Calling in the luck of the irish

Last year’s race did not go to plan, a strategic decision to stay north did not pay off and they struggled with sail damage which cost miles and places.

But all of that has been useful learning. Lined up early on the dock in Saint-Malo the 37 year old from Greystones near Dublin, who turned her back on a career as a lawyer to pursue her ocean sailing dreams, is set to become the first Irish sailor ever to take on the Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe.

So, Pam everything looks to be in good shape, you seem relaxed and ready at 12 days before the start? We have been up here and moored up early which was kind of cool because. That alone does something good for the head, be a little bit ahead of schedule. So that is good, and also it's a good sign that we were ready to go, so we didn't have to rush. I am definitely the most prepared I've ever been for any of my Transat races. We are getting better each year, which is cool. I think I learned so much in 2023 on the first Transat Jacques Vabre, and then last year for the TCLO. I have always seen those projects as learning for the next one. Now it is the little things about managing my time and my space, getting the boat prepared. But I have decided that being ready is actually a philosophical question.

What is still to do? Meteo is one thing, at Lorient Grand Large (training centre), we have Pierre Leroy with the group, but then I work with Karine Fauconnier also. So I've been working with her since 2023 also. So that's really nice. We have a relationship that she knows me, she knows where I'm at, and she knows the boat a little bit now as well.

And your boat is now a little older so can you be competitive? The thing with the Class 40 that's really hard to keep up with. This boat is 2022, so it was built for the last Route du Rhum for Xavier Macaire and it finished eighth but he had structural damage. Since then a lot of new designs have come out. There is now the Lift V3, we've got a lot more Machs and the Musa. So now for me and this Pogo, upwind and reaching, it's quite hard. But if I get a good medium trade wind, then I can definitely be as fast or faster than anyone. If I get the right conditions, I can definitely do something nice. If I really, really don't get the good conditions, it's going to be really tough.

But, overall, you are due some good luck as the last races have never quite gone your way… I think I am finally due some luck of the Irish. You'll notice there's a big Irish flag flying here on the boat. I'm calling it in.

Are you superstitious? I am superstitious, definitely. I have a little mascot, the ex-Irish president, Michael D Higgins., who has been on the boat the whole time and he's still on the boat and he'll always come. And I have kind of little positive messages and things like that. So it's more about keeping the vibes than actually bing superstitious, having little habits, keep it rolling, keeping the vibe good. I think it's one of those things, like being as prepared as you can. So when the opportunity comes, I can take it, you know, keep the boat together. I can't, if something breaks, or the trade winds are no good to me either, you know, so a little bit of that. But there's definitely a bit of luck involved.

What did you learn from the last transatlantic race, the two handed race to Martinique? Don't go north! No, most of all I learned from the last one was the real value and the real importance of having reliable sails. The last two Transats that I've done, I wasn't in a position to get any new sails on board. So I left with very old sails. And in both those races, ultimately I lost sails during the race.

That really penalised me. So we really, really pushed this year to get a new suit of sails on board. So I have a lot more confidence in my sails this year, which really makes a big difference mentally as well.. I got the J1 and the J2 at the start of the season. So I've raced the season with them. The budget has been really hard the whole time. So we only managed to get the main sail and the three spinnakers at the last minute. So I haven't sailed much with those sails at all. So it's going to be a little bit of a learning on the job. But I think mentally, knowing that you have sails that aren't tired is going to be really good.

You seem to have a lot of support at home in Ireland and it seems to be growing and growing. Well I'm the first ever Irish sailor to start this race. This year was fantastic because we got to go back for the Round Ireland race. So we got to have the boat at home and build a bit of support. And I think, you know, for me, sailing is my sport, but I really like to talk about and kind of push the idea of women in sport, women in environments that are male-dominated. Sailing is always a bit of a tricky one at home. But I think the growth of female sports and just the storytelling behind it. Sailing is one side of it, but it's actually just someone, a woman, going and doing something for the first time, going and doing something that's hard, going and doing something that they dream of. And that's kind of the story behind Ireland. We are a country of storytellers and dreamers.

Who are your female sailing heroes? I've got quite a few. And the cool thing is that I've been lucky enough to sail with quite a number of them. Dee Caffari is definitely up there. I wrote Dee Caffari a long email a good few years ago, expressing my frustration and my wish to do things and get places. And it's funny to think now that I'm here and, you know, I've sailed with her and we've been chatting about this project. So that's really cool. And people like Justine Mettraux of course. She's an inspiration, normally she would be at this race. So there's something very, very cool about that. But then I also draw inspiration from other sports people outside of sailing, like this year, notably Katie Taylor (Irish Olympic gold medallist and world champion). And here Alexia Barrier, of course. She is an inspiration, a role model and a really good friend. You know, a really good mate and someone I've sailed with and I hope to sail with again. So it's kind of a really, it's a really cool position to be in, to be, I mean, I'm on the rookie level, absolutely, in my little rally boat compared to what they're doing.

Oct 21

5 min read

Ireland’s Pam Lee (EmpowHer) has completed two double handed Transatlantic races to Martinique but the Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe will be her first big oceanic solo race. She races in Class40 in the colours of shipping and logistics company DFDS leading an initiative, globally, to inspire and empower women to pursue their dreams and more directly to encourage more women to join the company and pursue careers in the marine transport industry on the ocean.

Last year’s race did not go to plan, a strategic decision to stay north did not pay off and they struggled with sail damage which cost miles and places.

But all of that has been useful learning. Lined up early on the dock in Saint-Malo the 37 year old from Greystones near Dublin, who turned her back on a career as a lawyer to pursue her ocean sailing dreams, is set to become the first Irish sailor ever to take on the Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe.

So, Pam everything looks to be in good shape, you seem relaxed and ready at 12 days before the start? We have been up here and moored up early which was kind of cool because. That alone does something good for the head, be a little bit ahead of schedule. So that is good, and also it's a good sign that we were ready to go, so we didn't have to rush. I am definitely the most prepared I've ever been for any of my Transat races. We are getting better each year, which is cool. I think I learned so much in 2023 on the first Transat Jacques Vabre, and then last year for the TCLO. I have always seen those projects as learning for the next one. Now it is the little things about managing my time and my space, getting the boat prepared. But I have decided that being ready is actually a philosophical question.

What is still to do? Meteo is one thing, at Lorient Grand Large (training centre), we have Pierre Leroy with the group, but then I work with Karine Fauconnier also. So I've been working with her since 2023 also. So that's really nice. We have a relationship that she knows me, she knows where I'm at, and she knows the boat a little bit now as well.

And your boat is now a little older so can you be competitive? The thing with the Class 40 that's really hard to keep up with. This boat is 2022, so it was built for the last Route du Rhum for Xavier Macaire and it finished eighth but he had structural damage. Since then a lot of new designs have come out. There is now the Lift V3, we've got a lot more Machs and the Musa. So now for me and this Pogo, upwind and reaching, it's quite hard. But if I get a good medium trade wind, then I can definitely be as fast or faster than anyone. If I get the right conditions, I can definitely do something nice. If I really, really don't get the good conditions, it's going to be really tough.

But, overall, you are due some good luck as the last races have never quite gone your way… I think I am finally due some luck of the Irish. You'll notice there's a big Irish flag flying here on the boat. I'm calling it in.

Are you superstitious? I am superstitious, definitely. I have a little mascot, the ex-Irish president, Michael D Higgins., who has been on the boat the whole time and he's still on the boat and he'll always come. And I have kind of little positive messages and things like that. So it's more about keeping the vibes than actually bing superstitious, having little habits, keep it rolling, keeping the vibe good. I think it's one of those things, like being as prepared as you can. So when the opportunity comes, I can take it, you know, keep the boat together. I can't, if something breaks, or the trade winds are no good to me either, you know, so a little bit of that. But there's definitely a bit of luck involved.

What did you learn from the last transatlantic race, the two handed race to Martinique? Don't go north! No, most of all I learned from the last one was the real value and the real importance of having reliable sails. The last two Transats that I've done, I wasn't in a position to get any new sails on board. So I left with very old sails. And in both those races, ultimately I lost sails during the race.

That really penalised me. So we really, really pushed this year to get a new suit of sails on board. So I have a lot more confidence in my sails this year, which really makes a big difference mentally as well.. I got the J1 and the J2 at the start of the season. So I've raced the season with them. The budget has been really hard the whole time. So we only managed to get the main sail and the three spinnakers at the last minute. So I haven't sailed much with those sails at all. So it's going to be a little bit of a learning on the job. But I think mentally, knowing that you have sails that aren't tired is going to be really good.

You seem to have a lot of support at home in Ireland and it seems to be growing and growing. Well I'm the first ever Irish sailor to start this race. This year was fantastic because we got to go back for the Round Ireland race. So we got to have the boat at home and build a bit of support. And I think, you know, for me, sailing is my sport, but I really like to talk about and kind of push the idea of women in sport, women in environments that are male-dominated. Sailing is always a bit of a tricky one at home. But I think the growth of female sports and just the storytelling behind it. Sailing is one side of it, but it's actually just someone, a woman, going and doing something for the first time, going and doing something that's hard, going and doing something that they dream of. And that's kind of the story behind Ireland. We are a country of storytellers and dreamers.

Who are your female sailing heroes? I've got quite a few. And the cool thing is that I've been lucky enough to sail with quite a number of them. Dee Caffari is definitely up there. I wrote Dee Caffari a long email a good few years ago, expressing my frustration and my wish to do things and get places. And it's funny to think now that I'm here and, you know, I've sailed with her and we've been chatting about this project. So that's really cool. And people like Justine Mettraux of course. She's an inspiration, normally she would be at this race. So there's something very, very cool about that. But then I also draw inspiration from other sports people outside of sailing, like this year, notably Katie Taylor (Irish Olympic gold medallist and world champion). And here Alexia Barrier, of course. She is an inspiration, a role model and a really good friend. You know, a really good mate and someone I've sailed with and I hope to sail with again. So it's kind of a really, it's a really cool position to be in, to be, I mean, I'm on the rookie level, absolutely, in my little rally boat compared to what they're doing.