Meet the Team

A keen sportswoman and sailor, Dona Bertarelli co-founded Spindrift alongside her husband, Yann Guichard, a renowned French skipper. Their team, based in Morbihan in Brittany, represents their shared passion for the sea, sailing and competition.

In the winter of 2015-16, she was helmsman-trimmer aboard Spindrift 2 (now named Sails of Change), the world’s largest racing maxi-trimaran, as the team attempted sailing’s ultimate challenge, the Jules Verne Trophy. Although the team narrowly missed beating the record, Dona became the fastest woman to sail around the world.

Dona Bertarelli is also a philanthropist and ocean advocate. She a Patron of Nature of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (LINK), and co-chair of the Bertarelli Foundation. She has also served as the Special Adviser for the Blue Economy to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Through the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy she works in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts to advance ocean conservation, for the benefit of the communities which rely on the ocean for their livelihoods. Between them, they have helped to safeguard more than 13 million square kilometres of ocean by working with communities, local leaders, philanthropic partners, Indigenous groups, government officials, and scientists.

She is the founder of Global Fishing Watch Marine Manager, a dynamic technology portal created to help transform the management of marine protected areas.

In partnership with IUCN, Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard launched Sports for Nature to help sports organisations mitigate negative impacts on biodiversity and climate, and take concrete steps to protect biodiversity.

A versatile sailor and an Olympian, Yann Guichard began multihull offshore and inshore racing in his twenties, and has won races and set records throughout his sailing career.

He created Spindrift with his wife, Dona Bertarelli, in 2011, to challenge the world’s sailing records and races (LINK to YG bio on Spindrift website). He holds the record for the Discovery Route, and has won the Transat Québec Saint-Malo, the Route du Rhum, the Rolex Fastnet Race and won the Bol d’Or Mirabaud on several occasions.

As a sportsman, Yann is convinced of the connection between sports and nature. Spindrift carries the #30x30 message on its sails when the team takes part in sailing races and events around the world.