Transat Café L'OR update - Change of co-skipper for the Cap Pour Elles crew

Caroline Boule and Axelle Pillain © Georgia Schopfield

Having been recently selected as co-skipper for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Cap pour Elles project unfortunately Caroline Boule has told the organization that she has to withdraw and so the French sailor Axelle Pillain will replace her to form the all-female duo with Spanish sailor Aina Bauza.

From a chance meeting in a busy parking lot to the challenges of the wide open spaces of the ocean, Aina Bauza and Caroline Boule now share the same destiny, winning the third Cap pour Elles which aims to allow a pair of women to participate in their first TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR as their first ocean race. This 2025 edition has already achieved a broader appeal with 13 applications in the mix (starting with just four in 2021 and 10 in 2023), proof that the programme is attracting more and more young female sailors. Currently women still only represent 10% of the offshore racing participants

Axelle Pillain, a happy encounter

Originally from Brest, Axelle caught the ocean racing bug building up to and competing on the mini-transatlantic race in 2019. She moved to Lorient and became an electronics engineer, which led her to collaborate with major teams. In 2023, she worked with Malizia on The Ocean Race and took part on one of the legs. Last year, the skipper decided to strike out on her own and launch her own projects. Cap pour Elles is proving the perfect opportunity to do just that. Initially she was disappointed to have not made the final cut, but a phone call from Aina Bauza changed everything.Axelle Pillain explains, "Aina suggested we go for coffee in Lorient, but I wasn't sure why. In my head, I'd put the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR aside for a bit and was looking to join a team to work as an engineer, until Aina called me and asked me to form the new duo with her."

An experienced duo

After Caroline's departure, Aina found in Axelle the ideal teammate for this challenge. Both Aina and Axelle come from the Mini class and have solid experience in ocean racing. Their skills and backgrounds complement each other, allowing them to form a balanced and competitive team. They share a common goal: to participate in the most demanding races in ocean racing. Both are enthusiastic about this new challenge.

Aina says, "The fact that Axelle also applied to the Cap pour Elles project is important. Axelle knows big boats and has a lot of experience. Her engineering background is an asset because I tend to break electronics! Everything is in place to make a good crew, to succeed in a good transatlantic race. The next step is to start training together as soon as possible."

Priority: start sailing

Supported by their team manager, Anne Combier, Axelle and Aina are already working together on all aspects of the project to prepare as best as possible for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR. Then, training and sailing together will be the order of the day to find the chemistry that will guide them to Martinique.

*Created by TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR, in partnership with ENGIE, the Cap pour Elles program aims to highlight the feminization of ocean racing by supporting an all-female duo in the realization of their project on a financial, sporting, managerial and communication level.