DMG MORI Sailing Team

Skipper: Kojiro Shiraishi

Kojiro Shiraishi

Kojiro might have become a professional golfer, a baseball player or an astronaut – if he hadn’t heard of Yukoh Tada and his adventures. Tada was the first Japanese person to win a round the world sailing race. The then 17-year-old Kojiro from the coastal town of Kamakura did everything he could to get to know the experienced skipper in person. With success. As his mentor, Yukoh Tada went on to make a considerable contribution to Kojiro also devoting his heart and soul to sailing. At the age of 25 he sailed solo around the world and in 2016 he was the first Asian to take part in the Vendée Globe.

To mentally and physically prepare himself for a regatta, Kojiro practices the Japanese budo discipline Iaido – the art of drawing a sword – and meditates regularly. Time spent together in the team house in Lorient is also an important part of his preparation. Not least because of the cooking skills of his PR manager, Shota.

Never give up and always write your own history.

Kojiro Shiraishi

Team manager and technical manager: Charles Euverte

Charles Euverte

As a child, Charles enjoyed sailing with his parents. The current team manager of the DMG MORI Sailing Team later took the helm into his own hands – and occupied front rankings in various regattas. He has been supporting Kojiro since the Vendée Globe 2016. When DMG MORI decided to form its own sailing team, he got on board immediately. His task: he is responsible for making sure the skipper and the DMG MORI Sailing Team achieve their goals.

As the technical manager, Charles was closely involved in establishing and developing “DMG MORI Global One”. But his everyday life as a team manager consists of keeping a cool head even under intense pressure. Something that the pragmatist and yachting enthusiast Charles Euverte masters with aplomb. For him, every regatta is an adventure to be conquered together as a team. Because from his point of view “Global One” means exactly that – one team, one crew, one goal.

The team spirit we’ve built up over the last few years has made us into a strong unit. On land and at sea.

Charles Euverte

Boat captain: Gilles Campan

Gilles Campan

Like many of the other team members, Gilles has also stood side by side with Kojiro since 2016. As the boat captain, he is responsible for working out schedules and yachting goals for the “DMG MORI Global One”. He can also look back on many years of sailing experience – he was 20 years old the first time he sailed across the Atlantic. From then on, there was no looking back.

Gilles has already taken part in the Transat Jacques Vabre on an IMOCA and steered through a full-blown storm for 42 hours on a trimaran. He knows well the incredible forces of wind and water. As the boat captain, he is an all-rounder when it comes to the technical aspects of the “DMG MORI Global One”. Many years of experience in boat building and maintenance have made him an expert. For him, sailing is a game played with an amazing and seemingly unfriendly element: the ocean.

It is unbelievable what a person can accomplish alone on the vast ocean.

Gilles Campan

PR manager: Shota Kanda

Shota Kanda

Shota sailed for the first time just a few years ago on Kojiro’s powerful and racy IMOCA 60. An impressive experience for the Chamonix-born Japanese man. And a successful experience: He has been working for the skipper as a PR manager and translator since 2016. Shota Kanda will be a crucial link between the land and the vast ocean during the regattas: Communication will take place through him when Skipper Kojiro and the crew on land exchange information via satellite radio.

Sailing is not the only sport that Shota is passionate about. Having been a professional golfer, golf is also very close to his heart. He thus has an even deeper insight into Kojiro’s absolute dedication to sailing. He also admires the skipper’s courage and greatly respects the way in which he handles the unexpected during races. As Kojiro’s PR manager, Shota would like to communicate one thing above all: the amazing fascination of a race on high seas and the determination of the skipper.

The skipper displays boundless courage on the high seas.

Shota Kanda

Assistant to the team manager: Simon Suzuki

Simon Suzuki

Simon had already sailed with his father in Japan and, having actively participated in the Youth America’s Cup Japanese team, can easily put himself in Kojiro’s shoes. Simon joined Kojiro’s team three years ago through a former teammate in the youth team. He has been supporting him and the DMG MORI Sailing Team since then.

As the assistant to the team manager, Simon handles the administrative tasks of day-to-day business and is responsible for ensuring the skipper and crew are able to work in the best way possible. With a talent for languages – his repertoire includes Japanese, French and English – he is an indispensable link in everyday sailing life. Simon greatly values the international and multicultural composition of the DMG MORI Sailing Team. Together with all these people, making this one dream come true: that Kojiro can sail solo and safely around the world.

Experiencing the full force of nature.

Simon Suzuki

Electronics expert: Laurent Leconte

Laurent Leconte

Yachting today is becoming increasingly complex, the technology that is installed is ever more sophisticated – Laurent is responsible for “DMG MORI Global One” electronics and has made it his task to always find the best technical solution. He installs, programs, monitors all electronic equipment on board and teaches Kojiro how to handle the system.

Laurent has been a part of the team from the beginning. He noticed and was inspired by the Japanese skipper with a kimono at the Globe 2016. And he continues to admire his courage. Teamwork is the DNA of the project for the French-born Laurent; each and every person is needed to reach the goal. Comradeship and a willingness to help are decisive. The time spent together in the team house in Lorient enriches both his professional and private life. When asked about the highlights in his life, he only has one answer; his three children.

Comradeship and a willingness to help are what define our team.

Laurent Leconte

Technical expert: Simone Gaeta

Simone Gaeta

Simone is fascinated by the technological and human challenges of sailing. In the team, he is responsible for the development of the control systems, the foils and the standing and running rigging. Important to him: A yacht has to be easy to sail and prove its worth in every situation – including unforeseen ones. Simone’s goal is therefore always to improve the performance of the yacht while also ensuring that Kojiro can handle it safely alone.

He thinks of the work in the DMG MORI Sailing Team as a multicultural adventure, in which everyone is in the same boat: a fearless skipper, an engaged team. Everyone pitches in to make their common dream a reality. Simone is also interested in sporting adventures in his private life – whether at lofty heights climbing mountains or freediving underwater.

A multicultural adventure, all in the one boat.

Simone Gaeta

Boat builder and composites: Léo Gonin

Léo Gonin

Léo is a boat builder and responsible for the composite structures of the yacht. Already at eight years old, he knew that this would be his dream job. What fascinates him about sailing is the symbiosis of the elements of wind and water: ultimately it is always about utilizing the forces of nature in the best way possible. He therefore always tinkers away at new solutions when designing carbon parts.

He got to know Kojiro at the Vendée Globe 2016. Léo was on board a spectator boat as the starting shot rang out for the regatta. He saw the Japanese skipper from close up before he set off on his adventure across the ocean. An emotional moment. Léo later found out about a vacant position on the team through a friend and immediately applied. Léo wears a talisman while Kojiro is racing across the sea in a regatta: a bracelet made of Dyneema rope, like that found on the yacht – he only takes it off after Kojiro has returned.

Our goal is to utilize the forces of nature in the best way possible.

Léo Gonin

Boat builder and technical logistics: Benjamin Ferron

Benjamin Ferron

Benjamin is a boat builder and responsible for the technical logistics. He produces carbon parts for the yacht, improves and optimizes them. He organizes the yacht shed “La Base”, Lorient – the so-called racing stable of “DMG MORI Global One”. For a yacht to successfully complete races like the Vendée Globe, it needs to be one thing in particular: reliable. This is why his goal is to make the IMOCA 60 as safe and ergonomic as possible for Kojiro.

Benjamin got to know the skipper at the Vendée Globe 2016 and joined the team shortly afterwards. The time he spends in the DMG MORI Sailing Team is more than a job for him: the team is like a second family, in which different nationalities and characters come together. They face the adventure of sailing as one. With the bonus of reaching places that not very many people get to see.

Sailing means adventure. To reach places that not very many people get to see.

Benjamin Ferron

Rigger and training partner: Federico Sampei

Federico Sampei

Federico’s entry into the sport of sailing was rapid. His very first time on a yacht was for test sailing for the 35^th America’s Cup in the Japanese Softbank team – and on a new foil catamaran, which literally flies over the oceans. Sailing has become a part of his life since then. With one snag: the young Japanese man suffers from seasickness. But he doesn’t let this stop him sailing.

A team colleague introduced him to Kojiro who immediately invited him to sail on his IMOCA. This was around the same time that the DMG MORI Sailing Team was formed – and Federico was also involved. In the team, he looks after all the on-board technology, except for the electronics. He is also Kojiro’s training partner on the water. Federico Sampei has a dream: to sail around the world one day himself. Until he’s ready, he learns every day from his idol Kojiro.

Global ONE stands for achieving a great goal together.

Federico Sampei

Organization and logistics: Corentine Lemonnier-Le Tuaud

Corentine Lemonnier-Le Tuaud

Corentine grew up not that far away from Lorient – a real child of Brittany, who has always had a deep connection to sailing. In 2012, she was involved in the organization of the Krys Ocean Race, a transatlantic regatta on MOD 70s from Newport to Brest. She has been a member of the DMG MORI Sailing Team since 2020.

She provides support to her team in all organizational and logistical matters: she looks after the safety equipment, hotel bookings and keeps the overview even under the greatest stress. As a skilled organizer – she’s never without a checklist for the most important tasks in hand – she is responsible for event organization and presentations. What she finds fascinating about sailing is the passionate enthusiasm and commitment of everyone involved. Typical for Corentine is also her favorite Brittany dish: “crêpe complete” with a fried egg and a glass of cider.

The sport of sailing demands complete enthusiasm and commitment.

Corentine Lemonnier-Le Tuaud