Born from a cry of anger, the Néréides Cup has established itself as much more than just a women’s regatta. Under the impetus of its founder, Pat Shereen Aglaé, this unique event in Nice transforms the sea into a space of inclusion, sisterhood, and rebirth.
Every year in Nice, dozens of women from very different backgrounds gather to hoist the sails and take to the sea. Some are business leaders, others are teachers, some are in career transitions or battling cancer. Many had never stepped foot on a sailboat before this adventure. That’s the Néréides Cup: a 100% female regatta, born from an intimate anger and transformed into a formidable tool of empowerment.
“Initially, I wasn’t really interested in the sea, even though I was born by the Mediterranean,” confesses Pat Shereen Aglaé. A history and geography teacher, screenwriter, amateur actress, and former journalist, she is also a committed woman. Everything changed in 2007 after a complicated surgery left her disabled for eight months.
“I could no longer walk, nor even bathe myself. It was then that I discovered sisterhood. Women artists came to help me, expecting nothing in return.”
This support profoundly changed her perspective. During a workshop at the Yacht Club de Monaco, Pat discovered the very masculine world of regattas. “I saw this little woman among all these men. It was like watching Tinker Bell steer the helm. And I wondered: why aren’t there more women here?” This question sparked an idea, then a challenge, and finally a revolution.
A Regatta Born from a “cry of anger”
“The Néréides Cup was born from a cry of anger,” says Pat Shereen. Anger against the erasure of women in events, against stereotypes, against persistent inequalities. “I was tired of being judged on my appearance rather than my skills. I had good education, I graduated from the École du Louvre, yet I earned less than my male colleagues.”
This rage became a driving force. She decided to create the first entirely female regatta, open to amateurs, so that sailing could become a tool of resilience. “I wanted women like me to be able to say: no matter what happens to us, we can overcome it.”
The first edition took place on a legendary boat, the Zaka. Thirty women who had never sailed before came aboard. And magic happened. “Out at sea, they regained confidence. They felt recharged. That’s when I realized I had found what I wanted to do.”
Sails for All Women
Since then, the Néréides Cup has grown, attracting participants each year from very different backgrounds: lawyers, housekeepers, doctors, florists, women with disabilities. “I remember a visually impaired woman who took the helm for the first time. It was moving. Also, young girls with Down syndrome, once on the water, were united with all the others. That’s when I won my human bet: bringing women together and seeing them happy.”
There are many stories that emerge from these experiences. “One day, an insurer recognized me. His wife had participated in the regatta and talked about it constantly. She enrolled in a sailing club. Another participant created an association to help young girls in Thailand. They needed a trigger, and that trigger was this regatta.”
Inclusion at the Heart of the Project
This year, the event takes a new step. Besides women with cancer and the children of the Léa association, the Néréides Cup welcomes for the first time a LGBTQIA crew, named Calypso. “They are fantastic, vibrant. I am very proud to have this diversity. I am myself mixed-race, and I want this diversity to be expressed positively.”
The City of Nice plays a crucial role in this adventure. Without its support, the regatta could not have been launched.
For Pat Shereen Aglaé, the Néréides Cup should become more than a sporting event. She imagines a village around the regatta, with educational activities, shows, exhibitions, and even perhaps female nautical rallies modeled after the Rallye des Gazelles. “I want it to be a meeting point where women know they will be safe, where they will experience something different and discover themselves.”
More than a Regatta, a Movement
While the primary goal is to unite, the spirit of competition is never far away. “At first, they say they’re scared. But as soon as they know what starboard and port mean, and can hoist a sail, they become very competitive!” smiles Pat.
But the founder sees beyond the sails and podiums. “We are living in a time when, in some countries, women’s rights are regressing. Here, I want to send the opposite message: we won’t be pushed back.” For her, the sea is a space of freedom, solidarity, and listening. “It erases differences. It reminds us that we are all part of the same crew.”
From her cry of anger emerged a wave of solidarity that continues to grow. With the Néréides Cup, Pat Shereen Aglaé proves that the sea can be more than a playground: a place of rebirth, a lever for empowerment, a space where women discover unsuspected strengths.
“If I were able to inspire even one woman, then it was all worth it,” she concludes.
