© Julien Champolion / polaRYSE / Holcim-PRB
News
The pathway and the steps
How can I become a sailor in the Ocean Race? It's a question we get asked a lot. We asked some of our sailors what they think are the most important qualities to be successful as an aspiring crew member in the Ocean Race. There isn't a simple answer, but when we put this query to some of the IMOCA sailors, a few themes kept coming to the fore.
Just sail as much as you can on different boats in different races to gain as much experience as you can," was the first thing Rosalin Kuiper told us. She should know, after first joining the VO65 Team AkzoNobel in The Ocean Race Europe, she moved on to become a fan favourite and important member of Team Malizia for the last edition of The Ocean Race. Now Rosalin is an IMOCA skipper with Team Holcim PRB for the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe. "I think The Ocean Race is the Mount Everest of fully-crewed offshore sailing and so it is the ulitmate goal and ultimate challenge. It is addictive. I hope I can do many more!" And Kuiper advises: "Keep smiling. It’s not easy when you want to become a professional. It can be difficult," cautions Kuiper. "But try to find the nice moments and really enjoy them. If you are happy with what you are doing then you are the biggest winner."
Rosalin Kuiper
Skipper Team Holcim-PRB
Yoann Richomme
Skipper Team Paprec Arkéa
"If you are young and you aspire to do this, just do as much sailing as you can do," is the advice from Yoann Richomme, the skipper of Paprec Arkéa. "Try every type of racing you can do, in any type of boat. You have to go through all the classes - Mini, Figaro, RORC, Fastnet, to work yourself up to the end goal." Richomme is a living example of someone who worked his way up. He is a qualified naval architect and has wins in the Solitaire du Figaro in 2016 and 2019 and the Route du Rhum in the Class 40 in 2018 and 2022. In the IMOCA class, he won the Retour à la Base 2023 and The Transat in 2024, as well as The Ocean Race Europe in the VO65 class in 2021. When he looks for sailors to fill out his crew, Richomme says they need to be, "hard working, good all around the boat, tireless." These qualites of etermination and persistence also came up time and again.
More information:
“You just have to do it and follow your dream.”
Alan Roura
"Just do it. Believe in yourself and don't listen to people who tell you that you should only try if you're sure you can win," says Alan Roura from Hublot. "I think you just have to do it and follow your dream." And: "The human element is the most important thing," says Roura. "We spend many weeks together, so it's important that everyone gets on well. The human element is the most important thing."
Alan Roura
Skipper Team Hublot
Éric Bellion
Skipper Team Stand A One
"Try it. Just try," agrees Éric Bellion, skipper of Stand As One. "Because one day it might seem impossible, but the next day it might be possible. If I did it, you can do it too," he says with a laugh. A good sense of humour and the ability to get along are also important.
“You have to be yourself and sail with passion, then your moment will come.”
Ben Dutreux
"Every sailor is different. You have to be yourself and sail with passion, then your moment will come," says Benjamin Dutreux, the skipper of GUYOT Environnement, who won over fans at the last edition of the Ocean Race with his passion and commitment. He wants to incorporate the lessons learnt from his first participation in the Ocean Race into a new campaign. "The challenge of the Ocean Race is very, very appealing," he summarises.
Benjamin Dutreux
Skipper Team GUYOT Environnement
© The Ocean Race 1973 S.L.
Acquire article rights