Volvo Ocean Race Legends Regatta - Pierre Fehlmann named as Ambassador

by Lizzie Ward on 29 Sep 2011 Volvo Ocean Race Legends Regatta and Reunion 2011, to be held in Alicante (Spain) from 1 to 5 November, is the first official reunion for veterans of the world’s premier ocean race.

Swiss sailor Pierre Fehlmann, the only person to skipper an entry in five Whitbread Round the World Races, has joined Lady Pippa Blake, Sir Chay Blyth, Tracy Edwards, Skip Novak and Magnus Olsson as an ambassador to the event.

A co-founder of the Swiss Ocean Racing Club, Fehlmann took a line honours victory in the 1985-86 race aboard the maxi UBS Switzerland, completing the 26,000 nautical mile course in 117 days and four hours. In each of his five Whitbread Round the World Races Fehlmann’s crews were made up entirely of Swiss nationals.

He established the Swiss shipyard Decision SA in order to build UBS Switzerland, the first maxi yacht to be built in composite in the country and the fruition of knowledge gained during his two previous races.

After pulling off a brilliant tactical move on the first leg of the 1985-86 race which resulted in UBS Switzerland finishing 16 hours ahead of the fleet in Cape Town, Fehlmann explained: 'We based our strategy on a computer study of the weather patterns for the past four years.'

Fehlmann and his crew also won the third leg, turning in a barnstorming performance to break the race record by two days and 16 hours. An entry from their log then read: ‘We are crazy. Eighteen to 20 knots with flanker, close to broaching, just under the boat’s safety limit. But we don’t know what the safety limit is’.

Now, as the fleet in the 2011-12 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race prepares to tackle the world’s oceans once again, Fehlmann will join many of his friends and former competitors in what will be the biggest ever gathering of former Whitbread sailors, at the Volvo Ocean Race Legends Regatta and Reunion in Alicante, Spain.

A celebration of the legacy of the world’s premiere ocean race, the event includes racing and social events as well as plenty of time for renewing old sailing rivalries and dusting off precious memories of exploits in previous races around the world.

About Pierre Fehlmann
• Born in Switzerland 1942 (69)
• Skippered five boats, each one with a 100 per cent Swiss crew:
• 1977-78 Disque d’Or – fourth
• 1981-82 Disque d’Or 3 – fourth
• 1985-86 UBS Switzerland – fourth (best maxi)
• 1989-90 Merit – third
• 1993-94 Merit Cup – second

Ambassadors
• Lady Blake
• Sir Chay Blyth CBE, BEM
• Magnus Olsson
• Skip Novak
• Tracy Edwards MBE
• Pierre Fehlmann

Entries in the Volvo Ocean Race Legends Regatta and Reunion
1. Copernicus 1973-74 (45’ sloop: the smallest boat ever to race)
2. Great Britain II/Whitbread Heritage (Maxi ketch - took part in the first five races)
3. Rothmans 1989-90 (Maxi sloop)
4. Berge Viking 1981-82 (Swan 57)
5. Charles Jourdan 1989-90 (Maxi sloop)
6. Steinlager 2 1989-90 (Maxi Ketch)
7. Gauloises III 1981-82 (62’ Sloop) sailed by the French crew of Grand Louis/Japy-Hermes and Kriter IX
8. Traité de Rome 1977-78 and 1981-82 (51’ aluminium sloop)
9. Adventure/Dasher 1973-74 and 1977-78 (Nicholson 55’)
10. Tauranga 1973-74 (Swan 55’ Volvo Ocean Race Legends website