Organisers, competitors and fans had to wait a long time for the announcement of Kevin Escoffier's crew for The Ocean Race. The most important team race around the world starts on 15 January. Now the Frenchman, who lost his boat at the last Vendée Globe and was spectacularly rescued by Jean Le Cam, has presented his sailing crew for the most famous team regatta around the world.
Two of the team members are women who, like their rivals in the other teams, will rotate over the seven legs. The Brit Abby Ehler, who has already competed in The Ocean Race three times with "Amer Sports Too" and as boat captain with the women's team SCA and Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel, will strengthen Team Holcim - PRB at the highest level.
Coup from a German perspective: Susann Beucke sails the Ocean Race with Team Holcim - PRB
Escoffier is also serving up a black, red and gold coup for his team under the Swiss flag: the Frenchman has signed Susann Beucke, a newcomer to German sailing, for The Ocean Race. The 2021 Olympic silver medallist switched to a Figaro at the beginning of the year to train for her new solo career. With her own campaign "This Race is Female" and a Figaro class racing yacht, Beucke made a successful start in the new world of offshore sailing. Now the silver medallist from Japan is celebrating her debut in the Ocean Race.
"It's a lifelong dream come true for me," says Beucke. She continues: "In 2002, when 'illbruck' became the first and only German team ever to win the Volvo Ocean Race in Kiel, of all places, I was on the water with my family to accompany them the last few miles to victory. There were 300,000 people there at the time. It was incredible. I was nine years old. Since then, I've had the dream of sailing in the Ocean Race myself. Now it's about to start. It feels fantastic."
Susann Beucke: "The Ocean Race has set everyone on fire"
Kevin Escoffier had already won the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018. He and his Holcim - PRB team are also among the favourites in 2023. "I'm proud that Kevin asked me to join his team," says 31-year-old Sanni Beucke. We met in France this summer and he invited me to sail a test with him and his crew. I then took part in the Solitaire du Figaro. It's an incredibly challenging regatta series that demands everything from you."
In late autumn, Escoffier asked the German professional sailor whether she could imagine not only competing in the Figaro class in 2023, but also in The Ocean Race. "I wanted to decide this together with my partners. So I asked for some time to think about it," says Sanni Beucke, explaining the decision-making process, "but they immediately agreed enthusiastically - although my preparation for the Figaro races in 2023 will certainly suffer somewhat. But the Ocean Race sparked everyone's interest." Beucke is really looking forward to the upcoming Ocean Race: "Anything can happen, especially in the Antarctic Ocean. Only one thing is certain: I'll come back more mature."
Kevin Escoffier: "Susann Beucke impresses with her talent and motivation"
Kevin Escoffier says: "Choosing the sailing crew for The Ocean Race is a very important moment. Three criteria guided my choice: Experience, humanity and determination of each individual. The sailing crew will vary depending on the stages. I will make some rotations as my role as skipper is also to give everyone a development curve during this race. For this world tour, I have also selected Susann Beucke, who is new to offshore sailing and impresses with her talent and motivation. She is particularly familiar with sailing with a reduced crew or as a single-handed sailor. This will also be an advantage for our crew, as we are often alone on deck when sailing."
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The only one this time, but not the first German sailor in the race around the world
Susann Beucke has long been the first German sailor in The Ocean Race, but not the first in the 50-year history of the legendary race around the world. In the 1981/1982 Whitbread Round the World Race, Gisela Bunck and Anke Schulz were part of the crew on "Walross 3". The two sailors from the Akademischer Segler-Verein Berlin completed the fourth leg from Mar del Plata in Argentina across the Atlantic to Portsmouth in the UK.
The alternating core crew of Holcim - PRB around skipper Kevin Escoffier consists of Abby Ehler, Susann Beucke, Transat Jacques Vabre third-placed Sam Goodchild (Great Britain), Figaro dominator Tom Laperche (France) and Frenchman Fabien Delahaye. The Ocean Race will also feature alternating on-board reporters. Their opponents in the small but mighty fleet for the 14th The Ocean Race are Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia on "Malizia - Seaexplorer", Charlie Enright's Team 11th Hour Racing, the co-skippers Benjamin Dutreux and Robert Stanjek (Berlin) with their Guyot Environnement - Team Europe and Paul Meilhat's Team Biotherm.
