News
6.8.26
Swiss offshore sailor Oliver Heer will take on The Ocean Race 2027
Swiss offshore sailor Oliver Heer has announced that his team, Embrace The Challenge, will compete in The Ocean Race 2027.
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| Age | 46 (12/6/79) |
|---|---|
| Top performance | Winner of the Ocean Race in VO65 with WindWhisper |
| Joined Imoca on | 2026 |
| Team | OLIVER HEER OCEAN RACING |
Born in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, Liz Wardley grew up holding dual nationality — Papua New Guinean and Australian — and has established herself as one of the leading figures in offshore racing.
She began her racing career in the Hobie 16 class, taking bronze at the 1997 World Championship and silver in 1998. That same year, she became the youngest female skipper to take part in the legendary Sydney-Hobart race, which she went on to win in her category the following year.
An experienced offshore skipper, she has taken part in several editions of the Volvo Ocean Race / The Ocean Race, including with all-female crews such as Amer Sports Too and Team SCA, before joining the mixed crew of Turn the Tide on Plastic as Boat Captain.
Recognised for her technical expertise as much as for her endurance — having logged close to a million nautical miles at sea — she has also skippered the historic yacht Maiden, a symbol of women's empowerment in sailing, as part of its round-the-world awareness tour.
In the IMOCA class, Liz Wardley now puts her experience to work on new projects: she is currently supporting Swiss skipper Oliver Heer on Embrace The Challenge as performance analyst, alongside Marie Riou and Lincoln Dews, ahead of The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026.
2024: World's Toughest Row, women's solo category - 1st, record broken
2023: The Ocean Race (WindWhisper Racing Team, VO65) - 1st
2017-2018: Volvo Ocean Race (Turn the Tide on Plastic) - Boat Captain
2014-2015: Volvo Ocean Race (Team SCA) - competitor
2009: Rolex Fastnet Race (Initiatives Saveurs – Novedia Group) - 1st in class
2006: Solitaire de la Méditerranée - 17th
2006: Transat AG2R - 20th
2006: Solitaire du Figaro - 24th
2005: Solitaire du Figaro - 25th
2004: Generali Solo - 24th
2004: Solitaire du Figaro - 50th
| Name | EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE |
|---|---|
| Sail number | SUI 8 |
| Architect | VPLP |
| Construction | 2018, CDK Technologies - Port La Forêt |
| Former names | CHARAL, TEAMWORK - TEAM SNEF |
| Length | 18,28 m |
| Beam | 5,85 m |
| Draught | 4,50 m |
| Weight | 8 tonnes |
| Mast height | 29 m |
| Mast type | Wing mast |
| Foils | Yes |
| Sail area max. | |
| Upwind | 320 m2 |
| Downwind | 600 m2 |
Swiss offshore sailor Oliver Heer has announced that his team, Embrace The Challenge, will compete in The Ocean Race 2027.
•••Swiss offshore sailor Oliver Heer has officially unveiled his new IMOCA, Embrace The Challenge, introducing a bold new identity inspired by the weather systems that define life at sea.
•••The epic race will take the mixed-crew IMOCA fleet from New York to Lorient, France on a new high-speed transatlantic route.
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