The Swiss Offshore Team, the “Nati” of ocean racing, has been revealed after two weeks of intense and meticulous selection. Following an initial session in Geneva and another in Lorient, more than 40 applications were received and seven sailors were selected to participate in The Ocean Race Europe this summer. Four boys and three girls, while Simon Koster and New Zealander Conrad Colman will take turns as co-skippers of Alan Roura.
It's a race against time for Alan Roura and his team. A major challenge to be at the start of The Ocean Race Europe on August 10 in Kiel. “You could say it's an intense period, but that's what makes it so fabulous,” says the 32-year-old skipper. We've been engaged in a process where every minute counts since we launched this new crew project with AMAALA. We've had to work on the boat, get it back into racing configuration, decorate it with its new colors—I can tell you it's going to look superb—for a relaunch scheduled for next week. And the other big task, which we have just completed, was selecting the crew members who will be sailing with us this summer. I am extremely proud to be captain, alongside Simon and Elodie, of all these talented Swiss sailors who responded to our call."
On June 3, Alan Roura, Simon Koster, and Elodie Mettraux launched an initial call for applications to join the Swiss Offshore Team, the Swiss crew that will participate in the first event of the new IMOCA crewed calendar. In less than two weeks, more than 40 applications were reviewed by the three sailors and their team, with the aim of pre-selecting a number of candidates, who were then invited to two official selection phases. Forty high-quality profiles, ten women, and a great deal of diversity—exactly what Alan Roura had hoped for. “At the heart of this project is a desire to pass on knowledge,” explains the three-time Vendée Globe finisher. "Our approach is very different from other teams, as we have not chosen to call on sailors who are used to sailing in IMOCA. For most of those joining us, it will be a new experience. But that's what's going to be exciting, because all the people we've chosen are already very good sailors in very eclectic fields. There are those who come from the Mini 6.50 circuit, already accustomed to the open sea, and there are those who have so far followed a more regatta-oriented course, on lakes or in Olympic classes, and who dreamed of seeing something else.” “It's great to see that so many people have responded, to see that the project is generating interest,” adds Simon Koster. “It shows that people are motivated and that there is a real demand for this kind of program.”
Around fifteen candidates have been interviewed in recent weeks to be put through their paces. On the agenda: sailing tests, of course. There are also very intense physical tests, led by Kilian Philippe, to gauge both the sailors' physical fitness and their ability to push their limits. Psychological tests were then conducted by Alexis Landais, Alan Roura's mental coach for several years, who serves as Director of Human Performance within TEAM AMAALA for The Ocean Race Europe. The Frenchman, who has worked with many top sailors, is unmatched in his ability to detect a candidate's hidden flaws or buried qualities.
" It wasn't just about choosing the best sailors, but also those who would give their all for the good of the team,“ emphasizes Alan Roura. ”Whether at sea, of course, but also on land during stopovers. The Ocean Race Europe is a very intense race and the team really needs to be perfectly cohesive, because the balance of a team can be fragile. So we left nothing to chance during the selection process."
“The goal was to understand how each person works,” explains Alexis Landais. “We're not looking to be selective, but rather to keep an open mind in order to find the most compatible profiles, the most interesting ones for a collective project. And those who also have room for improvement in the short and medium term.” Simon Koster emphasizes the difficulty of the task: ”It's never easy to choose people, between profiles that already have experience in Mini, others who come from very high-level regattas, very promising young people... Getting the right mix isn't always easy, but it's an interesting exercise!"
Finally, the candidates' behavior in front of the media was also tested, with cameras rolling and microphones in their faces, because in the media world of ocean racing, you have to know how to remain natural and have something to say. “In sailing in general, and perhaps even more so in an event like The Ocean Race, which demands a lot from teams in terms of communication, the ability to express oneself and represent the team's values is essential,” explains Alan Roura.
Seven talented Swiss sailors have been selected to compete in The Ocean Race Europe. Three women, Jessica Berthoud, Rebecca Gmuer, and Lucie De Gennes, and four men, Félix Oberle, Guillaume Rol, Mathis Bourgnon, and Yann Burkhalter, will make up the TEAM AMAALA crew for The Ocean Race Europe 2025, alongside three experienced co-skippers: Alan Roura, Simon Koster, and Conrad Colman.
“Given the tight timing, we had to focus on the essentials, and that inevitably influenced our choices,” explains Simon Koster. “Some profiles were not selected for this year, but if the project continues over the long term, there will always be new opportunities to join the crew for future seasons.”
The three female sailors will share at least one place on board, as The Ocean Race requires a female crew member to be present for each leg. Franco-Swiss Lucie de Gennes, who is preparing for the Los Angeles Olympics in the 470 class, as well as Jessica Berthoud and Rebecca Gmuer, both Swiss-New Zealanders, were unanimously selected. For Jessica, 23, the story is particularly beautiful, as she is following in the footsteps of her father “Canard,” who was a crew member for Pierre Fehlmann during the Whitbread era, which forged the first generation of Swiss offshore sailors. “My mother and father met on this race,” she explains. “I had to take part in it one day!”
Among the selected boys, there are also many inspiring stories of passing on the torch. Of course, there is Mathis Bourgnon, son of Yvan and nephew of Laurent, two leading figures in ocean sailing in the 1990s and 2000s, who is part of TEAM AMAALA. Like another selected competitor, Félix Oberle from Aargau, Bourgnon's son is preparing for the 2025 Mini Transat. Yann Burkhalter, also “Born in Mini,” and Guillaume Rol, a familiar face in Lake Geneva regattas since his youth, also wanted to "contribute to this momentum and be part of it." "The advantage of a race like The Ocean Race is its format of stages and stopovers, which fits perfectly with our philosophy of transmission," explains Alan Roura. "This will allow us to make as many rotations as possible and test a number of configurations. As the project was launched late, we also had to work around everyone's schedules to find solutions that were compatible over the long term."
An intense training phase will begin once the boat is back in the water on Tuesday, July 8. There will be almost daily sailing sessions, punctuated by the technical adjustments needed in just one month of post-launch preparation, to get used to life with five people on board the IMOCA (four sailors and an onboard reporter). Three weeks of training will be just enough to arrive in Kiel at the starting line with the firm intention of giving it our all, to improve individually, of course, but above all as a team. “These are people who think carefully and know how to sail,” concludes Simon Koster. “I can't wait to see them evolve on an IMOCA, see how we sail together and what they can bring to the team.”
Skipper: Alan Roura, 32, Switzerland
3 Vendée Globe - 2 Route du Rhum - 4 Transat Jacques Vabre - 1 Atlantic record - 1 Mini Transat
Co-skipper from Kiel to Cartagena: Simon Koster, 36, Switzerland
3 Mini Transat - 1 Route du Rhum - 3 Transat Jacques Vabre
Co-skipper from Cartagena to Boka Bay: Conrad Colman, 41, New Zealand
2 Vendée Globe - Winner of the 2012 Global Ocean Race - 1 Route du Rhum - 1 Mini Transat
Crew members:
Jessica Berthoud: 23, Swiss-New Zealander
Lucie De Gennes: 23, French-Swiss
Rebecca Gmuer: 25, Swiss-New Zealander
Guillaume Rol: 27, Swiss
Mathis Bourgnon: 28, French-Swiss
Félix Oberle: 34, Swiss
Yann Burkhalter: 35, Swiss
Substitutes:
Iona Jan: 21, Swiss
Joshua Schopfer: 26, Swiss
Aurélien Gard: 28, Swiss
Félix OBERLE: "I've been living in Lorient for the past three years for my Mini project. When I saw the Swiss Offshore Team project come to life, I wanted to sign up and try out for the selection process. What appeals to me is the boat, the racing, the travel, the fact that I'll get to see all of Europe! It's the combination of racing and learning. "
Lucie DE GENNES: "I'm preparing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and, at the same time, I felt the need to explore another playing field: the open sea. This Suisse Offshore Team project, led by Alan, Simon, and Elodie, immediately appealed to me. There are few bridges between the Olympics and ocean racing—and that's precisely what makes me want to go for it even more."
Guillaume ROL: “I was attracted to this Swiss project because it embodies the ambition to develop offshore racing in Switzerland. There is a real dynamic, with established talents such as Alan and Justine Mettraux, and young talents such as Joshua Schopfer who are performing well. I want to contribute to this momentum and be part of it.” "
Jessica BERTHOUD: “When I saw the call for applications for the Switzerland Offshore Team, I didn't hesitate for long. I wanted to see if I was up to the task, if I had the right profile to embark on this adventure. What can I bring to the team? Motivation, a real desire for excellence... and a lot of good humor.”
Mathis BOURGNON: "The Ocean Race Europe is really about racing with the best, against the best, and that alone is priceless! I'm really attracted to the rigor of these boats and this circuit, and I'm lucky to have a fairly well-rounded profile, with a variety of skills, including experience in Mini, offshore catamarans in extreme conditions, and Easy to Fly 26, a very demanding Olympic circuit. This gives me peace of mind at sea and good team cohesion. I could even bring my fondue recipe on board!"
Yann BURKHALTER: "I'm really attracted to the IMOCA, it's an incredible boat, a dream to sail on. The Swiss team immediately appealed to me. We had the Fehlmanns at one time, and for a while now there hasn't really been a big Swiss team, so this project appealed to me! I think I can bring the team a good technical knowledge of the boat, experience of the open sea, and I'm someone who enjoys working in a team!"
Photo © Jean-Guy Python