Three pioneers found the Swiss offshore national team

It was a sobering picture that observers saw on Sunday in Barcelona: Alinghi’s “Boat One”, previously eliminated in the semi-finals of the America’s Cup preliminary round, was lying on its side after it capsized. Alinghi’s training off the coast of Barcelona, ​​possibly with a view to participating in the next Cup, had ended in chaos. Now the Swiss sailing crew had to pump water out of the hull. Switzerland a sailing nation? Not at all. That was once. So it seems.

Justine Mettraux is the first Swiss woman to take part in the Vendée Globe

In five weeks things will be different: there will be four boats flying Swiss flags at the start of the Vendée Globe. This means that ten percent of the participants will represent a country that does not have a sea connection. Three skippers from Switzerland are completing the toughest sailing race in the world: They will sail non-stop around the world alone and without help. With Justine Mettraux, a Swiss woman is taking part for the first time, Oliver Heer is the first time a German-speaking Swiss is taking part, and Alan Roura is also taking part for the third time. A fourth boat bears the name of a Swiss company based in Zug and is steered by a French solo sailor.

 

Does this mean that Swiss sailing is entering a golden age? At least that’s what Alan Roura believes. “There is a dynamic in all areas and there is a wealth of talent just waiting to express themselves on different types of boats,” says the Geneva native.

Roura is co-initiator of the “Swiss Offshore Team” project, which aims to convince young Swiss sailors, decision-makers and institutions to take part in the most important offshore races. Other initiators include Elodie Mettraux, Justine’s sister, who is also an experienced circumnavigator, and Simon Koster, a two-time participant in the Route du Rhum.

For the Zurich native, the launch of the project is ideal not only because of the participation of three Swiss sailors in the Vendée Globe. “The Ocean Race’s decision to focus on the Imoca class is an important factor in our plans,” says the sailor, who has been a member of Roura’s team for two seasons. The decision means that the boats built for the Vendée Globe can also be used for crewed racing after a conversion.

The trio’s goal is very ambitious: After the offshore team has been founded, a call for Swiss sailors to apply for the squad will be launched in 2025. According to the press release, the three co-skippers are interested in “attracting a wide range of profiles”. The initiators are thinking about all areas of sailing. “Everyone who has big dreams can try their luck,” the press release continued. The first stage goal is to take part in the Ocean Race Europe next year with Alan Roura’s boat. But the three are already thinking further – and bolder: “Ultimately the idea could be to have two boats in the team,” says Roura.

 

An important question remains: who will finance the dream?

However, the dreams could soon fail due to the capital required. The three sailors only have vague ideas about what the financing of an “offshore national team” could look like. They hope for the “enthusiasm and support of partners who are willing to make a long-term commitment.” Swiss companies should be given preference “in order to preserve the identity that stands for know-how and reliability,” Roura is quoted as saying in the press release.

Dominique Wavre and Bernard Stamm could tell you a lot about the difficulty of raising money with offshore sailing. The two Swiss sailed regularly and successfully on the world’s oceans twenty years ago. They were loners, as is often the case with solo sailors. They fought for sponsors and money throughout their entire sports career. The complex and lengthy efforts to finance the projects usually did not allow cooperation between sailors.

The new generation is now increasingly relying on collaborations. Sailors who were unable to finance campaigns themselves work for other teams, as Koster does today – and Heer used to do. The initiators must be given credit for the fact that the moment of launching their project was actually well chosen: the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe, people in France are convinced, will eclipse all previous events in terms of the number of participants (40 boats) and response.