He grew up in landlocked Switzerland, lived in a campervan in a car park to break into professional sailing, and in 2025 became the first Swiss-German to complete the Vendée Globe. Now Oliver Heer is back — with a foiling IMOCA, a 14-strong team, and the commercial instincts of a startup founder.
Sébastien Schneiter’s Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP team has not got off to a stellar start in Season 6. Four events in, they're at the bottom of the season leaderboard with just a single point to show for their efforts. I checked in with Schneiter to find out how they plan to turn things around.
Swiss Olympic sailor Nathalie Brugger is back with Alinghi for AC38 – this time aiming for a place on the AC75 race crew. I spoke to her about closing the performance gap, breaking into the Cup’s inner circle, and embracing the challenge head on.
I check-in with Tudor Team Alinghi’s director for technical and sailing, New Zealand America’s Cup veteran Dave Endean – the man in charge of making sure that in AC38 the Swiss syndicate improves on its somewhat lacklustre performance in the last Cup in Barcelona.
British Olympic gold medallist Paul Goodison – a three-time America’s Cup competitor and a triple International Moth world champion - is the new skipper of the Swiss Tudor Team Alinghi challenge for AC38. I sat down with Goodison in Barcelona to get the inside track on his appointment.
A clean-sheet reset for Tudor Team Alinghi: out with the old and in with the new, as a recalibrated approach as the Swiss challenger targets a more competitive AC38 campaign. I go one on one with team director Dave Endean and skipper Paul Goodison to find out more.
Philippe Presti is known for his unassuming style and easy smile. But when I caught up with him recently in Lorient at the launch of the French America’s Cup challenger La Roche-Posay Racing Team, that trademark smile seemed even broader than usual – and with good reason.
French sailor Guirec Soudée has just broken a solo, non-stop record that has stood for 22 years for sailing around the world. Actually, strike that, he’s smashed it. Not only that but he’s done so on a boat that many would regard as singularly unsuited for the purpose.
France’s dominance of singlehanded offshore racing can be traced back to one event: the proving ground known as La Solitaire du Figaro. Check the list of Vendée Globe winners and you will struggle to find one that did not establish their singlehanded racing credentials with a win in ‘the Figaro’.
Get weekly inspiration for living well delivered straight to your inbox.