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“My father told me, ‘We live on an island, so you have to do something related to the sea.’ ” That’s how, at the age of five, Cindy Brin stepped onto a small boat for the first time. A journey that would lead her all the way to the podium of the 2024 Transat Paprec mixed double-handed race (with Thomas André, JSB 1616) but also, for more than ten years, to become an instructor at the sailing school where she grew up, the Saint-Barth Yacht Club. It’s an organization that Cindy Brin chose to leave at the start of the school year. She left an almost indelible mark there. Even though, as she herself says: “I’ve seen a lot of instructors come and go!”
Stunned!
By her own admission, the instructor and sailor was afraid of the sea when she was a little girl. “My dad told me to go anyway,” she smiles. “During my first training session, I got hit by a wave and fell into the water—knocked out! I said I’d never go back. But in the end…” In the end, quite the maritime adventure followed. “But I still don’t like the water today,” Cindy confides. “If I have to jump, I’ll jump, but I won’t go in of my own free will. ” In fact, she says that before setting sail for the 2024 Transat Paprec, she set the record straight with her crewmate, Thomas André. “I told him I could climb the mast without any problem, but that if we ever had to jump into the water for any reason, it would be up to him to do it,” Cindy explains. Clearly, this arrangement proved effective.
Looking back on her childhood, the sailor recalls: “It wasn’t until I was eight that I started sailing because I wanted to. And then I won my first regatta. That’s when I told myself I’d be number one. I was in it to win.” In competition, she participated in three Europa Cups and four French championships.
After finishing school in Saint Barth, Cindy Brin headed to the CREPS (Center for Resources, Expertise, and Athletic Performance) in Guadeloupe. With her high school diploma in hand, she returned to her island in 2015. “I worked at the university for three weeks, but it just wasn’t my thing,” she says today. At the sailing school, Jean-Paul Berry offered her a job. It came with a guaranteed position and on-the-job training. “I can tell you, I’d much rather launch boats than stock shelves,” Cindy jokes.
Lorenzo Mayer: A Source of Pride
Over the past ten years, she’s seen a lot of students come and go! But there’s one who left a particularly lasting impression on her: Lorenzo Mayer. “Because he’s having a successful Olympic career,” she smiles. “I know I had nothing to do with it, but in the back of my mind, it makes me proud. Then again, there have been plenty of others!” Like Marvin Fébrissy Gréaux, who, like Cindy, will attempt a crossing during the upcoming Transat Paprec. “Marvin is one of those who told me very early on that they’d be racing offshore,” recalls the instructor. “With all the students, it’s amazing to see how they’ve grown. Seeing them arrive, shy, not quite sure what they’re doing, and watching them improve. Sometimes I may have pushed them a little too hard. But when I run into them on the street today—even if they’re no longer sailing—they tell me it helped them. ” A sentiment echoed by Jean-Paul Berry, who left the club in 2021, and shared with Cindy Brin. She also mentions Simon Favaud, in a different vein. “He was my coach, my boss too; our relationship evolved over time.”
“One day, I’ll be there too”
For Cindy, the 2024 Transat was a revelation. “It opened my eyes to so many things,” she says. It was an influence from this very special race that she had already experienced—for other reasons—back in 2000. “I was four years old, and I saw people who were exhausted but still smiling,” she recalls. “Standing on my father’s boat, I told him that one day, I’d be out there too.”
For now, Cindy Brin will focus on her new career in cargo handling and delivery. But she’ll never take her eyes off the sea.
Thomas Hervé, Two-Time World Champion
Thomas Hervé, Cindy Brin’s former teammate in the 2024 Transat Paprec mixed doubles race, has just claimed the title of world champion in mixed doubles offshore racing. Of course, he didn’t achieve this victory alone. It was alongside Colombe Julia that Thomas Hervé claimed victory after two days and fifty minutes of offshore racing. This marks his second consecutive title, as he had already been crowned champion in 2025 alongside Théa Khélif.
After his podium finish in the Transat with Cindy Brin, all signs point to the mixed doubles format being a perfect fit for Thomas André!
