The French Imoca "Biotherm" has been in Kiel since the early morning of 5 July. She arrived here at 1 a.m. after a 48-hour crossing of the Baltic Sea. Prior to this, the crew led by skipper Paul Meilhat Sweden's summer classic Gotland Runt participated. Now the French team arrived in Sailing City Kiel 36 days before the start of the second edition of the Ocean Race Europe on 10 August. The boat stays therewhile the team members recover from intensive training sessions.
Ocean Race Europe: Team Biotherm ready to go
In preparation for the 40-day Ocean Race Sprint, which will take a fleet of seven Imocas and their sailing quartets plus on-board reporters in five legs around Europe to Boka Bay in Montenegro, Team Biotherm has been working intensively and announced: "After a month full of test runs, transfer trips and competitions, the sailors, the boat and the shore crew are in top shape and ready to go."
At the end of June, Paul Meilhat, his co-skipper Amélie Grassi and part of the shore crew arrived in Sandhamm, Sweden, after a week-long crossing from Lorient in Brittany. There they took part in the Gotland Runt with more than 200 yachts, in contrast to the majority of the Imoca fleet, which took part in the new course of the Cap around the British Isles.
A recent team statement said: "This was a refreshing change in more ways than one in the idyllic setting of the Stockholm archipelago and provided a great opportunity to interact with the public, media and Swedish sailors." The 60-foot Imoca had a nice duel with the 100-foot maxi "Black Jack" for first place in the Gitland Runt, but was narrowly beaten in the end.
Amélie Grassi: strong woman at Meilhat's side
Paul Meilhat raved about the Scandinavian midsummer regatta experience: "It was a fantastic dress rehearsal for The Ocean Race Europe. We sailed on flat seas between the islands and close to land, had to quickly get used to the weather and the new area and familiarise ourselves with the strategy and logistics on a new route, which was all very interesting." Meilhat is considered a purist among the Imoca skippers. We presented him here before the Vendée Globe 2024/2025. In his solo race around the world, Meilhat shone with a lot of fighting spirit, a strong final phase and fifth place.
The Baltic Sea crossing to Kiel offered Team Biotherm another opportunity to familiarise and prepare the crew around Paul Meilhat and Amélie Grassi for the Ocean Race Europe. Meilhat and Grassi worked together to forge the plans for the European race. Their tasks on board and ashore are clearly divided. Amelie Grassi has matured into a specialist in data handling and performance analysis, not least as a result of her Ultim missions on François Gabart's "SVR-Lazartigue".
Paul Meilhat says of former Mini and Class 40 skipper Amélie Grassi: "She is very familiar with the Imoca 'Biotherm', the shore crew and the format of this race and is also very well organised. I will be relying on her a lot! She will also be responsible for performance and data, an area in which she has really developed her skills this year with the Ultim 'SVR-Lazartigue'."
Exciting crew mix for the Ocean Race Europe
In accordance with Paul Meilhat's wishes, all crew members trained on the boat before the season's highlight in the summer: Benjamin Ferré, 16th in the Vendée Globe with his non-foiler, took part in a number of outings in the Lorient area. The British Vendée Globe ninth-placed Sam Goodchild, who was also involved in the transfer to Sweden, also took part. Ocean Race winner Jackson Bouttell was on board to transfer "Biotherm" to Kiel. On-board reporter Gauthier Lebec accompanied a 48-hour training mission.
Looking ahead to the Ocean Race Europe, it has long been clear that, given the rapid succession of legs and constant harbour changes, the skill, speed of reaction and flexibility of the shore crews will be key in the battle for the podium places. Seven experts will form the shore crew for Team Biotherm in this European-influenced summer. As team boss Alizée Vauquelin puts it, they want to be "prepared for all unforeseeable events".
Alizée Vauquelin explained: "Everyone has their own documentation and knows exactly what they have to do when the boat arrives in the stopover harbours, when it docks and when it departs again. The catering for 40 days of racing has already been organised. The teams will be travelling in a van with everything they need, including all spare parts, so that we can intervene immediately if necessary."
Top athletes on the water and on land
It's not just Team Biotherm's shore crew who have an intensive tour of Europe on the agenda when the fleet starts the Ocean Race Europe off Kiel on 10 August. The shore crew of Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia and the supporters of the teams Paprec Arkéa, Holcim-PRB, Allagrande Mapei Racing, Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive and Amaala will also be put to the test.
Paul Meilhat enthuses about his "task force:" "They share our motivation and endeavour to have highly efficient logistics and a well-prepared boat to ensure victory. There are top athletes on land too!" Before a short holiday break with his family, Meilhat was optimistic about the Ocean Race Europe. His well-engineered boat is still being fitted with a new set of sails, and the mood in the team is characterised by optimism and a desire to attack.
I love the Ocean Race Europe format and this very intense rhythm, which is sometimes reminiscent of a steamroller and requires a very strong basic dynamic." Paul Meilhat
At the end of July, the Biotherm sailors will meet again in Kiel to tackle the season highlight with the Ocean Race Europe. Paul Meilhat's outlook: "We are entering the Ocean Race Europe to perform well. We have what it takes with a great crew. And we have a race profile that matches the boat's potential very well." It's no secret that "Biotherm" can be a fast glider in lighter winds, which the Ocean Race Europe could often serve up.
Fond memories: The start of the 2023 Ocean Race around the world in Alicante - Team Biotherm thundered off like there was no tomorrow:
