Half a dozen strong teams are now together for the second edition of the Ocean Race Europe. On 6 May, Paul Meilhat and Team Biotherm became the sixth racing team to announce their participation in the European race. Following Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia, the Swiss team Holcim-PRB led by Rosalin Kuiper, Yoann Richomme's Team Paprec Arkéa (France), Allagrande Mapei Racing (Italy) with Ambrogio Beccaria and Thomas Ruyant as well as Scott Shawyer's Team Canada Ocean Racing, Team Biotherm is the second French challenger to enter the race.
Ocean Race Europe: "Travelling, discoveries, cosmopolitanism"
Just over three months after his furious final sprint to fifth place in the Vendée Globe, Paul Meilhat and Team Biotherm are preparing to take part in the Ocean Race Europe. The "little sister" of The Ocean Race, which lasts around 40 days, will take its Imoca fleet through European waters in five stages.
Paul Meilhat and Team Biotherm have made their participation in the Ocean Race Europe the highlight of the season. The 42-year-old skipper and his team are deliberately looking beyond the French borders of regatta sport. The team points out that "Sailing was originally a story of travelling, discovery and openness to the world". This perspective reflects the skipper's approach, who we had already presented in a portrait in YACHT before the Vendée Globe 2024.
The Ocean Race Europe has a very strong dynamic, is very energetic, very collective." Paul Meilhat
According to Team Biotherm, the Ocean Race Europe consists of "a series of short legs in unpredictable summer weather, coastal sections or taking place in almost closed seas". It is "an intensive sailing programme paired with a logistical marathon on land". It is exactly the kind of challenge that Paul Meilhat loves and wants to master with his crew with flying colours.
The goal is a good result in the Ocean Race Europe
The father of two, who lives in Lorient, says: "We know the procedures of this race and its organisation well. And this summer we have the means to achieve a good result in this format, which suits us well and matches the boat's potential." Like his competitors, Paul Meilhat has surrounded himself with a powerful crew for the race.
The Imoca has already undergone a refit after the Vendée Globe. The Guillaume-Verdier design was created by Persico Marine in 2022 and is considered almost as purist as the skipper himself. "Biotherm's" keel bomb was modified, the weight reduced, wearing parts replaced and new sails purchased. The "blue boat" is due to go back into the water on 27 May.
In order to maximise his performance in the Ocean Race Europe from the Baltic to the Adriatic, Paul Meilhat has assembled a powerful "team of winners, fighting machines with Figaro profiles" around him. According to the team, the aim is to "play our trump cards, play an active role in this race and tell a great story".
Team Biotherm: a crew with a lot of experience
While one crew position is still open, a very experienced offshore sailor has already been introduced in the form of Frenchwoman Amélie Grassi, who most recently sailed with François Gabart's crew on the Ultim "SVR Lazartigue". The 31-year-old former mini and Class 40 sailor has already competed in the Ocean Race around the world with Team Biotherm and knows her skipper well.
Paul Meilhat says about Amélie Grassi: "She knows the Imoca 'Biotherm', the technical team and the format of this race very well and is super organised. I will be relying on her a lot! She will also be responsible for performance and data, an area in which she has perfected herself this year with the Ultim SVR."
He will be joined by two-time Ocean Race winner Jackson Bouttell, who holds both British and Australian citizenship. Standing out as the best rookie in the 2013 Figaro race series, Bouttell is regarded as an extremely versatile and experienced offshore professional who won the first Ocean Race Europe 2021 with the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team and skipper Yoann Richomme, against whom he is now competing in the second edition alongside Paul Meilhat.
The man with the good instinct
The signing of Benjamin Ferrée is also interesting. The sixteenth-placed sailor in the 2024/2025 Vendée Globe may look like the least experienced sailor on "Biotherm" on paper. But Paul Meilhat, who also likes to think outside the box, says: "Benjamin has a very interesting profile because he has no fixed rules and doesn't fit into boxes. He has a good instinct. His freshness and enthusiasm will be invaluable on the Mediterranean stages."
The Breton Benjamin Ferré had only entered the previously unknown world of offshore sailing in 2017. Two years later, he had already sailed to the podium in the 2019 Mini-Transat. He then focussed intensively on his new lifelong dream: competing in the Vendée Globe. He not only completed his first solo around the world on "Monnoyeur - Duo for a job" with flying colours, but also won the race and crossed the finish line off Les Sables-d'Olonne as the first non-foiler.
Paul Meilhat's team and partner Biotherm not only share their sporting ambitions, but also their ambitions to explore and protect the oceans. Which is why the Ocean Race Europe fits particularly well into the programme. The Team_Statement says: "This topic is at the heart of the organisation of this event. We can raise our voice at every stage." The onboard microscope, which captured thousands of plankton images during the Vendée Globe, will continue its mission throughout the regatta.
Hot summer! This is how the Ocean Race Europe will run from the starting signal on 10 August off Kiel:
