Alan Roura – A Vendée for Switzerland
Bernard Gallay in 1989. Bernard Gallay, Bernard Stamm and Dominique Wavre in 2000. One Swiss entry in 2004. Two in 2008 and 2012. In 2016, I will be the only Swiss sailor at the starting line of the Vendée Globe, the legendary round-the-world single-handed yacht race. For three months, I will be our country’s proud ambassador among the world’s best sailors as we cross the oceans and round the three major capes – Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn.
I’m from Lake Geneva, where I spent the first few years of my life, already living on a boat with my family. But now, after plying the oceans for 11 years – from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, from South America to the Pacific Islands – I’m a child of the world. These 11 years taught me to love the sea and they fed my wanderlust, although I’ve never forgotten where I came from. That’s why, in 2013, I began my career as an offshore yacht racer, proudly displaying my red and white flag on the stern of my small racing boat – a Mini 6.50 – which I used to cross the Atlantic. In 2014, I had the honour of being the only Swiss sailor in the Route du Rhum, and I was the only Swiss participant in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2015. This year, not only will I be the youngest competitor in the history of the Vendée Globe, but I will also be the only one from Switzerland. My little country has produced so many talented people and great sailors.
I am proud when I see our flag fluttering over the docks of the largest yacht races, in some cases because of me, but the pressure grows with every passing day. For three months, nearly 100 days, I will attempt to show that the Swiss too know how to sail in the open ocean, and that I can live up to my predecessors. I'm not in it to win, my previous-generation boat can’t compete with the latest IMOCA-class models (the 18.28-metre monohull is the standard boat used at the Vendée Globe). But it is such a great adventure and wonderful challenge, and the experience is worth sharing. On 6 November, as we leave Les Sables d’Olonne and head down the Atlantic, I will be alone at the helm – but all of Switzerland will be at my side. I’m so proud! And when I cross the Indian Ocean, and then the Pacific, I’ll hang in there in the southern seas, with their violent winds and saltwater storms, knowing that my whole country is behind me. I will give it my all to carry the red and white flag back up the Atlantic to Les Sables d’Olonne. Three months later. Three months to represent Switzerland, give it a thrill, bring it on-board with me, laugh and cry. That's the beauty of the sport, the magic of sailing. This Vendée Globe, this “Vendée for Switzerland”, has always been my dream, but I also owe it to my country to put another Swiss boat on the starting line.
© Christophe Breschi
Support Alan: A campaign has been started for Alan’s project Un Vendée pour la Suisse on the I believe in you crowdfunding platform. He is trying to raise CHF 30,000 in order to replace the boat’s rigging (the set of cables that hold up the boat’s mast). If the target is not reached by the end of the campaign, all contributions will be returned. You too can pitch in: http://ibiy.net/AlanRoura ! #EnsembleAvecAlan
