Oliver Heer hopes for the Vendée Globe again

The international jury of the transatlantic qualifying race Transat from Lorient to New York has acquitted the Swiss sailor Oliver Heer of the accusation of having requested unauthorized outside help. The 36-year-old from St. Gallen can therefore still count on a good chance of being allowed to take part in the Vendée Globe in November.

Heer found himself in a precarious emergency situation on the Transat in the middle of the Atlantic. Due to a sudden defect in the autopilot in the middle of the night, his boat capsized. Water entered, all the electrics failed, Heer was thrown around and suffered minor injuries. After the accident, he told the NZZ: “It was a massacre. The worst thing was that after ten seconds I had a complete blackout in the ship, no power, nothing. At three in the morning at 40 knots, that’s not a very pleasant situation.”

After several hours, Heer managed to get in touch with his team. They were worried about the sailor’s condition, which was at a low point morally. Heer’s mental coach was contacted, who then called the skipper twice and encouraged him. After his arrival in New York, Heer mentioned these conversations to members of the press.

The first German-Swiss to take part in the Vendée Globe?

The race management of the qualifying regatta then initiated proceedings against the Swiss. The Vendée Globe, the famous non-stop race around the world for solo sailors, has a strict premise: the sailors are not allowed to use any performance assistance in this race or the qualifying regattas. Was the support of the mental coach a performance-enhancing measure?

The international jury has now come to the conclusion that this was not the case. The protest about unauthorized outside help was rejected. A result that Oliver Heer had expected. “Two points were decisive for the jury: It was a safety-related and medically necessary call, and I did not make this call, I was called,” he said. It was clearly not a “performance call”.

Even though the sailor has a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, he still has to worry about his participation in the Vendée Globe. Heer is one of three sailors who have to speculate on the only wild card. Of this trio, Heer has sailed the most races and, as the first German-speaking Swiss, he may have an additional bonus for promotional reasons. Heer is looking forward to the decision, which will be made on July 2nd.