Iodine in the veins
Samantha and the sea is a lifelong story. "I come from a family of sailors, that's kind of why I sail." His maternal grandfather owns a shipyard in England and participates in motor boat races. His paternal grandfather works in the English navy as a submarine commander.
His parents also own their own boat - a motor boat - which they trade for a sailboat shortly before Sam's birth. " I've always lived on the sea." But for her, sailing is like leisure.
In competition, she swims - synchronized and classic -. She enjoys sailing, but on a cruise. Nevertheless, many major sailing races take place in the Solent, and it is as a spectator that she attends them with her parents. "It intrigued me and I loved imagining the journey of these boats that went around the world, that took part in the Fastnet."
Finally, she managed to get on other people's boats to sail, but sailing is still only a passion. "I didn't want to make a career out of it."
If it's only a hobby, she loves boats and is fascinated by speed. She then decided to study in the maritime field and obtained an engineering degree from Cambridge University. "I wanted to work as a naval architect or in a design office or in offshore racing teams."
It was finally on the 1998 Jules Verne Trophy - she was 24 years old - that she began her career in sailing competition.
Read Iodized Memories with Samantha Davies
The succession of Tanguy de Lamotte
Today, she has taken over from Tanguy de Lamotte as skipper of IMOCA Initiatives-C?ur "I am lucky to be the skipper of a very unique project. My partner is a patron of an association."
It is first of all as a competitor of Tanguy that she discovers her project. She then runs the Transat Jacques Vabre 2015 alongside her and learns more about this project of "sympathetic veil." The skipper of Initiatives-C?ur is thinking about retiring and would like Samantha to replace him at the helm of his 60-foot boat.
"I didn't think twice. I had already done 2 Vendée Globe races with a 4 e place on the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe. This project is efficient and makes sense. It's not just for the competition. The team and partners are passionate and efficient."
An older generation IMOCA upgraded
Initiatives-C?ur is a 2009 VPLP - Verdier plan upgraded with foils. "Foil technology makes the difference in performance. We can earn much more than before with these optimizations of old boats. Technologies and materials are evolving, as are hull shapes, which are different because they are designed around the foils. The new foilers have big advantages, but the gap can be really narrowed if you are lucky to have high-performance foils."
And since 2019, his boat has been equipped with very large tapered foils. To do this, it was first necessary to increase the forces throughout the boat and make the right calculations so that the structure could withstand the violence of impacts and navigations. "This work has not been used to improve comfort on board. We go much faster, so it's much more violent. Of course, the slightly flexible foils absorb shocks and improve the boat's behaviour, but it depends on the sea state. It was therefore necessary to structurally reinforce the boat to optimize its use and speed gain."
Compete with the 2016 generation
With these new foils and the optimization project, Initiatives-C?ur is able to compete with the 2016 generation of IMOCAs. "When you sail next to them, you realize that you've gained a lot of performance. We skipped a generation and can compete with more powerful boats modified with foils like PRB or MACSF."
Its direct competitors are therefore "this small group of boats boosted for their age and therefore more efficient."
Sam now also has to deal with new boats, which are 100% new and clearly faster. "Right now, they need to be grounded and are too young to be at their best. It's where we have a card to play."
Because Initiatives-C?ur was the first boat in the water in 2019 with its new foils. "We've sailed a lot and made a lot of progress, especially in terms of adjustments. As far as performance is concerned, we think we can get closer to 100% than new boats. That's an advantage."
If she doesn't have the fastest boat on paper, Sam is aware of her advantages and justifies positioning herself in the leading group. "We aim for victory with humility, but it's not easy, because 10 boats aim for victory."
A high-performance coskipper invested in solidarity
She will be accompanied by Paul Meilhat, whom she knows well and with whom she shares a mutual respect. "I wanted to sail with someone who could contribute something to my Vendée Globe project. Paul has already competed in the Vendée Globe and won the Route du Rhum in 2018. It is very efficient. We were already training together at the time since we were both at the Port La Forêt training centre."
So it was already in Sam's mind that she would choose Paul if he didn't find partners for his own project. Besides the performance aspect, Samantha also wanted a coskipper invested in helping children. "It's great that he's sensitive to this cause. It is an important issue, to perform but also to communicate well. He loves it and as a young dad, he is delighted to discover this project, the team, the way we work... He is fully invested and the whole team enjoys working with him."
A solidarity project
On her boat, Samantha Davies sails with a double objective, sporting and humanitarian. Because, during each major sailing race, the sponsor sponsors K. Line, Initiatives and Vinci donate 1 euro to Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque for each new Facebook fan or Instagram subscriber. This operation then allows children with heart disease to have surgery in France, which is impossible and expensive to treat in. Many countries.
"It's really close to my heart. We practice a sport at a high level and it's quite selfish. We are neither doctors nor teachers, but with this project, we share and raise awareness among the population. I see that many people are following us. It boosts and motivates. We feel like we're doing something good with the audience. We see the children coming and they leave in good health. I'm a small link in this huge chain of solidarity, it's great."
