Amélie Grassi EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Biotherm

Amélie Grassi

Crew

France

Date of birth: 9 May 1994
Place of birth: La Rochelle, France

Good at maths, she could have been an engineer. In the end, she opted to study law, with a career in the legal profession on the horizon. But that was to forget her roots in La Rochelle, her beginnings in Optimist racing, her time as a student sailor and, above all, her sailing parents who had long given her a glimpse of a world other than office life.

Now in her twenties, with her Master's 2 in her pocket, she is following in her mother's footsteps in the Mini circuit. Her excellent pre-season results were confirmed during the 2019 Mini Transat, where she stood out for her fighting spirit: she finished 8th and first female despite a breakage on the second leg which forced her to set off 14 hours behind all her rivals.

The next stage of her career was in Class40 as skipper of La Boulangère, where she sailed the circuit in pairs with some brilliant female sailors. In 2023, she was already aboard Biotherm for two legs of The Ocean Race, before making the big leap into Ultim.

On The Ocean Race Europe, Amélie will be assisting Paul Meilhat as co-skipper. Her qualities - method, rigour, organisation, knowledge of the boat and its tools, technical aptitude and team spirit - make her the ideal partner to share the responsibilities on board. "My hobby is making sheets, to-do lists and roadmaps. I like processing data, breaking down settings, doing all the hard work," she says. It's a rigour that never overshadows her enthusiasm, her pleasure at racing and being at sea, in a spirit that is always positive. 

"What inspires me about this race is the word intensity. It's going to be particularly intense in terms of the schedule and the sequence of events, and it's going to be hard to catch your breath between the start and the finish," she comments. "On the water, with the proximity of the coasts, the very sharp level of our competitors and the rapid changes in the weather systems, there won't be a single section of the course that will allow us to rest. And ashore, with only two or three days‘ break, we won't really have time to catch our breath either...".

Sailing highlights

  • Record attempts - Jules Vernes Trophy Ultim Trimaran SVR Lazartigues 2024 and 2025
  • 7th The Transat CIC 2024
  • 4th The Ocean Race aboard Biotherm in 2023
  • Skipper La Boulangère (Class40)
  • 8th Mini Transat 2019

  • Date of birth: 9 May 1994
    Place of birth: La Rochelle, France

    Good at maths, she could have been an engineer. In the end, she opted to study law, with a career in the legal profession on the horizon. But that was to forget her roots in La Rochelle, her beginnings in Optimist racing, her time as a student sailor and, above all, her sailing parents who had long given her a glimpse of a world other than office life.

    Now in her twenties, with her Master's 2 in her pocket, she is following in her mother's footsteps in the Mini circuit. Her excellent pre-season results were confirmed during the 2019 Mini Transat, where she stood out for her fighting spirit: she finished 8th and first female despite a breakage on the second leg which forced her to set off 14 hours behind all her rivals.

    The next stage of her career was in Class40 as skipper of La Boulangère, where she sailed the circuit in pairs with some brilliant female sailors. In 2023, she was already aboard Biotherm for two legs of The Ocean Race, before making the big leap into Ultim.

    On The Ocean Race Europe, Amélie will be assisting Paul Meilhat as co-skipper. Her qualities - method, rigour, organisation, knowledge of the boat and its tools, technical aptitude and team spirit - make her the ideal partner to share the responsibilities on board. "My hobby is making sheets, to-do lists and roadmaps. I like processing data, breaking down settings, doing all the hard work," she says. It's a rigour that never overshadows her enthusiasm, her pleasure at racing and being at sea, in a spirit that is always positive. 

    "What inspires me about this race is the word intensity. It's going to be particularly intense in terms of the schedule and the sequence of events, and it's going to be hard to catch your breath between the start and the finish," she comments. "On the water, with the proximity of the coasts, the very sharp level of our competitors and the rapid changes in the weather systems, there won't be a single section of the course that will allow us to rest. And ashore, with only two or three days‘ break, we won't really have time to catch our breath either...".

    Sailing highlights

    • Record attempts - Jules Vernes Trophy Ultim Trimaran SVR Lazartigues 2024 and 2025
    • 7th The Transat CIC 2024
    • 4th The Ocean Race aboard Biotherm in 2023
    • Skipper La Boulangère (Class40)
    • 8th Mini Transat 2019