Every path has its steps, some negative, some positive, and they define how an objective is reached. In the case of Cecilia Zorzi, a navigator born in Trento in 1994, her objective is the Mini Transat 2025 and her recent step, happily a positive one, was the official confirmation of her participation in the race in September 2025.

After over 12,000 miles travelled on her Mini 6.50 proto EKI, Cecilia is in eighth position in a race that, for all sailors who complete it, represents a dream coming true, but for some it is the “informal” beginning of a professional sailing career. Cecilia is an eclectic navigator, with plenty of experience in the Olympic classes, Laser and Nacra 17, as well as in offshore on board the Figaro and VO65, having also participated in the latest edition of The Ocean Race on board Austrian Ocean racing powered by Team Genova.

From when she began her solitary on the Mini 6.50, her objective was always to participate in the Mini Transat, an iconic Atlantic crossing in two solitary legs with no assistance and no external communication, on board 6.5 metre sailing boats, the 25th edition of which starts on 21 September from Les Sables d’Olonne. This race is adorned by an unshakeable aura: a ‘baptism of fire’ for those who undertake it, arriving on the other side of the Atlantic changed forever. By participating, Cecilia also wants to achieve another,non-sports related objective: provide visibility for her campaign “Cecilia in Oceano”, to show that talent has no gender.

Daily Nautica spoke to Cecilia Zorzi, who has moved to Lorient in order to best prepare herself for the adventure that awaits her in a few months, and we talked about her career so far and her expectations.

Cecillia, firstly, why do you want to participate in the Mini Transat?

Excellent question! I need to be certain of my ‘why’ so that I will remember it when I’m in the middle of the ocean. I started with offshore racing for reasons other than crossing the Atlantic on my own with a Mini 6.50, and when I started sailing I finally felt I had found my place. Having to make decisions, being free to choose my route when I am alone, makes all the pressure that being a part of society puts on me. I have always been very competitive and at a certain point just ‘enjoying being at sea’ was no longer enough, I also wanted to race and the Mini 6.50 was the obvious answer to these two needs. I want to do the Mini Transat for me, to prove to myself that I can do something like this, setting aside a feeling of not being enough which I felt as a teenager, but I also want to do it for all the people who are feeling the same way and show them that if you decide to do something and work hard to achieve it, nobody can stop you.

What are you most afraid of about this race?

Maybe it is the solitude, which I wasn’t really expecting! Last summer during the SAS (editor’s note: Les Sables-Les Açores-Les Sables, a Mini 6.50 race that departs from Les Sables d’Olonne to the Azores then back, in solitary), my first time alone in the ocean, three or four days after Cape Finisterre, when I couldn’t see anyone or hear anyone on the radio, I felt a bit lost. On the return trip I managed that feeling better, but the idea of being alone in the middle started taking root, and it was hard. Being alone, having to make decisions on your own is also the part I can’t wait to do again.

At the moment you are in Lorient to best prepare: what results are you expecting from this Mini Transat?

Yes I am at the ‘Lorient Grand Large’ hub in Lorient, where many athletes in various classes train, from the Mini 6.50 to Class 40, IMOCA, so it is very stimulating. Compared to last year where I just went out to sea without anyone training, things have completely changed. Here we do everything together, from physical preparation to training in the water, debriefing in class: it is a completely different approach. I decided to come here because there is so much knowledge and experience, both in the Mini and in offshore navigation, which unfortunately we don’t have yet in Italy. I want to get “over there” first and foremost, but I want to get there well! That being said, I am sailing on a new Italian boat, the WIP which is classified as a proto but has the characteristics of a series, even though it officially isn’t yet because they haven’t launched the 10 units needed to enter into this category. This means that it is a boat that is still to be explored and to know, not quite as fast as some of my colleagues’, so I know that in order to keep up with them I have to use perfect tactics and strategy. Coming here was an emotional and economic investment, because I want to get as much from this Mini as I can.

Do you think the Mini Transat is a launching pad for a future professional career?

I have no idea! I don’t know what I want to do after the Mini Transat, also because I’m not sure that I will be ready to start a new project that is “all mine” so soon after, because this one is already bleeding me dry! There are some Italian crews that are training on slightly larger boats, I would enjoy being a part of that. What I am sure of though is that with this project and the choice of boat I made, I am wanting to make my life “difficult”, in order to take full advantage of the training and lessons, forcing myself to go head first, so when I take the nest step, I will have a lot more experience.

What makes your Mini Transat campaign special?

We live in a society based on gender, but for me talent, in sports and in life, has nothing to do with that. The message I am trying to share through my campaign is that we can do whatever we want independently from our gender and from what society expects from us.

by Francesca Pradelli