Chloé Le Bars, the professional sailor with a contagious smile

We’ve welcomed Chloé Le Bars to our Sailing Team! And we are so happy to have her as one of our ambassadors and a tester for SAILIZ products. While she currently sails on the Figaro circuit, we had the chance to meet her and share a sail with her to capture some great photos.

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 classified ad in the newspaper offering Optimist lessons. At age 7, she sailed her first legs for fun before discovering competition. From dinghies to Lasers and Match Racing, she spent more and more time on the water and improved. With these experiences, she felt the need to have her own project and embarked on the Mini-Transat adventure.

She took part in the season’s races and qualified for the Mini-Transat, which she finished in 29th place. That was the turning point, and she became determined to make offshore racing her career. Selected as a skipper during the 2021 Challenge Océane, she took the helm of the Figaro “Chouquette” for 2 years. Today, she is striking out on her own with a boat in the Endo Breizh colors to continue sailing on the Figaro circuit.

Dinghy sailing, where it all began

Chloé Le Bars didn’t wait until she reached offshore racing to dive headfirst into competition. It was in Loctudy that she mainly sailed as a young girl in an Optimist, and she hasn’t left the sea since.

French youth Laser champion, she practiced for many years in Lorient. She found a second family there and spent wonderful years until 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 the Figaro, she decided to start where many others 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 found out at the last minute that she would be able to start. She felt very lucky to be there but set off without really knowing what to expect, as she was embarking on her first major solo crossing. With a second leg lasting 18 days, managing solo navigation was not easy. She learned a lot, such as sailing in the trade winds. She eventually finished in 29th place.

Chloé Le Bars and SAILIZ

As Chloé Le Bars launches a new project and looks for new partners, SAILIZ is joining the adventure and providing her with technical gear. She accepted and has been giving us great feedback to help us keep 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 leaders, she had a great Solitaire du Figaro and can’t wait to go back. The Solitaire du Figaro is one of the most difficult solo races, where sleep management is essential. With a very intense pace both at sea and on land, stress and exhaustion increase more and more with fatigue.

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 hub

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

Her aspirations for the future

Always focused on performance, Chloé Le Bars wants to take the time to keep progressing without skipping any steps. She wants to master one class of boat before moving on to the next. So, we’ll see Chloé Le Bars on the Figaro circuit again this year. Her wish for 2024 is to achieve a top 10 finish in a race.