Globe40 2028-2029 Interview: Sophie Delannoy - "I'm dreaming of Cape Horn"
by Sirius Events 20 Sep 03:48 PDT
September 2025 - April 2026
Sophie Delannoy © Jean-Marie Liot / Globe40
From the Mini Transat to the Globe40, Sophie Delannoy is stepping up to a whole new level!
After discovering offshore racing through the 2025 Mini Transat, Sophie Delannoy is now preparing to take on a brand-new challenge: a round-the-world race aboard a Class40, with a crew, and the ambition of fighting for victory in the 2028-2029 Globe40.
Pre-registered for this third edition, the sailor is building a project that is both sporting, team-oriented and purpose-driven, surrounded by a predominantly female team. The objective is clear: to bring together the skills, resources and experience needed to fight at the front of the fleet, while also opening the door for a new generation of female sailors in the Class40 world.
Having followed the second edition of the Globe40 very closely, Sophie looks back on the moments that made the biggest impression on her, from the incredible finish in Valparaiso to the battle between the leading boats, and shares her thoughts on the new 2028-2029 course, which she is already eagerly looking forward to.
Sophie, to start with, can you tell us about your sailing background? How did you get into offshore racing?
As a sailor, and despite being an experienced sailor, I'm still very new to the world of offshore racing, since I only got started when I launched my Mini Transat project in 2023. So I still have a lot to learn and plenty of room to improve. The Mini Transat really made me want to go further and sail more competitive boats. I also wanted to move from a project focused on solo sailing to a team-based project. We've just completed a Class40 season with my team around me, and it was a really great experience.
You took part in the 2025 Mini Transat. What did you take away from that experience, both from preparing the project and from the race itself?
What I learned is that racing a boat is demanding, sometimes exhausting and even discouraging. These racing boats can be quite temperamental. They can be incredibly fast, but if you haven't done things properly, they can quickly become fragile. For the Mini Transat, I deliberately chose a robust boat because my goal was to finish without suffering too much damage. I made it to the finish and achieved that objective. However, when I arrived in Guadeloupe, I immediately thought that my next project had to be about winning — or at least about doing everything possible to give myself a real chance of winning.
Between your first sailing experiences and today, when did you start thinking that a round-the-world race could become a realistic goal?
I was already dreaming about sailing around the world before I left Les Sables d'Olonne. The Globe40 immediately appealed to me. A round-the-world race sailed in stages, which allows you to meet people and discover places, while also requiring you to build a team. As soon as I came back from the Mini Transat, I picked up my phone and thought, "That's what I want to do."
There has also been an evolution in what I wanted this project to stand for. I did the Mini Transat because I loved offshore racing, but also because I wanted to show who I am today. I really realised that this had touched people — I had some wonderful encounters before the start, including a man who had read my story in the local newspaper in Les Sables.
Sailing is a sporting performance, but it can also be something that transforms society. That's something I had intuitively understood ever since Florence Arthaud's victory, and it became even more obvious to me as a member of an underrepresented part of the population.
Through the 2025 Mini Transat, I fulfilled myself not only as a sailor, but also as a woman. So I wanted my next project to be a project for women. That's how I came to build this Globe40 project with a team of young women, with the ambition of fighting for victory. The message we want to convey is that, given equal resources and skills, we can perform just as well. This project should give young and talented women the opportunity to gain rapid access to the Class40, which is an extraordinary platform. Living together and racing around the world for seven months will be an incredible adventure.
You are therefore pre-registered for the third edition of the Globe40 in 2028. What attracts you most about this race? The round-the-world challenge, the competition, the journey, the adventure... or a bit of everything?
Yes, exactly — everything you've just mentioned. I also like things that are constantly evolving. I don't like things that just plod along. You really made us dream with the second edition! For everyone who followed the race, it was something extraordinary. The audience figures released this summer clearly show that the event is growing and gaining momentum.
It's always exciting to be riding a wave that is moving forward rather than surfing something that has been doing more or less the same thing for years and years. The innovative side of this race is really interesting to me. The second edition also proved that you can now take part with scow Class40s, which is fantastic because these are incredibly exhilarating boats.
I imagine you followed the last edition very closely. What impressed you the most? What are you most looking forward to? And, on the other hand, what impresses or intimidates you the most?
I told Manfred Ramspacher that I absolutely wanted a photo of the boat in front of the Sydney Opera House!
The finish in Valparaiso was incredibly memorable. To me, it ranks alongside the 1978 Route du Rhum finish between Kriter and Olympus. Two boats arriving in Valparaiso Bay and finishing level. Even if you had tried to script it, it would have been impossible... The story of Freedom leaving Sydney was also crazy. There were several races within the race. It was truly spectacular. The Belgians' technical stop in Valdivia, and the fact that they managed to get back under way in record time, was another great story.
For me, the challenge is to live up to all these stories. We're clearly not entering this Globe40 just to make up the numbers. At my age, I no longer have the time to put projects together at the last minute. We're going to have to build an extremely high-performing team for the third edition, which is shaping up to be very competitive. And that's great!
What are the main areas you want to focus on now in preparation for the round-the-world race?
For me, the first priority is having a reliable boat that is extremely well prepared, in order to avoid breakages. It may sound obvious, but the preparation has to be flawless.
The whole team needs to be at the required level in terms of sailing skills and have an impeccable team spirit. What's really important to me over the next year and a half is building a team of people who genuinely want to make the collective successful. The story we want to tell isn't "Sophie and her friends sailing around the world", but rather "a team of high-performing women aged between 26 and 59, setting off around the world with very realistic resources and a huge desire to win."
Do you already have an idea of what your team will look like, both on the water and on shore?
Thanks to the support of our partners, we were able to complete a first season with the team. We are currently 11 people: 10 women and one man, Calliste Antoine. Overall, we managed to sail with two-thirds of the team this year, and we have some truly outstanding people. From the very first race, I could see that it was going to work, even though there are obviously things we still need to adjust and fine-tune. We need to learn how to live together on a boat. All the women have the skills, the desire and the commitment to succeed.
At the same time, we are working with an association in Auray to run awareness initiatives around gender-based and sexual violence. Beyond the sporting performance, this project will help create an environment where everyone wants to give their absolute best on the water.
The Globe40 recently announced the framework for the course of the third edition. What was your reaction when you first saw it?
I absolutely loved this course! Throughout the race, there will be plenty of opportunities to reshuffle the deck. There will also be plenty of opportunities to make mistakes — we'll just have to make fewer of them than our competitors! The descent and ascent of the Atlantic are going to be fantastic! I'm particularly excited about the leg in South Africa. Jean-Marie Liot's images from Valparaiso definitely make you want to be there! The Cape Horn leg may look very short on paper, but it's going to be highly technical. It's a really beautiful course. I also think it's great that there are longer legs. We love being offshore — we breathe better at sea!
We're also going to countries where French companies have established operations, which is a real plus when it comes to international companies looking to get involved in the project.
Is there a particular leg or section of the course that you are especially dreaming about?
I'm dreaming of Cape Horn. I'm also dreaming of the descent of the Atlantic. I've already ticked those two legs off my list. After that, everything will be great... We're going around the world! We can't be too picky!
What does your sporting programme look like over the coming months?
Aina Bauza will sail the Route du Rhum with the boat. I'll be watching the Route du Rhum from the sidelines, and that's actually a good thing because it will give me time to secure the budget for next year. We're very keen to race the entire circuit next year, right through to the Transat Café L'Or. We have a big programme ahead, and to make it happen I need to finalise the budget. The advantage of not sailing the boat at the end of the year is that I'll have plenty of time to work with my phone and my diary!
The plan is also to race the Niji40 and the Transat Québec-Saint-Malo before the start of the Globe40.
What can we wish you between now and the start in 2028?
Listen, you can wish me a rock-solid and united team.
Preparing a boat is relatively straightforward... there are people who know how to do that... The real challenge, and the thing we absolutely have to achieve before the start, is to build a team that understands that we are here for an objective that goes beyond simply winning.
We are lucky to have partners who are genuinely committed to gender equality. They are committed because they believe in it, but also because they see it as a real way of creating value for their businesses. It's very important to see that we are aligned with them.
The team isn't just the sailors. It's also about bringing together companies that share the values we stand for. That will make us stronger.