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After its debut in Bermuda, the partnership between SLAM and the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team opens a new story of speed, technology, foils and technical apparel designed for one of the most dynamic circuits in contemporary sailing.
A new chapter opened in Bermuda for the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team. During the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix weekend, the Swiss team raced for the first time with its new visual identity linked to Explora Journeys, with a fully redesigned F50 and a new team kit presented on the water. The same event also marked SLAM’s arrival alongside the Swiss team, in a context where technical apparel is as much a part of performance as athletic preparation and boat handling.
The result immediately gave substance to this new beginning: the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team finished the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix in fifth place overall, tied on points with the fourth-placed team. After a solid first day, the team was also able to adapt to the lighter and more challenging conditions of day two, securing a second place in one of the most technical races of the weekend.
In the international sailing landscape, SailGP is now one of the most spectacular and recognizable expressions of the new foiling generation. It is a fast, close, global circuit designed to bring high-performance sailing closer to the public, with an immediate sporting language built on speed, data, tactics and direct competition between national teams, right in the heart of waterfront cities.
The national teams race on F50 foiling catamarans, identical boats for every team and therefore one-design, capable of flying over the water and reaching speeds close to or above 100 km/h. The difference does not come from free hull development, but from the quality of the crew, the precision of the maneuvers, flight control and the ability to make decisions in just a few seconds.
The format is short, intense and designed to be close to the audience: tight racing, compact racecourses, three-boat finals and a very direct sporting narrative. For spectators, SailGP is immediate. For those on board, it is one of the most complex forms of contemporary sailing: extremely high speeds, constant communication, highly specialized roles and minimal margins for error.
The Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team joined SailGP in Season 3 and is regarded as one of the youngest and most interesting teams in the circuit. The 2025 season had already shown important signs of progress, with the team reaching its first event final in Portsmouth and then a second final in front of its home crowd on Lake Geneva, where it finished third.
The 2026 season had started uphill, as Justin Chisholm reported on Yacht Racing Life in his interview with Sébastien Schneiter: after the first four events, the team had not yet achieved results in line with its potential, but the continuity of the line-up and the work done on onboard communication remained key elements in finding its rhythm again. The response came in Bermuda, where the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team showed concrete progress and greater consistency.
The Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team represents one of the most interesting stories in the circuit. SailGP describes it as a team built around Swiss excellence, precision and innovation, with a group that brings together Olympic experience, America’s Cup expertise and SailGP know-how.
Sébastien Schneiter is the driver of the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team. From Geneva, he developed his sailing career in the 49er, the high-performance Olympic skiff, sharing an important part of his journey with Arno de Planta. The pair represented Switzerland at Paris 2024, finishing eighth in the 49er after a four-year cycle built between the Olympic campaign and SailGP.
On the F50, Schneiter has to read the racecourse, manage starts and crossings, choose trajectories and timing, while maintaining constant dialogue with the wing trimmer, flight controller and strategist.
© Jason Ludlow
Maud Jayet is the strategist of the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team. Her path began in the ILCA 6, formerly Laser Radial, the Olympic single-handed class in which she built a top-level career, finishing fourth at Paris 2024.
On board the F50, her role is to read the wind, the opponents, the distances and the geometry of the racecourse. In a circuit made up of short, extremely fast races, the strategist helps the team turn the boat’s speed into effective tactical choices.
© Jason Ludlow
Arnaud Psarofaghis is the wing trimmer of the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team. His background is deeply connected to the foiling world: Moth, GC32, D35, Extreme Sailing Series and the America’s Cup.
On the F50, he works on the rigid wing, one of the most decisive components of the boat. The wing trimmer has to find the right balance between power, acceleration and control, continuously adapting the drive to the conditions, the maneuver and the tactical phase of the race.
© Jason Ludlow
Bryan Mettraux is the flight controller of the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team. His background is also rooted in highly technical and fast boats: match racing, D35, GC32 and the America’s Cup.
In SailGP, the flight controller manages the catamaran’s flight height on the foils. It is a role of extreme precision: keeping the F50 stable, fast and controllable, while working in close connection with the driver and wing trimmer. On a boat that can exceed 100 km/h, flight is not just spectacle, it is performance.
© Jason Ludlow
Arno de Planta is a grinder for the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team. His background is strongly linked to the 49er: together with Sébastien Schneiter, he built an Olympic campaign that culminated at Paris 2024 with an eighth-place finish in the Olympic skiff class, after winning a silver medal at the World Championship in the same class.
On board the F50, Arno brings physical energy, rhythm and direct knowledge of the driver. This is important because in SailGP, communication between roles is one of the factors that makes the difference: every adjustment happens in a matter of seconds and every movement has to be coordinated with the rest of the crew.
© Jason Ludlow
Matt Gotrel is a grinder for the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team. His path is a distinctive one: before his professional career in SailGP, he won Olympic gold in rowing with the British men’s eight at Rio 2016 and was a two-time world champion. He was also part of the British challenge for the 36th America’s Cup, held in Auckland in 2021.
On an F50, technical apparel is never a secondary element. Movements are fast, spaces are tight and physical intensity is high. Every athlete needs to move without restriction, stay protected from wind, water and sun, maintain comfort through changes of pace, and reduce anything that could create drag, unnecessary weight or energy loss.
The aerodynamic dimension becomes part of the project. It is not simply about dressing a crew, but about supporting bodies moving on board a flying catamaran, balanced between power, coordination and control. For SLAM, joining the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team means bringing its technical experience into one of sailing’s most advanced laboratories: an environment where every detail must have a precise function.
After Bermuda, the SailGP season will continue with the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, scheduled for May 30 and 31, 2026. It will be the next opportunity to see the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team in action with its new identity and with SLAM alongside the team.
New York will offer a completely different setting: an urban racecourse, close to the public and with conditions that can change quickly. After the fifth-place finish in Bermuda, the goal will be to build on the positive signs, consolidate communication and execution, and turn the new chapter that began in the Great Sound into an increasingly concrete path of growth.
