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Violette Dorange is a young, committed face, now familiar with ocean sailing. The revelation of the last Vendée Globe, which she finished at just 24 years of age, she is the embodiment of this generation that speaks as well offshore as in stories. However, this Monday, August 4, 2025, the skipper has chosen to remain silent. Not at sea, but on the networks, in the media. Tired of the "whirlwind", she says. Exhausted by a pace where sporting performance is no longer enough without calibrated communication.
Her decision is straightforward: " I feel physically and mentally exhausted ".
Too much exposure, too many demands, too much time spent reporting rather than building. And itâ??s not a rejection of the âeuros digital tools sheâ??s been using since her first Optimist âeuros, but a desire to refocus. Back to basics: learning, progressing, sailing.
This retreat is not an escape, but a courageous choice. It goes against the grain of the times, when every skipper has to be a navigator, an influencer, a speaker, a manager and a role model. At a time when the sea is sometimes viewed more through a screen than a porthole. That's been the game for as long as ocean racing has existed. At the time of the first Transat in 1960, many skippers were already complaining about a simple radio session. Six decades later, Violette is finally crossing the same wake.
Let's wish him fair winds, a little further away from the spotlight. For if sailing needs stories, it needs whole sailors. And Violette Dorange, in her withdrawal, rightly reminds us that the best trajectory is not always the one that makes the most noise.
