With 41 days to go to the start line, Oliver Heer, Justine Mettraux and Alan Roura finish preparing for the Vendée Globe. They will attempt to sail solo around the world via the Southern Ocean.
On Thursday September 19, the 40 skippers taking part in the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe joined the organization’s press conference in Paris. “The single-handed round-the-world race reflects a rather French vision of ocean racing […], a more romantic vision,” explained French Federation of Sailing vice-president Henry Bacchini in Brest last February on the occasion of the Arkea Ultim Challenge. But after 40 years of existence, the Vendée Globe is becoming increasingly international: this time, 14 competitors are non-French. Three British and three Germans show that the appeal of non-stop round-the-world sailing and solitude at sea is not confined to the land of Victor Hugo. Which isn’t all that surprising when you consider the links these cultures have with the sea and Romantic literature, just by quoting Lord Byron and Heinrich Heine. Three Swiss sailors are also ready to tackle one of the planet’s most powerful currents solo, the Southern Ocean. Oliver Heer, Justine Mettraux and Alan Roura will continue to write the maritime and polar history of this young country. Switzerland’s average altitude is around 1,700 metres. Navigators first set sail here on the great Alpine lakes.
The largest of the Swiss lakes is not Lake Geneva, which is shared with France, nor Lake Constance, which is shared with Germany and Austria, but the 215 km² lake of Neuchâtel. “Lakes allow you to develop a good base, to see how boats work and how to go fast,” explains Justine Mettraux. Ideal conditions for familiarizing yourself with different hull profiles and sail plans. “On the lakes, there’s not much wind. It’s harder to make headway in light airs,” explains Oliver Heer. While it’s entirely possible to sail the entire 580 km² of Lake Geneva, he lacks the space to sail for long periods, experiencing tides and currents. “In fact, I sail the lakes more today than I did in my youth. I spent a lot of time at sea right away, traveling with my family. That’s what made me want to start racing,” explains Alan Roura.
To prepare for the Vendée Globe, they have set up their nautical base in South Finistère. “Switzerland is not far from the Mediterranean and the ocean,” recalls Justine Mettraux. “And there have always been Swiss sailors, like Bernard Stamm, Dominique Wavre, Bernard Gallay…”
If half of the Vendée Globe fleet is in Lorient, it’s because there’s everything you need to run an IMOCA: the sailing industry, tips and equipment. “It’s very valuable,” notes Justine Mettraux, who is sailing a 2018 foiling vessel, while Oliver Heer has bought a 2008 sailing ship and Alan Roura has taken over a yacht from 2020, all IMOCA class. “Without foils, the structure is stronger,” explains Oliver. The latter has integrated CO2 measurement instruments into the boat for a group of scientists. As for Alan Roura, he’s setting off again for a second Vendée Globe. “I want to go faster around the Earth and get back to sailing in the wide open spaces of the southern seas,” he explains. He has reworked the structure of his IMOCA so as to have it “in my hand”, giving a new shape to the bow so that it can enter and leave the waves without losing speed. The sail plan, the interior fittings… everything is reviewed. Justine works on her boat without having to make any structural modifications, but rather on the interior to improve watchkeeping.
Only 114 skippers have completed the Vendée Globe since it began. Breakage, shipwreck… “Passing Cape Horn can be counted on the fingers of one hand for one sailor, or on both for very few,” Justine Mettraux tells us. “It’s a mythical place where few sailors have the opportunity to go. Its passage is a relief.” You have to earn your place in ocean racing legend. The regatta lasts over two months at sea. Even if the means of communication allow the skipper to talk to his team and loved ones, he remains alone in the cold, accumulating fatigue and damage.
“I have three goals,” says Oliver Heer. “I’ll have to find a balance between boat performance, authentic communication of solo sailing and producing quality data for the scientists.” Each skipper has a different vessel and different goals, although those of Alan Roura and Justine Mettraux are similar. “We’ve known each other for 12 years, we competed in the same Mini Transat,” says Alan Roura. “We pull at each other’s throats a bit, but everyone has their own team, their own way of working.” When the Swiss sailors reach the southern currents, the boats will gain 5 knots on average, but in this competition, solidarity between sailors is always stronger than performance.
Carbon dioxide in a desert ocean
Samuel Jaccard, from the University of Lausanne, and his team are working with Oliver Heer to measure CO2 exchanges between the sea and the atmosphere in the world’s least-frequented seas. “North of the polar front, water absorbs CO2, while to the south it rises and re-emits carbon. The idea is to observe the balance between these two processes”, explains the researcher. The water intake of the electrically-powered device is located in the keel. Map: Swiss Polar Institute
“North Atlantic weather can be similar to the Austral,” explains Alan Roura. “But the size of the waves and the speed of the low-pressure systems are different.” More than 20 million km² of sea surface encircle Antarctica south of the 60th parallel. Other definitions extend this body of water to the convergence of the glacial ocean with the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This watershed is constrained to the north by the underwater relief of the Kerguelen Plateau and the 850 km-wide Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica. Elsewhere, it fluctuates. Here, the world’s most powerful winds and currents turn from west to east, unhindered by land. 20-metre waves are not uncommon. Atmospheric lows circulate quickly and water temperatures are close to 6°C in the sub-Antarctic zone, and 0°C further south, but the route doesn’t risk it.
“Around Finistère, we don’t really encounter the same conditions, and in summer it’s relatively calm. Staying here would be like training for a marathon by running five kilometers,” explains Justine Mettraux. So there’s nothing like a succession of races. During the New York Vendée last May, Oliver Heer suffered some damage. The waves were high and the power supply failed. “But I managed to sail and gained confidence,” he explains. Justine Mettraux got a taste of the Austral with the Ocean Race, which she raced from stopover to stopover, as a team. “It gives you an idea of the parts that wear out on the boat,” she says. “Only, over a fortnight, there are some that don’t have time to break.” Even with one Vendée Globe under his belt, Alan Roura is heading into the unknown: “Last time, there was a week without wind, this time there may be storm after storm. It’s hard to anticipate.” Caught up in the roaring 40s, they will have to keep their eyes focused on their objective, in all humility.
Camille Lin, Polar Journal AG
Practical information for departure
The start of the race is scheduled for November 10 from the Vendée town of Les Sables d’Olonne. The welcome village around the pontoons will be open to the public from October 19. Shuttles will be available for access. To get closer to the 40 IMOCA yachts, a free online ticketing service is available. The program of festivities is available on the race website. Image: Justine Mettraux / Gauthier Lebec / TeamWork – Team Snef
