Born on 28 April 1981 in Mont-Saint-Aignan, Xavier Macaire trained as a boatbuilder in Marseille. He sailed his first offshore race in the Mini class in 2003 and, from 2008 to 2011, won several solo races on the Mini circuit aboard a Pogo 2.
He moved to the Figaro circuit in 2012, backed first by the Hérault department and then by Groupe SNEF. He became French Elite solo offshore champion in 2015 and made the podium of the Solitaire du Figaro (3rd in 2015, 2nd in 2021).
He also tried the IMOCA (Transat Jacques Vabre 2019 with Arnaud Boissières) and the Ocean Fifty (2nd in the 2021 Transat Jacques Vabre with Erwan Le Roux).
In 2022 he switched to Class40 with a Groupe SNEF boat designed by Guillaume Verdier: he won the Drheam Cup in 2022 and 2024, the Niji 40 in 2024, and finished 6th in the 2022 Route du Rhum. In 2025 he sailed the Transat Café L'Or with Justine Mettraux on the IMOCA TeamWork - Team Snef and announced his aim of the 2028 Vendée Globe.
