This month, Heesen honours Worldwide Ladies’s Day with portraits of inspiring Dutch girls in yachting. Rosalin Kuiper is an expert offshore sailor and the skipper of Workforce Holcim-PRB, gearing as much as lead her crew in The Ocean Race Europe 2025. Via her management, Kuiper is championing range in offshore crusing.
Rosalin’s journey on the water started on the age of six, crusing an Optimist on a small lake close to her hometown of Zoetermeer. “Again then, you had these 24-hour solo races the place you could possibly sail at night time at the hours of darkness, and I completely beloved it.”
Though she was captivated with crusing from an early age, it wasn’t till she turned 18 that the hearth actually ignited. “Throughout a solo journey to Australia, I landed a job as a deckhand on a yacht crusing via the gorgeous Whitsunday Islands. That was the primary time I realised this was the life for me.”
Upon returning to the Netherlands, she pursued formal coaching at a crusing academy, the place she was chosen for Roy Heiner’s prestigious youth crusing programme.
50,000 racing miles
From there, all the things gained momentum for Rosalin. “Earlier than my debut in The Ocean Race Europe in 2021, I had already accomplished 50,000 long-distance racing miles in among the world’s most iconic offshore races, together with the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, The Fastnet Race, and the Caribbean 600. I had the privilege of crusing alongside among the sport’s most completed names. However The Ocean Race was subsequent stage—being a part of Workforce AkzoNobel, with the acclaimed skipper Chris Nicholson and such an expert crew, on a high-speed racer—that was one thing else.”
Constructing on that have, Rosalin joined Workforce Malizia for The Ocean Race 2023. The crew secured a formidable third-place general end, and managed to set a brand new monohull world document, overlaying 641.13 nautical miles in 24 hours at a median pace of 26.71 knots (50 km/h). On the identical time, Rosalin grew to become the one feminine co-skipper to finish each leg of the race.
Flying throughout the Water at 70 km/h
Ocean racing isn’t for the faint-hearted. With speeds reaching as much as 70 km/h, unpredictable climate circumstances, and the boat actually flying throughout the waves on its hydrofoils, the expertise is as thrilling as it’s demanding. “The noise from the foils and the hull is extremely loud—we now have to put on earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones on a regular basis. Seasickness is one other problem. The boat is totally enclosed, making the within stuffy, and mixed with fixed motion, it may be powerful. In uneven circumstances it’s in all probability ten instances worse than any theme park experience. Crusing these boats is extremely intense.”
A Twin Problem in 2025
2025 presents a double problem for Rosalin. As a brand new mom, she is getting ready to skipper Workforce Holcim-PRB in The Ocean Race Europe. “Twelve weeks in the past, I gave beginning to my daughter. Like several new mum, returning to work was thrilling. Crusing has at all times ignited a flame in me—now, I’ve a good greater one for her. In current months, all the things has come collectively.”
She and her crew have spent the previous months in Brittany, France, fine-tuning the boat. “It’s unbelievable to see the crew working tirelessly to make it quicker. We constantly analyse knowledge—foil positions, sail configurations, water ballast, and numerous different elements—to optimise efficiency. It’s much like F1, the place the crew and technical crew co-develop the boat. Success is 80% all the way down to preparation on land.”
Mast Restore at 27 Metres Excessive
To know how the boat is constructed and to have the ability to make repairs alongside the best way, the crew actively participates in its meeting. “If one thing breaks, you may, after all, ask for recommendation from the shore, however ultimately, you’ve to have the ability to restore it your self with the sources and other people out there,” Rosalin says.
Over the past Ocean Race, a fall had pulled via the mast, making a 30-centimetre crack within the carbon on the prime—27 metres above deck. “Throughout development, I realized find out how to restore carbon by making use of it layer by layer. For this specific restore, we needed to first laminate three units of six layers of carbon on deck. Then, we introduced it up, the place I utilized it. We had solely 40 minutes to finish the method earlier than it hardened. However ultimately, we repaired it efficiently and had been in a position to proceed the race.”
Inclusive Groups Drive Efficiency
Her function as skipper for Workforce Holcim-PRB extends past crusing. One among Rosalin’s key targets is to make this male-dominated sport extra accessible to girls. “My purpose is to construct a high-performing, worldwide, and inclusive crew the place everybody can thrive. I´m actively supporting equality and inclusion in crusing, working to create extra alternatives for girls. Firstly, by being a job mannequin—exhibiting you might be each a skipper and a mum. After my final Ocean Race, many ladies advised me my story impressed them to talk up and form working circumstances that higher swimsuit girls. I encourage girls to be assured, embrace who they’re, and voice their wants.”
www.rosalinkuiper.com
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