A recap of Itzel Marie Diaz's 2025 season

"A season in three movements"

This year has been marked by three major undertakings: a long winter refit lasting nearly six months, two races starting from Douarnenez, and finally the imminent resumption of autumn training with a view to a much more ambitious 2026 season.

Winter refit: six months to give Kaïros some much-needed attention

When I pulled my boat out of the water at the end of last season, she looked at me as if to say: "You're going to have to put me back together again! "And she was right... While the aim of 2024 was to gain experience at sea, the objective of 2025 was to make my boat more reliable. After putting her through her paces, race after race, I decided it was about time I treated her to a makeover. Because she's worth it! It took six months to get everything back on track.

 

I got started in November 2024. The boat was dismasted and stored in a shed over the winter. I took the whole thing apart, stripped it bare and started from scratch. Safety first: with the replacement of the mast cables to avoid any nasty surprises during the race.

Then there was the electricity to get sorted. My old system had already given me several complete power outs to deal with - no GPS, no radio, no navigation lights. Three days spent at the bottom of the boat cutting cables, soldering, installing an electrical panel and new solar panels to increase autonomy.

My mainsail tore in a storm during my last solo race in 2024. I was lucky enough to be able to take part in the making of the new sail, which allowed me to do a report for Voiles et Voiliers and find out more about this artisanal craft.

 

But what really occupied my long winter evenings and weekends was... sanding. Masked, gloved, armed with my sander - which fortunately never failed me - I sanded every nook and cranny of the ship: keel, deck, and hull. A strange pastime, you may say, but one that is essential to breathing new life into a boat that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

On the deck, I reapplied the non-slip paint, which had become more slippery than one would like. On the hull (the underside of the boat), I applied a new antifouling paint, which prevents algae from clinging to the hull and allows Kaïros to sail faster.

 

Finally, my attention turned to the decoration. Removing the old stickers from the hull - some of which had been stuck on for over fifteen years and had been burnt on by UV rays - was a real challenge. It took a lot of elbow grease to get Kaïros to Decosail, a company based in Lorient that specialises in decorating racing boats.

 

My faithful companion now sails in the colours of Reporters Without Borders, and proudly displays the Opinel logo on her hull.

January: meeting with Opinel

 

In January, in the middle of this project, I had the pleasure of going to Chambéry to present a summary of my 2024 season to all the Opinel employees. It was one of the highlights of the year for me: your smiles, your questions and your encouragement carried me through the months of work that followed!

 

The very next day, I was already off to a whole other world: two weeks of reporting in Syria. Alongside this very rewarding project, I am still keeping up my day job as a journalist. Going from an icy hangar to a reporting ground on the other side of the world may seem like a major upheaval. But it's precisely this diversity that nourishes me and gives me the impetus to pursue my two passions simultaneously.

Races: getting back into the swing of things

In April, after six months of getting her back into shape, Kaïros finally returned to her element: the sea.

With a refitted boat and brand new sails, I resumed racing in the single-handed MAP Trophy in June. I was delighted to rediscover this unique intimacy with Kaïros, even if the lack of training made competing against the other sailors tough. It didn't matter, though: the main thing was to get back up and running and continue gaining experience.

Then came the Mini Fastnet, also in June. A double-handed race that remains, to this day, my best regatta since the start of this project. For this adventure, I welcomed Louis, a friend who owns a Mini like mine. It was the perfect opportunity to talk about our manoeuvres, our way of life on board, and our fine-tuning methods. The perfect weather conditions kept us in the game, even against the newer boats.

But beyond the result, it was above all the unforgettable images that remain with me: star-studded nights, bright moons, majestic flights of birds, the breathtaking English and Irish coasts... and finally, the mythical Fastnet lighthouse, perched on the Irish coast. These magical moments more than made up for all those months spent tinkering on my boat, often in the cold and rain.

Autumn: heading for 2026

Now, autumn has arrived with a clear objective: to prepare for the SAS - Les Sables / Les Açores / Les Sables. A 2,600 nautical mile solo race, scheduled for next July, which will be my first real encounter with the open ocean.

The Bay of Biscay, Cape Finisterre, the Azores High... all names that make my heart beat faster. Of course, there is a little apprehension. But above all, I'm really looking forward to testing Kaïros, testing myself, and finally putting everything I've learnt into practice.

Thank you to Opinel for their support: seeing your logo on Kaïros reminds me at every moment that I'm not sailing solo in this adventure.