The day his new plans were published is no coincidence. Oliver Heer crossed the finish line of his first Vendée Globe off Les Sables-d'Olonne at 6.29 pm on 17 February 2025. The highs and lows of his first solo lap around the world were mastered exactly one year ago on 17 February 2026. In 99 days, 20 hours, 6 minutes and 11 seconds, the Swiss sailor finished 29th on his debut with an ageing boat and plenty of fighting spirit. The second time round should be different and, above all, better.
Crossing the finish line of my first Vendée Globe was never the end of the story - it was the beginning of something new." Oliver Heer
The new chapter has long since begun with the acquisition of a well-known Imoca. With the official launch of his campaign on 17 February, Oliver Heer announced that he intends to work with the boat in the second Vendée Globe attempt, with compatriot Justine Mettraux, who sailed so furiously to eighth place as the best skipper in the last edition. The ex-"TeamWork - Team Snef" is currently undergoing a comprehensive overhaul at Team Beyou in Lorients. This will be followed by tests and training sessions in French waters.
Vendée Globe: second attempt with a strong boat
The first sporting milestone of the new campaign will be The Ocean Race Atlantic. The new Imoca Transat for crews will take its challengers from New York to Europe on 1 September. Oliver Heer sees this race as a good opportunity to test his team and the boat for the first time in direct comparison with top-class international competitors. Click here for an overview of all Imoca races this season.
For the 37-year-old circumnavigator from Zurich, competitiveness is particularly important. Heer's team has already worked intensively on this over the past year. Oliver Heer says: "It was clear to me that the second campaign had to be bigger, more structured and more performance-orientated. Over the past twelve months, we have utilised our experience, established a new partnership model, gained strong supporters, taken on a foiling boat and created a new team structure.
Our goal is clear: a competitive campaign for the Vendée Globe 2028." Oliver Heer
With his plans and first big steps, Oliver Heer wants to take the step from ambitious sports adventurer to high-performance mode. On course for the Vendée Globe 2028/2029, Oliver Heer and his team want to "incorporate the experience gained back then into a structured and ambitious campaign".
With "Swiss determination" into the second solo around the world
The long-term goal is to "compete at the highest level in professional ocean sailing and show Swiss determination on the international stage". The Oliver Heer Ocean Racing team already has partners on board in the form of the Bossard Group and Burgerstein Vitamine. Further supporters are being sought.
In collaboration with mental performance expert Prof Dr Wolfgang Jenewein, Oliver Heer's coach of many years and consultant to managers throughout Europe, the Swiss initiative is intended, according to the team, to "illustrate that sustainable success is based on a learnable mindset - and to encourage people to see their own challenges as opportunities."
Oliver Heer's challenges also include the switch to an Imoca-Foiler. The team statement said: "Switching to a foiling Imoca boat is comparable to switching from a high-performance sports car to a Formula 1 car - fascinating, demanding and associated with a completely new dimension of preparation."
For Boris Herrmann, too, there are 999 days to go until the Vendée Globe starts today
The eleventh edition of the Vendée Globe starts on 12 November 2028 at 13:02 in Les Sables-d'Olonne. For Oliver Heer and his team, the official campaign launch on 17 February leaves 999 days until the start of the second solo around the world. Germany's best-known offshore professional Boris Herrmann will also be taking part in his third participation. Team Malizia is currently building a new Imoca in France for this purposewhich will be christened in the summer.
For six-time circumnavigator Boris Herrmann, the Vendée Globe is and remains the Everest of the seas: "Non-stop around the world alone - there is nothing greater. There is no more difficult race than the Vendée Globe. That's why it has this incredible fascination." And Oliver Heer and his team are following suit once again.
"I have the feeling that this is the start of something new, something even bigger." Oliver Heer spoke these words at his press conference after his first Vendée Globe finish on 17 February 2025. Now he and his team want to make what he said back then a reality:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
Tatjana “tati” Pokorny is the author of nine books. As a reporter for Europe's leading sailing magazine YACHT, she also works as a correspondent for the German Press Agency (DPA), the Hamburger Abendblatt and other national and international media. In summer 2024, Tatjana will be reporting from Marseille on her ninth consecutive Olympic Games. Other core topics have been the America's Cup since 1992, the Ocean Race since 1993, the Vendée Globe and other national and international regattas and their protagonists. Favorite discipline: Portraits of and interviews with sailing personalities. When she started out in sports journalism, she was still intensively involved with basketball and other sports, but sailing quickly became her main focus. The reason? The declared optimist says: “There is no other sport like it, no other sport with such interesting and intelligent personalities, no other sport so diverse, no other sport so full of energy, strength and ideas. Sailing is like a constantly refreshing declaration of love for life."
