A breakthrough 2025 season for UpWind by MerConcept
by UpWind by MerConcept 4 Dec 2025 05:30 PST
UpWind by MerConcept © David Lupion / UpWind by MerConcept
Back in Concarneau after a strong finish in the Transat Café L'Or, UpWind by MerConcept closes a landmark second season marked by accelerated sporting progress, human development, and growing visibility.
With a first victory on the Ocean Fifty circuit, a standout Transat Café L'Or delivered by the all-women duo Anne-Claire Le Berre and Élodie Jane Mettraux, and no fewer than four transatlantic crossings completed in two years, the momentum behind UpWind by MerConcept continues to strengthen.
A masterful Transat Café L'Or led by an all-women duo
Anne-Claire Le Berre and Élodie Jane Mettraux delivered a remarkable performance across a 5717-mile course between France and the Caribbean. At the average speed of 18.36kts, they maintained pressure on the most seasoned crews in the Ocean Fifty fleet and finished just 36 hours behind the winner — an impressive result in one of offshore sailing's most demanding classes.
Anne-Claire Le Berre reflected: "Twenty-four years after the last 100% women's participation in multihull doublehanded racing on this Transat, we can be proud of what we achieved on such a challenging course. It's a strong signal for women's representation in offshore sailing."
Élodie Jane Mettraux added: "We sailed with determination and ambition, never allowing gender to define our performance. We fought hard, kept our composure despite fleet-wide technical issues, and this Transat gives us a very solid foundation for the next steps of the project."
11th Hour Racing: A visionary and founding partner
A founding partner from day one, 11th Hour Racing has empowered the project's responsible, inclusive, and performance-driven vision.
"UpWind by MerConcept is redefining what multihull offshore sailing can be: boldly innovative, inclusive, and shaping the sport's future. By advancing opportunities for women to train, race, and work on an Ocean Fifty, MerConcept is creating experiences that put women on a clear route to reach their goals and inspire fans along the way. Their work has already proven historic, and we look forward to seeing how each step forward continues to drive meaningful, lasting change in the sport." — Lorraine McKenna, Sponsorship Director, 11th Hour Racing
2025: a year of acceleration — and a first victory
The 2025 season will be remembered as the team's confirmation year. Their win during Act 2 of the Ocean Fifty Series in Concarneau validates the technical, strategic, and human choices made since the program launched in 2024.
For skipper Anne-Claire Le Berre, this evolution is tangible: "Back in Brittany, we can really measure the path we've traveled. Doublehanded, crewed, inshore, offshore — we've learned constantly and built a tight-knit group of resourceful, talented women. This season proves that we're headed in the right direction, at the heart of an exceptional project."
Team Manager Louis Giard highlighted the scale of the progression, 26,000 miles sailed since the launch of the project (equivalent to a full Vendée Globe):
"The improvement is clear: a race win, a solid transatlantic, a reliable boat. UpWind by MerConcept is now firmly established among the competitive forces of the circuit. At sea, the athletes have reached a new level; on shore, our technical team is growing through daily collaboration with MerConcept's experts. This dynamic raises our overall game — average speeds, maneuvering safety, strategic choices... everything is progressing."
A return delivery focused on learning, citizen science and knowledge transfer
The Ocean Fifty returned to Concarneau by sea with Anne-Claire Le Berre and two team members onboard for a delivery designed as a training and mentoring opportunity.
South African sailor and technician Michaela Robinson, selected from 120 applicants in 2024 and now a core part of the technical team, completed her first multihull transatlantic: "This is my fourth transatlantic, but definitely my first on a very fast boat! It was tougher, for sure, but an incredible adventure. Sailing with Anne-Claire is eye-opening — her knowledge, her presence onboard... I learned something every minute. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine sailing professionally for a team like UpWind by MerConcept, or crossing the Atlantic on an Ocean Fifty. I feel incredibly privileged and grateful."
Alongside her, Pauline Gerardin, CSR & Partnerships Manager, completed her second crossing: "My first experience was on a three-masted schooner with 38 people onboard over six weeks. Crossing the Atlantic as a crew of three in under two weeks on a trimaran is something completely different. But the common thread is transmission: the captain of the schooner was a woman who mastered every aspect of the boat. Anne-Claire offers me that same opportunity, helping me progress rapidly on a highly technical boat."
During the return delivery, Pauline also collected seawater samples for Phenomer (Ifremer), a participatory science program that monitors long-term changes in phytoplankton using environmental DNA. The team used the same sampling kit once carried aboard L'Hermione (a full-scale replica of the famous 18th-century French frigate that carried the Marquis de Lafayette to America in 1780) during her return transatlantic a decade ago. Whenever possible, samples were taken at locations that had already been studied ten years earlier, providing valuable comparative data. Each water sample was split into two parts — one preserved for optical microscope observation of phytoplankton, the other prepared for environmental DNA analysis.
This citizen science initiative also has an important educational component. Together with Ifremer, UpWind by MerConcept will host a microscope observation session with a local school in Concarneau to share the findings and inspire younger generations.
Looking ahead, the team is eager to deepen this collaboration with Ifremer and expand its involvement in citizen science projects, integrating more ocean data collection into future offshore and transatlantic campaigns.