The highs and lows of pursuing a solo sailing career

In social media posts, 26-year-old Andrea Davey looks like she’s living her dream to become a professional sailor in France.  

The CYCA Member has relocated from Sydney to Lorient, a town on the south coast of Brittany in western France that is regarded as the epicentre of solo offshore racing. CYCA Members may know Davey from her years in the CYCA Sailing Office, where she compiled results, organised races, and made sure boats’ paperwork was in order ahead of the big events. 

Instagram stories and posts of Davey sailing solo on board her chartered Mini 6.5 L’Optimiste (affectionately Little Mate), tackling boat work and propping up the French pastry industry, doesn’t always reveal the grit and determination required to keep her sailing dream alive.  

The challenges 

Her goal is to compete in the 2027 Mini Transat. 

With entry fees approaching €2,000 (around $3260 AUD) per race (and more for the Transat) and insurance costs of €6,000 (around $9782 AUD), life hasn’t been without its challenges for the young sailor. The financial element of the campaign is real for Davey who has so far, self-funded the campaign.

In addition to the looming finances, Davey has been feeling the weight of preparing for this race by herself. The 4050 nautical mile solo race across the Atlantic starts in September 2027, with a fleet of 90 Minis sailing from La Rochelle, France, to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for a stopover before the second and final leg to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. 

Become a sponsor

Davey is grateful for the technical partners who have supported her so far: ready-to-go meals from Offgrid Provisions, wet weather gear from Mustang (much needed during freezing winter training in France), and marine equipment from Ronstan. More partners are welcome to assist with the 2027 campaign. 

Partnering with Davey is a standout branding opportunity. Her boat becomes a showcase for a year across some of the sport’s most high-profile racing. The boat is based in Lorient alongside round-the-world trimarans that draw plenty of public attention. Depending on the level of sponsorship, sponsors have the chance to feature their brand on the hull, sails, technical clothing or all of the above. 

Most of the races Andrea has competed in, and will continue to compete in, feature race villages where the public comes out to see the boats, giving boat partners a great opportunity to showcase their brand.” 

“I am very lucky to have technical partners on board with the project,” Davey said. “They have been super helpful in getting me to the start line and helping me optimise the boat.”

“But I still need help. There is room for sponsors and partners to come on board and align with a unique sporting project that heroes equality, determination and perseverance, and hopefully this goes well beyond the Mini Transat 2027”. 

To contact Andrea to discuss partnership possibilities, email her at adavey.sailing@gmail.com

The path to becoming a professional sailor

Davey has chosen to compete in the Mini class as it offers a clear progression into professional sailing: the Mini, then Figaro, then Class 40, with the ultimate goal of a seat on board an IMOCA, a 60-ft high performance racing yacht. According to Davey, there’s no shortcuts to be taken in this pathway.

“No one steps in at any stage and is a hero. It takes a lot of work [to become a professional sailor],” Davey said. 

But the bumps along the way are worth it. Davey is driven by her love of the sport, which blossomed while sailing dinghies as a child out of Lane Cove 12ft Skiff Club in Sydney. 

When asked what fuels her drive to make sailing a career, Davey said: “It’s my passion. I love it.” 

Preparation 

To prepare, Davey trained two to four, sometimes five, days a week on the water as part of a Mini Training Group in Lorient earlier this year. When she’s not sailing, she’s doing boat work. When she’s not doing boat work, she’s in the gym or the pool, building her fitness for the challenge ahead, and when she’s not doing that, she’s at French lessons. This year, Davey was the only non-UK or European female skipper competing in the Mini Class. 

Rather than having a crew to divide and conquer shore work ahead of race – from boat work, to prepping the navigation, to making food and so on – it’s all up to Davey. 

“There’s a lot of things to prepare and no one is around to ask ,“Did you think of this?” or “What about that?” as everyone is trying to prepare their own boat,” Davey said. “There’s a lot of self-reliance and keeping yourself accountable. 

“Things to do with your wellbeing come last. Sleeping in 20 minute bursts means that you really have to prepare well before the race, as you only get more tired and making decisions is all the more difficult.”

This proved true in a race earlier in the year, when an accidental hour-long nap on deck during a windless patch cost Davey several places. Since then, she’s made sure to set plenty of alarms to avoid a repeat.

And when it comes to boat work, electronics in particular, it has been frustrating at times, but overall, a huge learning experience. “Before having my own project, I pretty much stayed away from boatwork; it always seemed so intimidating, and there was always going to be someone who knew more than me.”

Solo sailing challenges 

Before this year, Davey had never sailed solo. After moving abroad in early 2025, Davey competed in various sailing events across Europe (the Admiral’s Cup and Nastro Rosa Tour) that led her to the Minis. 

It has been a steep learning curve. Davey admits she feels the weight of having only herself to rely on. 

“For a start, it’s all in French. The coaches will give some translations, but you know you’re missing out on most of it,” Davey said. “There’s a lot of decisions to make, all the time, and of course there’s no one else to bounce ideas off. You’ve really got to own your decisions and mistakes,” she said.

The Mini 6.5 class adds an extra challenge with its limited onboard technology. While most offshore sailors simply load waypoints into a chart plotter, Davey has to manually plot the shoreline, hazards, and waypoints on a paper chart before uploading it to the GPS — and competitors aren’t even allowed to carry phones during races.

“There’s no navionics or calling a friend,” Davey said. “The prep before races is a lot.”

Calendar 2026 

The one-design class is tight, boats can race for hundreds of miles and still finish within minutes of each other. Despite it only being her first season in the boats, Andrea is keeping up with seasoned Mini 6.5 sailors, and looks forward to improving on those results in the years to come. 

Davey competed in the Mini en Mai in late May, a 500 nm race, which was shortened to 150 nm due to a lack of wind.  She did well in a challenging first solo offshore race to place 33 out of 65 starters (eight retired). At one point, a smart tactical decision moved her to 6th position, and friends and family back home were glued to the tracker cheering her on. 

After the race, Davey said, “It was such a challenging race with a lot of wind shutdowns, but some great moments too. I’m glad for the learning that came with that experience. Spending five days alone at sea teaches you a lot that’s for sure.”

Davey had little time to recover before she competed in the Trophée MAP in early June, which was also shortened due to strong winds. Davey once again delivered solid results, considering the unfamiliar territory and uncertain conditions before the start. She placed 26 out of 41 competitors after 10 hours and 34 minutes at sea. 

Again, Davey had a small window before the Double Handed Mini Fastnet (600 nautical miles) in mid-June. She teamed up with Japanese sailor Arisa Moriya, whom she knew from the CYCA in Sydney. Moriya stepped in at the last moment due to some French miscommunication from the race officials regarding Davey’s original co-skipper. The duo experienced light to moderate conditions, crossing the line 24th out of 53 after four days, 17 hours and 15 minutes at sea.

Unfortunately, weather and time constraints meant Davey did not qualify for the solo race to the Azores in July. The race covers 2600 nautical miles along the same course as the first leg of the 2027 Mini Transat. So her 2026 Mini season in France has come to an end.

Davey will continue to seek sailing opportunities for the rest of the year, abroad and back home in Sydney. Although her budget is tight, she has ambitions to return to France for another shot at the Mini circuit in 2027, with the ultimate goal to race in the 2027 Mini Transat, being the second Australian woman ever to do so. 

Click here to support Andrea: https://asf.org.au/campaigns/andrea-davey/andrea-davey–mini-transat-2027 

Follow Andrea’s journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrea.davey/ 

Follow Andrea’s journey on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585030325748

To contact Andrea to discuss partnership possibilities, email her at adavey.sailing@gmail.com

Featured image: Andrea on board Wyuna, which she crewed on in the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart – CYCA/Ashley Dart