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Irish offshore sailor Pamela Lee on the start line of the Transat Café L’OR with her Class40 yacht #EMPOWHER alongside American co-skipper Jay Thompson

The Greystones, County Wicklow skipper Pam Lee has already made her own little bit of history already as she lines up to start the Transat Café L’Or, the doublehanded race from Le Havre to Martinique. She is the first skipper to move on from the Transatlantic race’s Cap Pour Elles initiative to now have her own boat and her own project on the startline ready to race.

The Transat Café L’Or race’s initiative is designed to help two deserving talented female skipper gain experience of every aspect of a Class 40 project, in the biennial race across the Atlantic. While it provides a boat and some funding, some expert advice and help, the duo still need to find funding and to learn a certain level of self reliance and drive. Along with her French co-skipper Tiphaine Rageuneau, Lee achieved all her goals two years ago, getting to Martinique in good shape.

But most importantly it introduced her to the ferry and shipping giant DFDS who she pursued with an inspiring proposition. That idea is now a competitive Class40 project #EmpowHer, collaborating with DFDS to encourage more women to pursue careers in the marine sector, notably looking to see 20% of all roles at all levels being fulfilled by women by 2030. It has already been very successful, Pam becoming the godmother to their cadet programme, but the Irish skipper insists this is just the start.

Speaking at the dock in the Le Havre race village for the official baptism of #EmpowHer by French ocean racer Karine Fauconnier and British counterpart Brian Thompson, Lee enthused, “I think sport is such a great communicator, we have seen it with so many sports, with women’s rugby for example, sport gets people’s emotions, it gets people going, we can use it for great comms, great stories, we can create energy and inspiration. We are here doing it. And DFDS are so cool with it, they are totally on board with this.”

"And it’s not just about racing. It's also about showing what's possible and encouraging everyone to forge their own path – whether that's in sailing or something else entirely."

Lee has chosen to sail with French based American Jay Thompson who has been working in technical support – as a ‘preparateur’ – for more than a dozen years, most recently for Sam Davies’ Initiatives Coeur IMOCA campaign. He has been with Lee’s project since the start and not only brings practical, tech skills - being able to fix most things and keep the boat at as close to 100% as possible - but is Californian cool but highly motivated as a skilled racer looking to enhance his reputation as a sailor, aiming to launch his own project. Their boat is a Verdier designed Pogo S4, formerly Groupe SNEF.

Please find the full article here : https://www.transatcafelor.org/en/article/empowhered