Swiss offshore sailor Oliver Heer will take on The Ocean Race 2027
by The Ocean Race 9 Jun 00:19 PDT
Swiss offshore sailor Oliver Heer announces in Switzerland that he will take on The Ocean Race © Sam Kuhn / Oliver Heer Ocean Racing
Swiss offshore sailor Oliver Heer has announced that his team, Embrace The Challenge, will compete in The Ocean Race 2027.
The campaign will bring together sailors, technicians and shore crew from around the world under the leadership of Heer, creating a truly international team united by a shared ambition: to race around the globe in offshore sailing's ultimate crewed challenge.
For Heer, The Ocean Race represents the fulfilment of a dream that began in childhood.
"Competing in The Ocean Race has always been a dream," said Heer. "As a kid I followed the Whitbread and later the Volvo Ocean Race obsessively. I bought every sailing magazine I could find and imagined what it would be like to race around the world as part of a team. To now be leading my own campaign into this race is incredibly special."
While Switzerland has a rich history in offshore sailing, Swiss skippers in The Ocean Race are rare. Heer will become the first Swiss skipper to lead a campaign in the race for decades, following in the wake of legendary Swiss sailor Pierre Fehlmann, who competed in multiple Whitbread campaigns during the 1980s.
"There is a huge sense of pride in representing Switzerland on this stage," Heer said. "Pierre Fehlmann inspired generations of Swiss sailors and helped put Swiss offshore sailing on the map. To have the opportunity to continue that story means a great deal to me."
Heer is the first Swiss-German sailor ever to complete the Vendée Globe (2025) after sailing more than 45,000 kilometres solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world.
Now, he's ready to take on the toughest test of a team in the sport. The Ocean Race is built around teamwork, leadership and collective performance. Crews race at maximum intensity around the clock, managing some of the fastest offshore racing yachts ever built while enduring extreme weather, sleep deprivation and relentless competition.
For Heer, the move from solo racing to leading a multinational crew presents a fresh challenge.
"The Vendée Globe taught me a lot about resilience and self-reliance, but The Ocean Race is about bringing people together and performing as one team," he explained. "Success depends on trust, communication and getting the very best from everyone on board. That's what excites me most."
The campaign will race under the banner Embrace The Challenge, a name that reflects both Heer's personal journey and the team's philosophy of pushing beyond perceived limits. The team's new IMOCA yacht already has proven credentials. The foiling yacht previously completed the Vendée Globe under Swiss-French skipper Justine Mettraux, who delivered one of the standout performances of the race, confirming the boat's speed, reliability and round-the-world pedigree.
Although the team will line up against some of the sport's biggest names and best-funded operations, Heer is embracing the underdog role.
"We'll be one of the younger campaigns in the fleet and our boat won't be the newest, but we've shown before that determination, preparation and teamwork can close the gap," he said. "We're building a hungry, international team that wants to prove what is possible."
The Ocean Race campaign also forms a crucial part of Heer's preparation for his second Vendée Globe challenge in 2028, allowing him to gain invaluable experience racing an IMOCA yacht fully crewed at the highest level. Before the start of The Ocean Race in January 2027, the team will compete in The Ocean Race Atlantic, providing a vital opportunity to test systems, refine performance and finalise crew selections.
"The Atlantic race will help us identify the right people and build the chemistry needed to perform under pressure," Heer said. "We're creating something bigger than a sailing team — we're building a group of people from different backgrounds and nationalities who all share the same goal."
For The Ocean Race Atlantic, Heer has assembled a strong, experienced crew, including previous winner of The Ocean Race and Olympian Marie Riou (FRA), the experienced offshore sailor and rower Liz Wardley (PNG/AUS) and world champion paddleboarder Lincoln Dews (AUS) who competed in last summer's The Ocean Race Europe.
As preparations intensify, Heer knows the road ahead will be demanding. But after completing one of the toughest solo races ever created, he is ready for the next challenge.
"There will be obstacles. There always are when you aim high," he said. "But that's exactly why we exist. We embrace the challenge, and together we'll take on one of the greatest adventures in sport."