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On Board With Ollie! The ex-Charal IMOCA becomes Embrace the Challenge, modified for crewed sailing

by Mark Jardine 21 Sep 10:00 PDT
Embrace the Challenge © Oliver Heer Ocean Racing

I went to see Oliver Heer in Gosport to talk about the new (to him) IMOCA 'Embrace the Challenge', which was Jérémie Beyou's Charal.

Ollie has recently completed The Ocean Race Atlantic, which was his first competitive outing on the boat and a huge learning experience for him and the team.

We talked about installing the extra bunks, and the changes needed when sailing an IMOCA with five people on board, the data they gather, and what they learned from Beyou's team, what it's like on deck, how much of the role is a 'desk job' nowadays and the media requirements in The Ocean Race, including the 24/7 livestreaming, which is a huge draw on the power generation on board the yachts.

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