En route to AMAALA!

On Wednesday, October 15, at a time when IMOCA boats usually set sail for Le Havre to take part in the Transat Café L'Or, an autumn event held in odd-numbered years, Alan Roura and Team AMAALA set sail for an unknown destination: the Red Sea, via the Suez Canal, heading for AMAALA in northern Saudi Arabia. This is a first for a racing boat that has a taste for the kind of modern expeditions that the Swiss sailor is always eager to undertake. 

The IMOCA AMAALA had been left in Boka Bay, where she remained moored after the end of The Ocean Race Europe on September 21. Three and a half weeks on standby, due to a schedule that was out of sync with the rest of the fleet. While their competitors headed back to Brittany for a well-deserved winter break or to set sail for Le Havre and the Transat Café L'Or (formerly Jacques Vabre), Alan and his team were preparing for a journey into the unknown. On Wednesday afternoon, the 32-year-old from Geneva returned to Montenegro, accompanied by Jessica Berthoud and two members of his shore team—Cyril Enjalran, Technical Director, and Damien Audrain, Preparer—and cast off to join AMAALA in Saudi Arabia. 

The Suez Canal: a first for an IMOCA

A future luxury destination, committed to sustainability, in the heart of the Red Sea, and the main partner of the young Swiss armada assembled by Alan Roura for this summer's tour of Europe, AMAALA will also be the finish line for the final leg of The Ocean Race, World Edition, in 2027. This final stopover in the Red Sea will be a first in the history of the race, following an unprecedented crossing of the Suez Canal in a 60-foot foiling monohull. It will be an exceptional journey with Alan Roura and his crew as pioneers, happy and honored to take on the role of modern-day explorers and adventurers. “We're off on an incredible adventure and an exceptional journey,” said the skipper enthusiastically. “We're going to take the Suez Canal before discovering the Red Sea. It's a real journey into the unknown that awaits us, and we can't wait!” 

With their arrival in Saudi Arabia scheduled for late October, Alan and his team will have the opportunity to discover one of the Orient's most beautiful gems and encounter a new people and culture. A journey of discovery, a hand extended to an unknown world, and the first steps toward a long-term collaboration with the Middle East: Team AMAALA's fall promises to be at least as magical as its summer!

Picture © Vincent Curutchet / The Ocean Race Europe