Caroline Boule and Benoît Marie Win the Mini Fastnet
The duo crossed the finish line of the Mini Fastnet yesterday at 11:39 p.m., after 3 days, 4 hours, 39 minutes and 54 seconds of racing, setting a new race record. It marks Benoît’s second consecutive victory in this legendary sailing event.
Aboard “Nicomatic – Petit Bateau,” Caroline and Benoît made a smooth start from Douarnenez before gradually gaining the upper hand over the Mini 6.50 prototype fleet. As soon as the weather conditions allowed their round-bow foiling yacht to take flight, they pulled ahead. Leading at the Fastnet Rock waypoint, the founders of Lorient-based start-up SKAW Sailing continued to extend their advantage, eventually building a comfortable lead over their closest rivals.
It was an outstanding performance for the pair, who had experienced several technical setbacks since the beginning of the Mini 6.50 season. This victory will give Caroline a significant boost in confidence ahead of the Mini Atlantique in July, a round-trip race between Les Sables-d’Olonne and the Azores.
Caroline and Benoît, speaking in unison at the finish:
“We did the job. It was a fantastic race. We also broke the event record with just over three days at sea, which is incredibly fast. Our main objective was to help Caroline regain as much confidence as possible and to get back in tune with Nicomatic – Petit Bateau during its flying phases.
We hardly saw each other throughout the race, as we alternated watches continuously while the other rested. We were a bit short on clothing and personal gear — we certainly hadn’t expected not to see the sun!
We got off to a good start from Douarnenez and took the lead at the first mark. We then lost some ground, probably due to seaweed caught on the keel. We chose to pass west of the Ouessant Traffic Separation Scheme, which turned out to be the right option.
We then found ourselves beating towards the Scilly Isles, under rain and grey skies. A succession of weather fronts passed over us, which eventually allowed us to start flying under gennaker. We rounded Fastnet Rock in the lead and, finally, with a bit of sunshine.
Heading towards Stags Cardinal Mark, we were literally flying, watching the Irish coastline race by. At the beginning of the return leg, we went west to take advantage of a wind shift. We then found ourselves in perfect conditions to fly again, fully powered up on our foil, and we were able to stretch our lead.
As on the outward leg, we aimed to pass west of the Traffic Separation Scheme, which then enabled us to reach the entrance to Douarnenez Bay on a fast and favourable angle.
We are absolutely delighted with this victory.”
SKAW SAILING's 2026 program:
Launch of SKAW A in Lorient – early July
Mini Fastnet in June, starting on June 14 from Douarnenez, double-handed race (Caroline Boule and Benoît Marie)
Mini Atlantique, formerly Les Sables–Azores–Les Sables (SAS), starting on July 22 from Les Sables-d’Olonne(Caroline Boule)
Cannes Yachting Festival with SKAW A – September
Caroline Boule : Born in Warsaw in February 1998 and raised in Poland, Caroline Boule began sailing at a very young age, notably in the 49er and Laser Radial classes.
She continued her studies in the United Kingdom at Imperial College London, where she specialized in materials science and nuclear engineering, while joining the university's sailing team.
After graduating in 2020, she moved to France to begin a PhD at École Polytechnique while developing racing projects.
Caroline made a name for herself by building and sailing her own mini foiling sailboat, “Bill,” in the Mini 6.50 class, an innovative vessel capable of “flying” above the water thanks to its foils.
She competed in the 2023 Mini Transat aboard this prototype, finishing 20th.
In July 2024, she broke the 24-hour record in the Mini 6.50 solo category, covering 322.7 nautical miles and becoming the first woman to set this record in all categories in this class.
Benoît Marie : A professional skipper and French engineer born in 1987, he is passionate about innovation in sailing, particularly flying sailboats (foilers).
He made a name for himself by winning the 2013 Mini Transat, a solo transatlantic race on a Mini 6.50, on his first attempt.
Since then, he has competed in numerous high-performance sailing competitions, including Moth International, Class A, Class C, ETF26, and Ultime—categories where boats “fly” above the water thanks to foils.
He is also a specialist in the technical development of hulls and sails, designing and optimizing cutting-edge projects (such as the Nicomatic-Petit Bateau prototype).
In 2025, he achieved remarkable performances, notably breaking records for distance covered on a Mini 6.50 in 24 hours during the Mini Transat.
Caroline and Benoît’s partners in the Mini 6.50:
Title sponsors: Nicomatic and Petit Bateau
Partners: Incert, Xelians, CMAA, CFNEWS MEDIA GROUP, SEEMO, Saint Germain Audit, Goiot, Volotea, Volkswagen Lorient
Technical partners: Karver, Madintec, Nautix, Forward WIP, Cyclops Marine, Multiplast, North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT)
