Lorient. Alexandre Demange and Hajime Kokumai are teammates in the DMG MORI Sailing Academy. They trained together during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. They are currently competing solo in the Boulangere Mini Transat on 21 September – their first transatlantic race on a prototype boat. And the only solo transatlantic race, on a small, 6.50-metre sailing boat, with no connection to land and no assistance.

Driving the Next Generation of Offshore Sailors

The DMG MORI Sailing Team Academy was founded to nurture the next generation of international offshore sailors and to make ocean racing more accessible to young talent – particularly in Japan, where the sport is still developing. By combining technical training, mentorship, and hands-on experience at sea, the Academy provides a pathway into the world of professional sailing.
Two young talents have impressed with talent, determination, and sporting spirit: Alexandre Demange, a talented French sailor and engineer with the DMG MORI Sailing Team, and Hajime Kokumai, a Japanese sailor keen to develop his expertise in ocean racing. The two skippers prepared with the support of the Lorient Grand Large training facility.

Alexandre Demange has spent two years as an engineer in the DMG MORI Sailing Team's design office. In 2024, the skipper from Les Sables d'Olonne racked up numerous podium finishes, never placing lower than 5th. He got off to a strong start in the 2025 season, taking 2nd place in the Plastimo Lorient Mini 2025 double-handed race with Thaïs le Cam, who will be a dangerous competitor on this race. He continued his brilliant run without ever leaving the podium.

In Alexandre's words:

His last few days before joining Les Sables d'Olonne: “I tell myself that I have to be fully committed in all areas, whether it's the technical aspects of the boat, which take up most of my time, or the physical and mental preparation, so that I'm ready with the boat when I arrive.”

Mental preparation with a coach:

“It's not easy to find the right person because you have to find someone who will listen, and it's very subjective. It took me a long time to find someone who suited me. I work with Nabil Ejazi. As well as being my mental coach once a week, he has a gym, so we've been able to put together a mental and physical training plan. I see a real connection between them this year.”

A life-changing experience:

“I hit a fishing trap in the middle of the night at 2 a.m. between Raz de Sein and Penmac’h, in 25-knot winds with 3-meters waves. The only solution I could find was to jump into the water, clinging to the boat. It was freezing cold. I jumped in naked with my harness and headlamp. I unhooked the trap. When the boat was righted itself, with the keel downwind, the impact of the waves on the hull propelled it forward. I didn't have the strength to pull up the rope that was holding me to the boat.
I was dragged along for what felt like an eternity. I was really scared for my life, but I finished the race. There was another race two weeks later. I did it and I won. I had to get back on the horse that had thrown me off. I think I learned some real lessons from it. Above all, I learned the value of humility from someone who is alone at sea.”

Hajime Kokumai, who grew up between Japan and Hawaii, arrived in France in 2022 with the firm intention of learning and performing well in ocean racing. In 2025, Hajime showed growth as an offshore sailor, gaining valuable experience and achieving a notable 7th place finish in the Mini Fastnet

In Hajime's words:

His first Mini Transat:“I'm a little stressed but at the same time very excited. It's a strange feeling that I've never experienced before in my career or in my life. I'm looking forward to it, I hope it will be a great adventure and that I'll enjoy myself. I heard about it in detail in 2020. Crossing the Atlantic is a dream, but dreams never come true, so it's a very strange feeling.”

The team he forms with Alexandre:

“I couldn't have prepared without Alexandre, because he really helped me a lot to prepare this boat and this race. We are a team, but at the same time we are competing against each other.”

His favourite meals on board:

“My main food will be rice and also this, chilli con carne! And sardines, tins of tuna.”

LA BOULANGERE MINI TRANSAT 2025

Just the sailor, their boat, and the immensity of the ocean.

• 90 Skippers
• 4,050 nautical miles
• 4 weeks of race
• 30% Skippers non French
• 15% women

Forty-eight years have already passed since the first edition of the Mini Transat 6.50. It was in 1977 that British sailor Bob Salomon created this race, which immediately became a landmark in offshore sailing history. Salomon believed that the sport had become too elitist. Yachts were getting bigger and bigger, and sailors without significant financial resources were being excluded from the competitive scene. Bob Salomon decided to organize a more authentic race, giving everyone a chance to try. Simplicity and humility became the race’s core values, with the hull-length limit being one of its fundamental rules.
The race brings together amateur skippers as well as current and future champions. For everyone, it represents the dream of crossing the Atlantic and the solitude of being alone on a small boat. It’s a way of confronting both the elements and oneself. The sailor who is most in harmony with his boat, the sea, the wind, the sun—who best manages his sleep, thirst, and hunger—will have every chance of being first to arrive in Saint-François (French west indies).
The fleet, made up of 34 prototypes and 56 production boats, will set off from Les Sables d’Olonne on September 21. The competitors will head to La Palma (Canary Islands), where the first arrivals are expected from September 29. On October 25, a second start will mark the beginning of the final crossing to Saint-François, with arrivals beginning from November 4.