From Glénans to the Atlantic solo
It all began at Les Glénans. Sasha learned to sail there as a teenager, and went on to obtain her monitorat. Her training years gave her a solid foundation, but it was elsewhere that she built her maritime culture. First by boat-hitchhiking, then by discovering the Mini class, she took her first steps in regattas. At the same time, she passed her Yachtmaster exam, began serious training, and took her first regatta start in 2019.
A graduate of the École Nationale des Arts et Métiers, with a doctorate in physics and a career as a data scientist at the French National Assembly, this well-built young woman came to ocean racing with a fresh perspective.
"I sometimes had very advanced technical and physical knowledge, but not necessarily the basics", she says. She dares to ask naive questions, and assumes she doesn't know everything. But above all, she quickly gets into the game. The technique, the commitment, the constant progress: everything pushes her to go further.
First Mini 6.50, first results
At the end of 2021, after two years in a Mini, she managed to secure a loan for a Maxi 650. Her budget was 90% complete, and she was not looking for victory, but for a high-performance support system to help her progress. In 2022, she set off from Les Sables âeuros Les Açores âeuros Les Sables. Her first major solo crossing was not on the program, but the organizers warned her 48 hours before the starting gun was fired that she could take part! Tired from the start, and battered by the weather, she holds on.
"So proud to have arrived in the Azores" she says. There, she discovered that she was perfectly happy alone at sea. And that she wants to go on.
In 2023, after a full season, she wins her ticket for the Mini Transat. During the second leg, Sasha was on the attack. An option in the trade winds, a week at 30 knots, the opportunity for her to break the 24-hour distance record in a Mini, which would be snatched from her a few days later by another competitor who chose the same option.
She climbed up the rankings, until she suffered damage to her starboard runner. Makeshift repairs, light airs spinnaker, constrained caution: she loses ground but learns a lot. " The exercise was to stay committed for so long, never letting go, while enjoying the moment".
Towards Class40 and structuring a project
The following spring, she crossed from Martinique to Quebec on a Pogo S4. A first for this type of vehicle, it immediately appealed to her. " I'm convinced" she says.
Enough to want to structure a project. True to her values, she set up a women's stable " Sailing Team breakers ". Sasha and his team recover n°186, an ultra-fiabilized 2022 Manuard design. At the same time, a selection process is launched to recruit a new skipper for the Mini. Karen Menuet, who trains at the Pôle de Lorient, is chosen to take the helm of 1053 for the Mini 2027. Both boats were launched on April 1.
Sasha takes full responsibility for the management of his structure: communication, sponsors, technical management and resources.
"I love business management and setting up great projects, telling adventures. What matters to me is investing in boats and in a strong identity. "
She wants to build a credible, inspiring project that will make sponsors want to get involved for the long term. Eventually, she hopes to produce a film, give lectures and talk about gender diversity in ocean racing.
Aiming for performance... without pressure
Today, she's at the helm of a high-performance Class 40, with Susane Beuck as co-skipper for the double-handed events. But it's solo that she's now preparing for her first major Class40 start, which will take place on the second leg of Les Sables-Horta.
"I'm much more prepared than I was two years ago, she confides. Yet she puts no pressure on herself to achieve results. The pleasure of progressing, learning and managing a project in its entirety remains at the heart of her approach.
Between pragmatism and instinct, Sasha Lanièce charts a singular course in the highly standardized world of ocean racing. A trajectory made up of trials, errors and assertive choices, driven by a constant desire to understand, master and transmit. A sailor to watch.
