CAP POUR ELLES AVEC ENGIE SEEKS ITS NEW ALL-FEMALE DUO

Following Julia and Jeanne Courtois in 2021, Pamela Lee and Tiphaine Ragueneau in 2023, and Aina Bauza and Axelle Pillain in 2025, two new sailors will now have the opportunity to take the next step and benefit from this springboard to the top level.

Cap pour Elles with ENGIE: advancing the place of women offshore

Sailing is one of the few sports in which women and men can compete on the same courses and in the same races. Yet while women’s participation is growing – women make up 36% of FFVoile licence holders registered in competition – female sailors remain very much in the minority when it comes to offshore racing and building professional projects. 

This observation is what gave rise to Cap pour Elles in 2021. Sporting talent alone is not enough: you have to set up a project, find a boat and partners, raise a budget, structure a team, communicate, and gain experience and visibility. Above all, you have to build the confidence to dare to launch a project as its leader.

Cap pour Elles with ENGIE was therefore designed as an all-round support programme with one goal: to select an all-female duo and give them the means to compete, in the best possible conditions, in their first transatlantic race in Class40, while also preparing for what comes next. As part of the gender-equality policy of the French Sailing Federation (FFVoile), which sponsors the project, the programme notably helps experienced sailors or those coming from Olympic sailing progress to the top level.

For almost a year, the winners receive sporting and personal support, mentoring from Anne Combier, a team manager who has worked alongside leading skippers for more than 30 years, help with finding partners, a communications and press relations programme, content production, and coverage of their entry fees. ENGIE, an active partner of the programme and the duo, also helps give them the means to develop in a professional and safe environment.

From Cap pour Elles with ENGIE to their own projects

Over three editions, six sailors have already benefited from Cap pour Elles. And for several of them, crossing the finish line of the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR did not mark the end of the adventure, but the start of a new chapter in their careers.

The programme’s first winners in 2021, twin sisters Julia and Jeanne Courtois paved the way by competing in their first transatlantic race in Class40, finishing 38^th. Five years later, offshore racing is still part of their journey. In particular, they have turned to the Mini 6.50 circuit. Julia Courtois is still sailing this season on Mini no. 989 Association Altygo, entered in several events on the 2026 circuit. 

In 2023, Pamela Lee and Tiphaine Ragueneau followed in their footsteps and finished the transatlantic race in 29^th place. Since then, each has built her own project. Pamela Lee now races in Class40 with #EMPOWHER. Returning to the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR in 2025 with her own project, she finished 17^th. After 9^th place in the CIC Normandy Channel Race and 5^th place in the Round Ireland Yacht Race this season, she will take part in the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2026. Tiphaine Ragueneau, for her part, chose the Figaro circuit and solo sailing. After her first Solitaire du Figaro in 2025, she finished 19^th in the 2026 edition this year. She is now building a new project for 2027 with the ambition of competing in the entire French Elite Offshore Racing Championship, including the Transat Paprec and another Solitaire du Figaro.

Finally, the 2025 winners, Aina Bauza and Axelle Pillain, finished 20^th in the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR in their first transatlantic race together. A few months later, both are still active on the Class40 circuit. Axelle Pillain notably took part in the CIC Normandy Channel Race this season, finishing 13^th with Sasha Lanièce. Aina Bauza, meanwhile, is preparing for a major new challenge: the Route du Rhum 2026, which she will race solo in Class40. It is a new project put together in just a few months, and she now fully appreciates everything Cap pour Elles has given her: “Cap pour Elles was a real springboard. After my Mini projects, the programme enabled me to launch my first Class40 project and take part in a major transatlantic race. I also learned an enormous amount about everything surrounding an offshore racing project, especially how to structure it and handle the administrative side, with the support of many professionals. That experience is paying off today: I managed to set up my new project in just three months because I now know how to do things much more quickly.” 

Who’s next in 2027?

Applications for this fourth edition of Cap pour Elles with ENGIE are open from 28 September to 29 October 2026 here (website link)

To apply, candidates must be over 18, form an all-female Class40 duo and must not have already competed in a transatlantic race, with the exception of the Transat 6.50. Selection criteria will include the progress of the project, the candidates’ involvement and commitment, their sailing experience and their CSR commitments. After reviewing the applications and holding individual interviews, the three best applications will be announced on 9 November. They will then go through a testing phase before the shortlist is published online and put to a public vote.

The new Cap pour Elles 2027 duo will be officially unveiled on 26 November at the Maison de la Radio, at the launch press conference for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR 2027. The two sailors will then have several months of training, mentoring and support to build their project ahead of the start of the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR on 31 October 2027 in Le Havre.