After joining the Figaro circuit in 2020, the methodical and disciplined Elodie Bonafous quickly made a name for herself. She even became the first Frenchwoman to reach the podium in a stage of the legendary Solitaire du Figaro in 2022.
In the Bonafous family, sailing runs in the blood. “I grew up in a family of recreational sailors in northern Finistère, just five minutes from the sea. We had a small boat. I did a lot of sailing with my family when I was very young—with my parents, my little sister, and my older brother. We’d often spend a week in the summer sailing along the northern coast of Brittany. That gave me a taste for and a passion for being out at sea,” Elodie explains. At age seven, she asked to sail an Optimist at the Locquirec club. Her parents hesitated, but she insisted and got her way. “I started right in the middle of winter, in the worst conditions, and I loved it. I began racing right away. I enjoyed competition just as much as sailing itself, and I immediately sought to improve my skills,” she confides. She climbed the ranks and capped off her Optimist career with a bronze medal at the French Championship at age 14. “I then moved on to a sports-study program in Brest in the 420 class, but it didn’t go very well.” “I’m not very tall, so I needed a crewmate who was the right build, had the same ambitions, was just as dedicated, and got along well with me. That held me back. I decided not to pursue Olympic sailing and to focus on inshore racing with an all-female crew,” she adds. “I set up a project with a small group of women. “We sailed the Open 5.70, did match racing, sailed the J80, and raced the Longtze while I was studying sports science.” As skipper of various boats, Elodie posted impressive results as part of a crew and was crowned J80 world champion in 2017, then university world champion in the discipline the following year. Once she earned her Master’s degree in Sports Science (STAPS) with a focus on adapted physical activity and health, Elodie changed course. “The other girls had professional ambitions, and I wanted to sail, so I decided to turn to solo racing,” she explains.
After several successful years in the Figaro class, Elodie announced her ambition to build an IMOCA—a Verdier-designed boat built at CDK in collaboration with MerConcept—with the goal of competing in the 2028 Vendée Globe.
The IMOCA Horizon 29 (named after the department number for Finistère) was launched in February 2025 in Concarneau. It is a sister ship to the most recent Vendée Globe winner, the IMOCA MACIF Santé Prévoyance. 2025 was a year focused on learning for Elodie Bonafous, who teamed up with Yann Elies for the season.
The Breton skipper expresses her pride at having such a fine vessel at her disposal for the next four years.
2026: Vendée Arctique – Les Sables d'Olonne – 4th
2026: 1000 RACE – 4th
2025: Transat Café L'OR – 8th
2025: Rolex Fastnet Race – Winner
2025: Course des Caps – 2nd
Other Race Results2024: Mixed Double Offshore World Championship – 2nd
2024: La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec – 8th
2024: Le Havre – Allmer Cup – 6th
2024: Banque Populaire Grand Ouest Trophy (with Corentin Horeau) – Winners
2024: Solo Maître CoQ – 26th
2024: Laura Vergne Trophy – Winners (with Corentin Horeau)
2023: Solitaire du Figaro – 6th
2023: Solo Maître Coq – 3rd
2022: Sardinha Cup – 3rd (with Alexis Loison)
2022: Le Havre Allmer Cup – 14th (with Alexis Loison)
2022: La route des îles du Ponant – 6th (with Alexis Loison)
2022: Solo Maître Coq – 23rd
2022: Solitaire du Figaro – 8th
2022: French Elite Offshore Racing Championship – 9th
2021: Solo Maître Coq – 12th
2021: Sardinha Cup – 2nd
2021: Transat en Double – 7th
2021: Solitaire du Figaro – 12th
2020: Solo Maître Coq – 25th
2020: Dhream Cup – 15th
2020: Solo Guy Cotten – 21st
2020: Solitaire du Figaro – 25th
2020: French Elite Offshore Racing Championship – 3rd (rookie)
2019: Tour de Bretagne à la Voile – 15th (with Damien Cloarec)
2018: French Team Championship – 4th (Longtze)
2018: 3 bronze medals at the French Women’s Match Racing Championship
2018: World University Champion in the J80 class
2017: French Espoir Glisse Open 5.70 Championship – 2nd
2016: Open 5.70: Winner of the Spi Ouest France
2015: GPEN Open 5.70 – 3rd
2015: Spi Ouest France (Open 5.70 Category) – Winner
2020: Dhream Cup – 15th
2020: Solo Guy Cotten – 21st
2020: Solitaire du Figaro – 25th
2020: French Elite Offshore Racing Championship – 3rd (rookie)
2019: Tour de Bretagne à la Voile – 15th (with Damien Cloarec)
2018: French Team Championship – 4th (Longtze)
2018: 3 bronze medals at the French Women’s Match Racing Championship
2018: World University Champion in J80
2017: French Open 5.70 Youth Championship – 2nd
2016: Open 5.70: Winner of the Spi Ouest France
2015: GPEN Open 5.70 – 3rd
2015: Spi Ouest France (Open 5.70 Category) – Winner