Violette Dorange, the fresh wind of the Vendée Globe

This not very thick girl, who faces thirty-nine sea dogs seasoned to the challenges of the open sea and experienced in the horrors of extreme navigation, is ready to sell her skin dearly. She thus won the hearts of the public. Since the departure on November 10, the youngest of this Everest of the seas, a hundred times more difficult than that on land – only 114 sailors have completed the Vendée Globe since its creation compared to some 11,000 mountaineers who have reached the highest peak in the world – , literally exploded the counters. Having started with 50,000 followers on Instagram, the adventurer is now flirting with 450,000, which makes her the most followed sailor in the race.

As she fights with the elements, Violette shouts “that's great”, making us forget all thoughts of risk.

His singing voice seems to come straight out of a cartoon, his spontaneous onomatopoeia and his irresistible emoji expressions even find their way into Léon Marchand's training pools. The four-time Olympic swimming champion is now part of Violette Dorange's community, while singer Angèle likes some of her posts. The enthusiasm and authenticity of the new little bride of the Atlantic – and of all the oceans – wins. As she battles with the elements, the swell, the gusts or even her boat, she shouts almost insolent “that's great”, which instantly swallow up any idea of ​​risk. Like she's been doing this her whole life.

However, although she was born in Charente-Maritime, one of the cradles of sailing, Violette Dorange is not a daughter of sailors. His parents, veterinarians, never really went to sea. Having grown up in the Paris region, his father, Arnaud, only tried the line and the spinnaker during his studies, initiated by his school friend Jean-Pierre Dick , who would become a famous skipper and a great friend of the family. Originally from the North, Carole, her mother, is even less inclined towards the open sea. But upon arriving in the region, the call of the sea is heard. “Living near La Rochelle and not being on the water is like living in the mountains and not skiing,” they say together. So, we told our children: “You choose whatever sport you want, but on the water!” »

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The youngest of a family of three children, Violette follows in the footsteps of Rose, the eldest, who practices catamaran racing at a high level, and Charles, the youngest, who will become three times world champion in the discipline. However, at 6 years old, his first contact with the ocean felt like a missed opportunity. “She didn’t like it,” Carole remembers. It must be said that going out to sea is not very comfortable. It's often cold, it rains, you have to put on a wet suit. She had to persevere. » A character trait that Violette will make her own. And the discovery of competition fuels the fire that lies dormant within her. Very quickly, she won in front of the children in her age group, including the boys. She gets a taste for it and wants more. Gradually, she climbed the ranks and honed her weapons on Optimists, these walnut hulls barely two meters long, a sort of sea karting on which all the greatest sailors trained, learning to brave the ocean. like taming a horse.

Her mother can't help but worry: “I hope she's not too cold.” I wonder if the salt doesn't eat away at his skin too much.”

First turning point in the form of a particle accelerator when he was 8 years old. Muriel Picamoles, one of the pioneers of sophrology and mental preparation in France, crosses paths with the future champion, at the initiative of Arnaud Dorange. At the time, the sailing community was against this approach, but the patriarch stayed the course, convinced that the mental dimension is essential in accessing performance. The therapist successfully takes all the siblings under her control, but immediately identifies the extraordinary potential of the youngest.

“From the first session, she was very receptive. During the first visualization and projection exercise, she told me she felt the tension of the boat in her arms. It surprised me a lot, given her young age, but from then on I knew we were going to have fun together. » The association of the two women has lasted for more than fifteen years. Muriel Picamoles took part in the craziest challenges launched by Violette since her young years. Because this kid from the Vendée Globe is obviously not her first attempt.

His mother has been worrying for a long time. Even today, she wakes up every night with the rigor of a clock at 3:15 a.m., just after the three o'clock clock. If Carole Dorange has ended up getting used to and dealing with the risk, she cannot help but worry about the conditions experienced by her youngest: “At the moment, I see that it is 5°C where she is. I hope she's not too cold. I wonder if the salt isn't eating away at his skin too much, if his hands aren't too damaged. »

As a teenager, she crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in five hours and burst into tears: too easy!

Violette's first madness began when she was a teenager. At the age when hormones are running high and raging like the South Seas, most young people are asking for a scooter. Little Dorange has something much more exciting in mind: crossing the Channel on her Optimist. After fifteen hours of navigation, at the age of 15, she became the first to complete this journey on this type of craft. “I loved it,” she says when she arrives. “I took her in my arms, and then she said to me: ‘What do we do next, Dad?’” Arnaud Dorange still laughs.

Her daughter is constantly thinking about the next step. Direction the Strait of Gibraltar. And first big heartache. “It only took five hours. She found it too easy and burst into tears,” recalls Carole Dorange. No more time to waste, the youngest of the family changes gear. Now it’s time to get serious with benchmark races. First the Mini Transat, in which she will be the youngest participant, and then the Solitaire du Figaro three times (2020, 2021, 2022). In the industry, they are called the baccalaureate and the sailing preparation. Having graduated with flying colors, she is racing towards her destiny in Vendée with a godfather of choice.

Jean Le Cam passed on his sailboat to him

His sailboat, “DeVenir”, is in fact Jean Le Cam's former boat, the one on which he placed fourth in the last Vendée Globe. True to his reputation, “King Jean”, 65 years old and dean of the 2024 event, reached out to the young offshore company by sending it a monument of the seas, formerly named “Hubert” in homage to its late builder. , the brother of Michel Desjoyeaux. But Violette doesn't just inherit a boat. “I have three lucky stuffed animals on board, including cousin Ushu, who was previously with Jean. When he handed me the sailboat, he told me: “We have to take cousin Ushu around the world.” »

Among sailors, a word given is worth all the gold in the world and, every day, Violette Dorange gets a little closer to her goal and her promise. If she still has some way to go, she has just crossed the antimeridian, a highly symbolic passage. “It means in concrete terms that I am no longer moving away from home but that I am getting closer to it,” she rejoices. And before long the skipper will reach Point Nemo, the place in the world farthest from any land surface, 2,688 kilometers from the first coast, in the heart of the South Pacific. Even there, all eyes will be on the most popular sailor of the moment.