Why Swiss sailors are among the best in the world
Switzerland is a small country far from the sea. Nevertheless, it is one of the great sailing nations. What are the reasons for this success? An overview of the most daring sailors provides the answer.
Switzerland is a major sailing nation. This has to do with its inventive spirit – and certainly also with the country’s financial strength, because sailing is an expensive sport. This is all the more true at the world’s top level, where limits are pushed and material wear and tear is high. Added to this is Lake Geneva, which has provided the ideal basin for maritime ambitions for generations.
A look at the top Swiss sailors shows how many limits of what is thought possible have already been pushed on the sea by sailors from landlocked Switzerland.
Justine Mettraux, 1986 – the fastest woman at sea
At the age of 27, Justine Mettraux finished the “Mini Transat” sailing race in second place – and as the fastest woman in the history of the race. In the Mini Transat race, sailors cross the Atlantic single-handedly in boats just 6.50 metres long. This is where Mettraux made her first mark.
But then, as the fastest woman in history, she also completed the toughest single-handed sailing race in the world, the Vendée Globe (see infobox below) in 2024. This race involves sailing non-stop around the globe. Mettraux needed 76 days to complete it. She came eighth overall, behind boats that were more technically sophisticated.
The Geneva-based sailor has thus reached the top of the world sailing rankings. Her nickname “Justine la Machine” was joined by the official title of “Rolex World Sailor of the Year” in 2025. No Swiss sailor had ever won this honour.
Alan Roura, 1993 – the networker
Alan Roura spent his childhood on sailing boats, trained by his parents – and the sea. At the age of 23, he took part in the Vendée Globe for the first time in 2016 as the youngest sailor in this extreme race.
The Vendée Globe is a single-handed, non-stop round-the-world race for sailors without any support. The race represents an extreme physical and mental challenge for all participants and is considered the ultimate test in ocean sailing. The regatta has been held every four years since 1992.
In 2019, he managed the fastest solo Atlantic crossing. In 2024, on his second participation in the Vendée Globe, he was still the youngest participant in history.
In 2025 Roura gathered a team of top young Swiss sailors and competed with them in the Ocean Race Europe, a regatta with boats at the limit of what is possible. This “Swiss Offshore Team” included the most experienced and best young sailors of the moment, including Simon Koster, Elodie Mettraux (Justine’s sister) and Felix Oberle. The Swiss boat was technically inferior to others in the race, but Roura’s aim was to build a team.
Alan Roura is currently looking for a new boat for the 2026 race – and new sponsors. He has shown great skill in this area in the past.
Oliver Heer, 1988 – the unstoppable
After the early death of his sailing-mad father, Oliver Heer put everything on the map for professional sailing at the age of 26. He moved to England and learnt the trade from top sailors.
In 2025 he finished the Vendée Globe as the first Swiss-German to do so – albeit in a pretty poor position. Heer started with one of the most modest budgets of all participants. It was all about getting through.
Now the man from Rapperswil has managed to buy Justine Mettraux’s former boat in order to refurbish it. Heer operates with this racing machine from England and is aiming for the top ranks of the Vendée Globe, the toughest sailing race in the world. He has acquired the experience for this in numerous previous races.
Pierre Fehlmann 1942 – the godfather
Pierre Fehlmann is the Swiss skipper who first drew the world’s attention to Swiss sailing skills. He is also the undisputed godfather of Swiss offshore sailing. The hydraulic engineer and army major leaves nothing to chance.
He was the first Swiss to understand how to organise the large budgets for this expensive sport. Fehlmann got UBS to sponsor his boat. In 1986 the “UBS Switzerland” won the Whitbread Round the World Race.
Fehlmann remains the only person in the world to have skippered this prestigious race five times in a row – always with all-Swiss crews. He purposefully built them up around himself – just like Alan Roura’s “Swiss Offshore Team”. Later offshore specialists such as Stève Ravussin are among them.
Fehlmann’s racing career ended in 1994, but his reputation as a Swiss precision sailor resonated for a long time. The basis for this was a manoeuvre off Cape Town, in which Fehlmann left all other race participants 16 hours behind him.
“We based our strategy on a computer-aided analysis of the weather conditions of the last four years,” he explained afterwards. That was in 1985, in the days of floppy discs.
Dominique Wavre, 1955 – around the world ten times
Dominique Wavre from Geneva was initially part of Pierre Fehlmann’s crew. He then completed the Vendée Globe three times. In 2001 he was the first Swiss skipper ever to complete it. In 2004 he achieved the best result of a Swiss skipper with fourth place. To date, he has sailed around the world ten times in regattas.
Wavre also sails numerous races with his partner Michèle Paret. “She helms the boat, I trim the sails,” he once said.
Bernard Stamm, 1963 – the daredevil
Bernard Stamm also began his sailing career as a member of Pierre Fehlmann’s crew. The trained forest warden got his first taste of the sea as a sailor on cargo ships. He made history when he broke the transatlantic record in 2001. In 2005 he set the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe: 50 days and 20 hours. In 2017 he beat this time by ten days.
But Stamm is also plagued by bad luck. He lost his keel once, survived collisions, accidents and storms. Today he says: “Either you manage to control the forces acting on the boat, or something breaks.”
Mathis, Yvan und Laurent Bourgnon
Laurent Bourgnon also went through the Pierre Fehlmann school. He won the Route du Rhum in single-handed sailing in 1994. He had already crossed the Atlantic in a small, open sports catamaran at the age of 20.
For almost 20 years, he also held the world record for the longest distance sailed in 24 hours. Bourgnon also became a rally driver and finished tenth in the Paris-Dakar Rally. He has been missing since 2015 after a dive.
Laurent Bourgnon grew up on a sailing boat with his brother Yvan and went on numerous sailing adventures with him. Now Yvan’s son Mathis Bourgnon is attracting attention.
He won the Mini Transat, the race across the Atlantic in small boats, in his class in 2025 and is regarded as the next big talent in Swiss sailing. Mathis says of his uncle: “Laurent was a star. I realised early on that the stars, the great sailors we admire, all have a dark side.”
Ernesto Bertarelli, 1965 – the enthusiastic investor
Geneva billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli is not to be left out of the Swiss pioneers at sea. He founded the sailing company Alinghi and recruited the best people in the world for every position on and around the boat. In 2003 and 2007, Alinghi won the America’s Cup, the oldest sailing race in the world.
Bertarelli, who grew up on Lake Geneva, had already dreamed of taking part in this prestigious regatta as a child. He actually sailed as navigator in both victories. But part of Alinghi’s success is also the close collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) in the development of the material.
To this day, Ernesto Bertarelli invests millions in the America’s Cup. The boats in this race now reach speeds of 100km/h and continue to drive sailing technology forwards.
Just as Formula 1 has long been the pace-setter and laboratory for the automotive industry, these races are the testing ground for the future of shipping – far beyond sailing.
Incidentally, Dona Bertarelli, Ernesto’s sister, also achieved great things. She consistently sailed with women’s teams. For years, she was the fastest woman to circumnavigate the world under sail. In 2010 she won the world’s most competitive inland waterway regatta with her women’s catamaran “Ladycat”. In doing so, she paved the way for many women to become top sailors – Justine Mettraux was also on board the “Ladycat”.
Edited by Samuel Jaberg. Translated from German by AI/ts
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