A new chapter in Paul Meilhat‘s offshore racing career began in July as United by the Ocean introduced its IMOCA in Lorient, France, ahead of The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026 and The Ocean Race 2027. The campaign brings together French skipper Paul Meilhat and Portuguese co-skipper Mariana Lobato, who reunite after previously racing together aboard Biotherm during The Ocean Race 2023.
The introduction of the campaign follows a successful period for Meilhat, who skippered Biotherm to overall victory in The Ocean Race Europe 2025. Together with Lobato, he now begins the next phase of his IMOCA programme as preparations continue for the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026, before attention turns to The Ocean Race 2027.
The team’s IMOCA now carries the colours of United by the Ocean, a campaign founded on the principles of connection, openness and ocean health. According to the team, the initiative combines high-performance offshore racing with efforts to raise awareness of ocean issues and contribute to scientific research. As part of the project, Meilhat will continue his long-standing collaboration with Surfrider Foundation Europe.
Speaking during the campaign presentation, Meilhat described the ocean as a force that has historically connected people, places and cultures, while highlighting its essential role in regulating the Earth’s climate. He said the campaign aims to work alongside organisations and partners that recognise the importance of a healthy ocean and its significance for future generations.
For Lobato, the campaign represents the continuation of a successful partnership with Meilhat as the pair prepare for another chapter in The Ocean Race. She described reaching this stage of the project as a significant milestone while confirming that Benjamin Ferré will join the crew for The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026. The remaining crew members will be announced in due course, with the team intending to field an international crew comprising two women and two men for both The Ocean Race Atlantic and The Ocean Race 2027.
With the IMOCA now in the water, the team will begin its post-launch preparations, including sea trials throughout the month before departing on a transatlantic delivery voyage to New York in August. The crossing will complete the team’s preparations ahead of the start of The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026 on 1 September, with the fleet racing from New York to Lorient.
United by the Ocean now enters the next phase of its campaign, bringing together an experienced offshore sailing partnership, a renewed commitment to ocean advocacy and a clear focus on the challenges that lie ahead across the Atlantic and in the around-the-world race that follows.
