What is the place of women in sailing in France??
In France, women in sailing are very lucky. In sporting terms, they have their rightful place. There are no barriers in sailing, but it is rather because of a vision of society that it is difficult for a woman to pursue a career in ocean racing. However, there are sponsors who say they want to sponsor women, but the society's view is very strong.
In the eyes of society, and towards sponsors, he has an additional responsibility to be a woman, to risk his life all the more if this woman is also a mother. Women who make a career sometimes have children and a companion who does not want to take over while she is racing
In short, these are social barriers that prevent women from pursuing a career in sailing in France, but they are not a blockage of the environment itself. However, this is not the case in other countries where there is still a lot of work to be done on accessibility to sailing for women, as we already have in France.
Is it more difficult to find a sponsor for a femme??
It shouldn't be! As far as the search for sponsors is concerned, that is changing. In France, some major sponsors are willing to communicate differently by recruiting women. We are also seeing more and more women lining up at the start of major races, such as the next Vendée Globe.
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Is sailing a medium machiste??
In Class40, there is absolutely no machismo. In French sailing more generally, I don't think so either. This is not the case in other countries, where women are generally not even invited to surf.
On the small regional one-week regattas, you can find quite a few women, up to about 35%. But on large projects, such as TP52 for example, there are very few. On the last Volvo Ocean Race it was an obligation, but would they have taken women on board if it hadn't been obligatoire??
Let me give you an example: Libby Greenhalgh, a British sailor who competed in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-2015 with Team SCA and then in 2017-2018 with Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag is a very good skipper. Despite her two participations in this world-renowned race, she is now waiting to be contacted for other projects.
While men were quickly called to the America's Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race... British sailors, despite winning gold medals at the Olympic Games, were left behind. In France, women have no place anymore.
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Why is it more difficult in Angleterre??
In France, sailing sponsorship is great. There is this culture of small and medium-sized companies that come to finance projects. In England, they are immediately very large companies, such as Hugo Boss (Alex Thomson) or Aviva (Dee Caffari), with very large budgets. Sailing is not seen in the same way as in France, where it is very popular.
A woman has the same abilities as a man in voile??
Sailing is one of the only sports with horseback riding where there is no differentiated ranking: male and female. Everyone is put on an equal footing. Then, of course, you have to choose your frame. A Class40 is human-sized and it is a good size for women. It's a pretty physical boat, but you just have to compensate with a little more sport.
What are your plans for suite??
I'm trying to align myself with the Vendée Globe 2020. A long journey that will begin immediately after the 2019 Atlantic Challenge. It's a shame we can't do a Vendée Globe on a Class40.
