No Crew, No Stops: The Road to the Vendée Globe w/ Ambre Hasson
Alone at Sea: Racing the Atlantic Solo w/ Ambre Hasson
Join us for an exclusive Fireside Chat with Ambre Hasson, French-American offshore sailor and skipper building her campaign for the 2028 Vendée Globe, the nonstop, unassisted solo race around the world widely regarded as the Everest of sailing. Last year Ambre crossed the Atlantic alone on a 21-foot boat. She is in New York for a short visit, and we are hosting an evening about what that actually takes.
Quick Overview:
⛵ Exclusive conversation with Ambre Hasson, solo offshore racer and Class40 campaign skipper
🌊 What it's like to cross an ocean alone on a boat shorter than most living rooms
🎯 Building a campaign for the 2028 Vendée Globe, sailing's hardest test
🧭 Decision-making, resilience, and self-reliance when there is no one else aboard
🎤 Hosted by Laura Varela, MIT engineer, creator of the Terrain Method, and 2024 U.S. Women's Sailing Champion
🤝 An evening with Adventure Society members, the Google NY Sailing Club, the Brooklyn Sailing community, and guests.
📍 Thursday, August 27th, 6:30 PM @ the Wagner Pavillion Classroom, 20 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280, United States
About the Event:
Offshore solo racing strips everything down. No crew to spell you. No support boat. No pause button. You sleep in twenty-minute increments, you fix what breaks with what you have, and every decision, good or bad, belongs entirely to you. For weeks.
Ambre Hasson has done it, and she is now building toward the biggest version of it. The Vendée Globe sends solo skippers around the world nonstop and unassisted, and roughly half the fleet typically fails to finish. Her 2028 campaign is underway, which means the years between now and the start line are their own kind of endurance test: funding, boat preparation, qualification, and the long stretch of unglamorous work that happens before anyone is watching.
Hosting the conversation is Laura Varela (website) who brings a rare combination of perspectives to it. An MIT-trained engineer with an International MBA from IE Business School, Laura has held senior roles as VP/COO at Fiserv and Strategic Alliances Lead at EY Latin America, and she is the 2024 U.S. Women's Sailing Champion and creator of the Terrain Method. She understands both the water and the boardroom, and she asks the questions that connect them.
We'll dive into:
What a solo Atlantic crossing on a 21-foot boat actually demands, hour by hour
How to make high-stakes decisions with incomplete information and no one to consult
Building a multi-year campaign toward a goal most people would call unrealistic
Fear, fatigue, and the difference between real risk and the fear of it
What leaders on land can borrow from sailors who race alone
The Fireside Chat series is the Adventure Society's gathering point for thoughtful conversation, genuine connection, and the kind of ideas that stay with you long after the night ends. This one is drawn to people who push past the obvious limits, whether you sail, build companies, or simply recognize the impulse.
Whether you're a sailor, a founder, an adventurer, or just someone who wants to hear firsthand what it's like to cross an ocean alone, come.
Featured Guest
Ambre Hasson French-American offshore sailor. Solo Atlantic racer. Class40 campaign skipper, currently building toward the 2028 Vendée Globe. Speaker and storyteller.
🌐 ambresails.com · 📸 @ambre_sails
In Conversation With
Laura Varela Creator of the Terrain Method. M.Eng., MIT. International MBA, IE Business School. Former VP/COO at Fiserv and Strategic Alliances Lead at EY Latin America. 2024 U.S. Women's Sailing Champion.
Hosted By
Adventure Society · adventuresociety.co