The start of the 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race was given this Saturday, July 22, from Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England.

“Departures with this boat, with has a closed cockpit, are never easy. Moreover, with 29 Imocas, 35 knots of headwind and in a corridor a mile wide, it doesn't make things any easier! But it's going to be fine and once out of the solent, I know that everything will be good” declared Alan a few hours before taking the start of his second race of the season aboard his Imoca.

Alan Roura and Simon Koster crossed the finish line in Brest on Friday 12th May at 10h12'22''. The Swiss duo thus finished 8th in their first double-handed race, after 4 days, 20 hours, 12 minutes and 22 seconds at sea. 

The two Hublot skippers sailed the 1,385 miles of the course at a speed of 11.9 knots on the great circle route (theoretical direct route). In reality, they covered 1,614 miles at an average speed of 13.9 knots (on the water). They arrived in Brest 13 hours 57 minutes and 20 seconds after the winners Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière.

Back from almost five weeks of training in Portugal ten days ago, Alan Roura, Simon Koster and the Hublot Sailing Team are back at the start.

With five days to go before the competition resumes, the Swiss duo is preparing to head for Brest, the starting town for the fourth Guyader Bermuda 1000 Race, the launch race of the 2023 season, which will be run as a double-handed event for the first time.

The fourth and final episode of our video series "Les entretiens privilégiés avec Alan Roura" is dedicated to sustainable development which is at the heart of Alan's project.

Hublot is an Imoca boat that is self-sufficient in renewable energy, with a deck entirely covered in solar panels, capable of sailing around the world without using diesel.

It is a 100% Swiss crew that will be sailing on board the Hublot IMOCA for the 2023 season. Alan Roura has decided to team up with Simon Koster from Zurich.

"For several years I had been looking to put together a 'Swiss made' crew for double-handed races," says Alan Roura, happy to finally be able to put his project into practice on the occasion of his fourth Transat Jacques Vabre.

Many thanks to the 550 participants who filled the Théâtre du Passage yesterday for the Nuit du Grand Large.

It was a wonderful evening with several famous skippers in attendance for the first time in Neuchâtel.

Click on the link below to relive this exceptional evening.

The Bank is organising a major event on the theme of ocean racing in the presence of several renowned skippers for the first time in Neuchâtel.

This exceptional event will take place on Thursday 9 February at the Théâtre du Passage in Neuchâtel.

The evening is sold out but you can follow the event live on our website bonhote.ch.