On November 10, Violette Dorange set sail in the Vendée Globe 2024. At 23 years of age, she is the youngest female skipper in this edition. Portrait of an athletic and strategic woman whose future looks more than promising.
A native of Charente-Maritime, Violette was born in 2001. The sea runs in the Dorange family. Like her brother (three-time world champion catamaran sailor) and sister, the young girl was introduced to sailing at an early age, and joined the Société des régates rochelaises. But the call of the waves was not so instinctive…
At 6 on a sailboat
While many young children play in parks and practice sports on land, Violette Dorange was already on a small sailboat at the age of six. “At first, I didn’t really like it because it’s cold and damp. I was on an Optimist and I thought it wasn’t making any progress. But little by little, I got the hang of it. When I started competing, I saw that it was going well. Then I went to Argentina to take part in the World Sailing Championships, and that’s when things really clicked,” Violette Dorange told Annonces du Bateau three years ago.
At the age of 15, in parallel with her studies in a sports-study section, she set off single-handed across the English Channel with impressive determination. A year later, she began crossing the Straits of Gibraltar, then, with Camille Orion in 420, won the title of French champion in 2016 and 2017. This was followed by a bronze medal at the 2017 European Championships, a silver medal in 2017 and two bronze medals (2016 and 2018) at the World Youth Championships in the girls’ category.
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Featured Photo: © Instagram Violette Dorange
