Chloé Le Bars, the professional sailor with a contagious smile

We welcomed Chloé Le Bars to our Sailing Team ! And we are thrilled to have her among our ambassadors and tester of the SAILIZ products. While she currently sails on the Figaro circuit, we had the chance to meet her and share a sailing trip to capture some beautiful shots.

If you don’t know Chloé Le Bars yet, or aren’t familiar with the details of her journey, we’ll tell you all about it in this blog post.

Chloé Le Bars’ Journey

In a few words

Originally from Brittany, Chloé Le Bars discovered sailing at a very young age thanks to a small ad in the newspaper offering Optimist lessons. At 7, she took her first tacks for fun before discovering competitive sailing. From dinghies to Lasers, and then Match Racing, she spent more and more time on the water and progressed. With these experiences, she felt the need to have her own project and embarked on the Mini-Transat adventure.

She participated in seasonal races and qualified for the Mini-Transat, which she finished in 29th position. That’s when everything changed, and she decided to make offshore racing her profession. Selected as skipper for the Océane Challenge in 2021, she helmed the Figaro “Chouquette” for 2 years. Today, she’s flying solo with a boat in endo breizh colors to continue sailing on the Figaro circuit.

Dinghy sailing, where it all began

Chloé Le Bars didn’t wait to enter offshore racing to dive headfirst into competition. She mainly sailed in Loctudy when she was very young, in an Optimist, and she hasn’t left the sea since.

French Youth Laser Champion, she competed in it for many years in Lorient. She found a second family there and spent wonderful years, even winning the French championships while simultaneously studying for her physiotherapy degree.

Her transition from dinghy sailing to offshore racing

Initially, the Olympic pathway didn’t appeal to her, and it was thanks to the young Breton sailors program that she began to discover offshore racing.

First with Damien Cloarec and Stéphane Krauss and a first Océane selection on a Figaro, she decided to start where many have cut their teeth: the Mini 6.50. And she has no regrets!

Chloé Le Bars’ Mini-Transat

While she was on the waiting list to participate, she learned at the last minute that she would be able to start. She felt very lucky to be there but set off without truly knowing what awaited her, as she was embarking on her first major solo crossing. With a second leg lasting 18 days, managing solo navigation is not easy. She learned many things, such as sailing in the trade winds. She ultimately finished in 29th position.

Chloé Le Bars and SAILIZ

As Chloé Le Bars launches a new project and seeks new partners, SAILIZ joins the adventure and provides technical support. She accepted and provides us with excellent feedback to continue improving our product range.

What she loves about offshore racing

Freedom, the feeling of being alone at sea facing an immensity of water, and competition, of course. Tuning her boat, making it go fast—that’s what she enjoys.

Did you know?

Chloé Le Bars is very passionate about sunrises and sunsets!

Chloé Le Bars and the Figaro

The Océane selection springboard

She describes these 2 years with the CMB team as “great”; with a good technical team and excellent support, she progressed enormously. She gives 100% to improve, as she always wants to do better and learn a little more each day. Her desire to excel constantly drives her and allowed her to finish in 13th position in La Solitaire du Figaro 2023.

The Solitaire du Figaro, the desire to return

Often among the frontrunners, she had a great Solitaire du Figaro and only wants to go back. The Solitaire du Figaro is one of the most challenging solo races where sleep management is essential. With a very intense pace both at sea and on land, stress and fatigue increase with exhaustion.

And since hard work always pays off, it’s by consistently sailing solo and double-handed that Chloé Le Bars feels increasingly comfortable, especially in tough conditions.

Port-La-Forêt, her training center

Today, Chloé Le Bars trains at the Port-La-Forêt center with the best skippers on the Figaro circuit. The Finistère offshore racing center trains the greatest skippers year-round. Many great sailors have come through the Port-La-Forêt center, such as Michel Desjoyeaux and many others.

Her aspirations for the future

Always with performance in mind, Chloé Le Bars wants to take her time to continue progressing without skipping steps. She first wants to master one boat type before moving on to the next. So, Chloé Le Bars will still be on the Figaro circuit this year. Her wish for 2024 is to achieve a TOP 10 finish in a race.