailing career without much experience on Henri de Bokay's Elliot "Rafale" in the RORC Transatlantic Race 2023 - is not considered a knockout criterion. "The jury is more interested in the fact that you haven't yet done this as the skipper of your own campaign," says Sophie von Waldow.

The winning duo will benefit from financial support for the development of their Class40 project, the payment of registration fees by the project initiators and coaching and management support from experienced professionals. The winning duo will complete a training programme developed by the Normandie Sailing League before the Transat Café L'Or.

Anne Combier will be on hand to coach the competition winners. The experienced mentor, who has been working with the best sailors for over 30 years, has already coached Catherine Chabaud, Karine Fauconnier and the penultimate Vendée Globe winner Yannick Bestaven. Claudie Haigneré joins the team as a consultant. The French astronaut and patron of Transat Café L'Or 2025 wants to put her experience to good use and stand by the side of the young up-and-comers.

We need to encourage the younger generations to bravely embark on the adventure of a lifetime." Claudie Haigeneré

Claudie Haigeneré said: "We need to foster the curiosity of the younger generation, encourage them to dare to leave the beaten track and free themselves from stereotypes that are still strong. Pushing boundaries can be a wonderful way to master life. Ocean sailing is a wonderful example of this, as is space exploration."

Transat Café L'Or: Astronaut inspires female sailors

The astronaut continued: "Seeing young women setting sail is a source of inspiration. Cap pour Elles will support two young female sailors to successfully complete their first Transat Café L'Or adventure. In addition to the inspiring example and entrepreneurial boldness, the support of a team is an important element in daring to dream big. I am proud to be part of this team."

All applicants had to submit a four to five-page application, a presentation video and their CVs. After interviews with the jury members, six teams made it onto the shortlist instead of the originally announced three. This already spoke in favour of the high quality of the candidates. A public vote is now underway, the result of which counts as one vote for the jury. You can vote by liking the videos until 5pm on 5 March.

On 6 March, the candidates will be given another 20 minutes to defend their application in detailed discussions with the jury. The winners of the third edition of Cap pour Elles will be presented to the public on International Women's Day, 8 March. With the official starting signal, the competition winners will then have a good seven and a half months to prepare for the Transat Café L'Or, which traditionally begins on 26 October in Le Havre, with plenty of support.

Who will win the Cap pour Elles competition?

The Mallorcan Aina Bauza and her French co-skipper Caroline Boule have won the most votes in the public voting so far, but the election will run until late afternoon (5pm!) on 5 March. In the final spurt, she could also win a lot of votes for the German candidates. Here, the leading Spanish-French duo in the public vote introduce themselves: