Salt water in the veins
Samantha Davies grew up on the water. Coming from a family of sailors, sailing is nevertheless basically just a leisure activity. The sport she practices through swimming. In 1998, on the Jules Verne Trophy, she launched herself into competitive sailing. She was then 24 years old.
After several Vendée Globe races, a crewed round-the-world race with stopovers for all women - the Volvo Ocean Race in 2015 - and several races on various boats with renowned skippers, she is taking her chance on the Vendée Globe for the third time. And the British yachtswoman is among the favourites for the podium contenders. 20 years after Ellen McArthur, will she be the next woman to complete this exploit??
Even stronger 8 years later
"I wanted to come back, as I didn't finish in my second Vendée Globe in 2012-2013. And I'm doing it 8 years later. I had imagined trying again in 2016, but I had a great opportunity with the Volvo Ocean Race. But it's even better, as I'm benefiting from the experience I gained on the Volvo. I feel even stronger than if I'd tried my luck straight away. I'm delighted to be here, even more so with this Initiatives-C?ur project than Tanguy (Editor's note: De Lamotte, former skipper for Initiatives-C?ur, who left the helm in 2017). In addition to racing and being competitive, I am defending a cause. It's a really comprehensive project."
A human adventure
The Vendée Globe is not just a race, as the yachtswoman explains, but a human adventure, which starts every four years. And each time it is perhaps the only opportunity to take part.
"The Vendée Globe is the hardest, longest race. It's our Everest, for us sailors. I can do even better than what I've done before. I'm sure it's an advantage to have already taken part. I know the experience, all the effects, the conditions, the route. I've already lived through the galleys, the dramas, the great moments. I don't think you can imagine it's going to be like last time. It can be a trap, and it's not like that at all."
Cape Horn, a mythical moment
His most beautiful memory of the race will remain the passage of the mythical Cape Horn, on its first edition in 2008/2009.
"This is the first time I've rounded Cape Horn alone. It was a symbolic moment. It's the gateway to the South Seas. I was in a good position. I'd never been so far on this round the world voyage because on the previous one, I'd dismasted in the Pacific. It's a great memory."
A project that makes sense
Since 2017, therefore, Samantha has taken over the reins of the Heart Initiatives project. The boat has changed - as she is the former Maître Coq, with whom Jérémie Beyou finished third in the 2016 Vendée Globe.
"I've got a great boat and a great crew. I know it well and I'm better equipped than ever to perform. With my experience of the last Vendée Globe and the Volvo Ocean Race, I can't wait to find out what happens to us. I couldn't have wished for better. I have a project that makes sense. Every time I sail, I save children. It's a cause in solidarity, with an audience, with patrons. It's great to be able to do this race and support such a project. I'm changing people's lives with every mile I sail."
A 2010 boat with last generation foils
Inititiatives-C?ur is a boat that is 10 years old and has been entirely designed for the Vendée Globe and its skipper.
"He has already sailed two Vendée Globe races and finished in second and third place. He likes being on the podium. We've had time to modify and optimise him. It has been upgraded with the latest generation foils to improve performance. I'm able to catch up with the new boats, even if I'm not as fast."
On the other hand, the boat had to be made stronger to compensate for this increase in speed and performance. To handle the extra speed.
"I have a different sail plan from the other boats, adapted to the way I sail. The mast is new thanks to the rule of anteriority of the old boats. The masts often have problems of weakness on our boats. Tanguy had a problem with his mast and so did I, and we had to give up."
Its partners who did not want to set off with an old mast were able to benefit from the anteriority rule - limiting the minimum weight of the boat - which allows old boats not to conform to boats designed from 2016 onwards.
"My mast is shorter than the others, which reduces dunnage. The difference in size is compensated for by the strength. My boat is equipped with very large foils and the sensors revealed that there was a tendency to overload the rigging and the canvas had to be reduced. So that's one of the advantages that makes up for the age of my boat."
She knows this boat really well and her team has worked hard to adapt it to Sam's hand.
"I know him really well. Everything is easy. It's my decision, not my boat. With overpowering foils on boats that go fast, you can quickly get overtaken by the elements. But I'm the master."
In spite of some fine results in the races and training before the Vendée Globe, Samantha is finding it hard to set herself a goal.
Beat Armel le Cléac'h's record and save as many children as possible
"I don't want to get carried away, because my boat is not as fast as new boats. It's hard to set goals when you know that everything depends on what happens to the fleet. I finished 4 e in 2008 on an old boat."
His goal is temps?! It's already to beat the record set by Armel le Cléac'h, the last winner of the 2016 Vendée Globe in 74 days. And above all to save as many children as possible.
"It takes 12?000 euros to save a child. My goal is to save 60 children. I'm a competitor, so I'm all over the rankings. But I also need clicks (Editor's note With each new "I like" on the Facebook page or subscriber on Instagram of Initiatives-C?ur, Samantha's partners commit to donate 1 euro to the Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque foundation, which performs heart surgery on underprivileged children who are not able to be). I am very motivated to do the best for the association."
Serene for departure
If the season hasn't allowed her - like all the other sailors - to take part in the two transatlantic races scheduled, Samantha is ready to set off calmly.
"I'm lucky I've had my boat since 2017. I've competed in a lot of races aboard it. This year, we had planned it as a year of reliability. The optimisations were made in previous years. So I was ready to leave at the beginning of this year.
I took advantage of the confinement to spend time with my family, which is something we won't be able to do in the Vendée Globe. With my team, we asked ourselves some questions during this period. It's great to have not only the sporting side, but also the solidarity part of the project. We've kept our motivation, even if we had doubts about the races. In this Vendée Globe, I hope to do the best for Mécénat Chirurgie cardiaque. That hasn't changed. The associations have suffered more than ever. They have received less money, the children operated on were stuck in France and couldn't return to their country. Sick children couldn't come for surgery.
We're adapting. There's a lot more people with bigger problems than our races. Our course of action is to do what's best for the project. It has brought us together and motivated us for this complicated period."
Allowing the public to escape
In the end, this start to the Vendée Globe and the race itself will not change the daily lives of the sailors, who like all land sailors have experienced the confinement.
"This is a chance for us and the public will be able to follow us on the Internet, on the networks. It's going to be a tough winter for everyone. There are a lot of restrictions and if we can animate, make people dream, I am even more motivated to share my race in the best possible way. We'll try to get people to get away from it all a bit. Especially since the more I share, the more clicks I get, so I save children. I'm more motivated than ever."
His prognosis for the Vendée Globe??
I would put Apivia (Charlie Dalin), Charal (Jérémie Béyou) and Hugo Boss (Alex Thomson) on an equal footing.
