Violette Dorange finishes 25th: My Vendée Globe was a dream come true
by Ed Gorman / IMOCA Globe Series 9 Feb 2025 22:53 PST
9 February 2025
DeVenir skipper Violette Dorange (FRA) is celebrating after taking 25th place in the Vendée Globe, on February 09, in Les Sables d'Olonne, France © Vincent Curutchet / Alea
The young French sailor, Violette Dorange, crossed the finish line of the Vendée Globe on Sunday and described her solo voyage around the planet - that has enthralled millions of people in France and elsewhere - as a dream come true.
Asked to summarise what she had experienced during 90 days alone at sea, Dorange said: "I've been through so much - it's hard to sum it up in a few sentences because it's such a unique experience. You find yourself alone in the world, on the other side of the ocean, far from any land or civilization.
"I have some incredible memories," she added, "It was a dream come true. I've always wanted to highlight youth and show that we can achieve amazing things. I hope I was able to share this adventure and my emotions in the most authentic way possible."
Dorange may have finished in 25th position out of 40 starters, but the welcome for the skipper of DeVenir was probably bigger than for anyone else, as she made her way up the famous canal to the marina at Les Sables d'Olonne.
This 23-year-old from La Rochelle captured the hearts and minds of her nation as she made her way around the planet, sailing a competitive race and sharing it all with a growing audience on social media where more than one million people have been following her.
Dorange simply lit up the race with her bright personality, ready smile and down to earth humility. She faced every challenge without complaint and fully justified the faith placed in her by her sponsors and her mentor, the veteran French sailor Jean Le Cam, who finished this Vendée Globe five places ahead of her.
Dorange sailed round the world in 90 days, 22 hours and 37 minutes, covering a total distance of 28,057.22 nautical miles at an average speed of 12.85 knots. On board an old but battle-hardened IMOCA that once carried the French legend Michel Desjoyeaux to victory in this race in 2008-09, she crossed the finish line 26 days behind race winner Charlie Dalin.
But that was not the point. Here was a young sailor making her mark as an undoubted talent to watch for the future and even at the finish she was talking about coming back for another go in four years time.
The striking aspect of Dorange's comments at her arrival press conference was her emphasis on competing, not just getting round. Having raced 420 dinghies to European and world championship standard, and sailed for three years in the Figaro class, the Vendée Globe was another race she wanted to compete in to the best of her ability.
"I think we all give our all, even if we're not always in the lead," she said. "There's always a real battle. I never once thought I could take an extra nap. I was fully in my race until the very end and right up to the finish, it was a fight...I couldn't let up at all."
One of the impressive elements of Dorange's race was the maturity of her decision-making, not least deciding to throttle back when facing a potentially dangerous passage round Cape Horn. Dorange suppressed her competitive instincts and decided to wait for more favourable conditions.
"It was incredibly tough to have to slow down and watch everyone else sail away," she said. "In the end, I ended up getting even stronger winds and, in those conditions, I broke something - I lost a sail overboard. But I told myself that if my sail had fallen into the water during the first depression, it would have been even more complicated...so you can always play the 'what if?' game. That was my decision, I stand by it, and that's just how it is. I took a chance and that's that."
Another impressive feature was how well Dorange coped with the various technical challenges she faced on her boat, something that could not have been easy for a 23-year-old short on solo offshore experience. She had to re-build her pedestal winch in the cockpit, mend her engine and climb her mast twice, the second time in 20 knots of wind and a big swell. "That was really, really tough," she remembered. "I wasn't feeling confident - I hurt myself a little and was scared of getting seriously injured."
But Dorange proved a rugged competitor in every respect and she explained more about her approach on that score. "What's tough about the Vendée Globe is that even when the fear is there, you have to keep moving forward," she said. "Sometimes, you really have to fight it, push on, and put the blinders on. And another thing - I realised there's no point in worrying before something actually happens, otherwise you end up worrying twice."
Dorange was 21st at the Equator heading south - just ahead of Le Cam - and in 26th place at both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin, before dropping back to 28th at Cape Horn, places she then regained during the long climb north up the Atlantic. Along the way, she kept up a steady stream of communications on video and on audio and text, including a final video from on board recording her delight as Dalin himself flew by to salute her in a French military plane as she approached the finish.
This was a voyage that inspired an unknown number of mainly French children on a boat whose name means "become." Dorange takes this aspect of her career very seriously and spoke eloquently at the finish about the impact it has had. "What touches me the most is seeing that children have taken an interest in the Vendée Globe," she said. "The boat is called DeVenir - and that's no coincidence. The idea is to highlight certain values: learning to trust yourself, even when it's not easy, pushing your limits, taking on challenges and embracing adventure...this message is also for older generations - trust in youth," she added.
Dorange thanked her team for preparing what she said was a "flawless boat" and she thanked her family and her parents who have supported her as she progressed from one sailing challenge to another, including sailing across both the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar in an Optimist dinghy, aged 15. She compared the gathering at the finish to a family wedding: "That's what's special about the Vendée Globe - it brings so many people together, almost like a wedding. My friends, my whole family, from all over France - they were all there. I received so much love and that carried me through the whole race."