Don Bosco Crosses the Atlantic: From Les Sables d'Olonne to Guadeloupe – 4 Weeks Solo
Because every child deserves to believe in their future
The project
Aymeric Le Renard and the Don Bosco Foundation share a number of commonalities: education of children and youth, specific aid to the most disadvantaged children, international recognition of Jean Bosco's pedagogy.
Sailing sports are a fantastic way of training at all levels: athletic, technical (sails, electricity, mechanics, etc.), social, … so many very useful subjects for building young people's confidence in their future, as demonstrated by Father Jean-Marie Petitclerc within the Diamond association, the Le Valdocco association, etc.
Aymeric Le Renard naturally approached the Don Bosco Foundation to increase the Foundation's visibility and promote its work for young people in France and around the world.
Aymeric Le Renard has proposed to the Don Bosco Foundation to sail under its colors to support the educational and social project of the Foundation in France and around the world.
1 – The Race
Crossing the Atlantic in a small 6.50m sailboat, solo, during the mythical Mini Transat race from September to November 2025, More than 4,000 miles, Solo, 4 weeks, 90 participants, 100% disconnected
2 – The Lakou Bosco Project
The Lakou Bosco association is undertaking the project to purchase a 9-seater electric minibus with a charging station. The objective is to enable young people and parents from underserved neighborhoods to participate in educational, cultural, and eco-responsible outings. This project is part of the association's sustainable development policy, aimed at protecting the environment. Educating young people on how to preserve the planet is one of the educational objectives.
The skipper
Aymeric Le Renard is a family man, and the education of children and young people is therefore naturally one of his priorities. He lives in Lorient.
Aymeric is a great sportsman: more than 5000 miles in a Mini, more than 10 races including several top5 / top10, French University Rowing Champion 2007.
Aymeric Le Renard's job is to be a responsible investor. He invests in SMEs and ETIs in the Greater West of France, and one of his main criteria is the ability of these companies to create sustainable employment in the region. He is regularly confronted with difficulties in finding human resources, and so the subjects of training and professional integration are close to his heart, a subject which is also at the heart of the Foundation's action.
A project that shows that it's possible to combine a committed job with a family life and a passionate sailing project in the service of a cause: children and young people.
The Lakou Bosco association
Lakou Bosco is an open house in the heart of the working-class neighborhoods of the city of Les Abymes, in Guadeloupe. Founded in 2020, the association works with the most disadvantaged young people and families in the working-class neighborhoods of the city of Les Abymes. Homework help, street activities, parent-child workshops, sports and cultural projects: each action builds trusting relationships and awakens potential.
Carried by Don Bosco's pedagogy and the Lakou spirit (a spirit of brotherhood in Creole), Lakou Bosco is today a landmark for many young people and families rooted in its territory.
«It takes a whole village to educate a child.»
The Lakou Bosco Village is a construction project with educational, social, ecological, and cultural aims. Opening at the end of 2026, in the heart of the working-class neighborhoods of the city of Les Abymes. It will bring together in one place: a toy library, a sports field, a digital space, activity rooms, and a family welcome center.
A place to create links, support young people and accompany parents.
The mini deckchair
Founded in 1977 by Bob Salmon with the aim of reconnecting with the adventurous spirit of the first transatlantic races, and organized every odd year since, the race, the 25thth edition of the event will set off on Sunday, September 21, 2025, and will bring together 90 sailors, including future sailing greats and others who have come to realize a dream of the sea and freedom. It's worth noting that 50% of the Vendée Globe sailors have competed in the Mini-Transat (Clarisse Cremer, Thomas Ruyant, Charlie Dalin, etc.).
Contested solo and unassisted, aboard 6.50-meter sailboats, the event is a true school for offshore racing, where the skipper has to be versatile and autonomous to move his boat forward, despite the demanding nature of the exercise. An Atlantic crossing, with no satellite weather routing and no contact with land whatsoever, is no mean feat.« Apart from round-the-world races, I've never seen such an extraordinary race. There are as many possible winners as there are competitors at the start. »Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, who now has more than a dozen circumnavigations under his belt, sums it up.
The crossing will be carried out in two stages, on an unprecedented course, starting from the town of Sables d’Olonne, with a stopover in Santa Cruz de La Palma in the Canary Islands, then an arrival in Saint-François in Guadeloupe.
Complete autonomy: solar panels to power the car driver
A difficult qualification: more than 4000 m on course (about 40 days) + 1000 m off course
Contactless: No telephone, radio for weather 1x / day, GPS for position.
The boat
- A 6.50m sailboat
- Performance: before rounding => 90% races won by similar boats
- Maximum speed: 20 knots
The budget
To support this project, your payment can be charged to :
- on corporate income tax (60% tax-exempt if you are a legal entity)
- on income tax (66% tax-exempt if you are an individual)
- on real estate wealth tax (75% tax-exempt if you are an individual)
