Quite the anniversary


Patrice Carpentier is not racing the 10th anniversary Vendée Globe but that doesn’t mean that the pre-start atmosphere in Les Sables d’Olonne cannot still make him go misty-eyed


Forty skippers will start the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe on 10 November. This is a record participation! Also never have the skippers been better prepared, after a chal- lenging qualification and selection process that forced competitors to complete thou- sands of sea miles onboard their yachts. Before they cross the startline the racers will have covered at least half the distance of the theoretical Vendée Globe course, 24,300nm. Sam Davies’s Imoca Initiative- Coeur has already completed 23,901nm, not to mention the six Imocas who have participated in The Ocean Race, which have already made one round-the-world tour with a crew. Now, after three years and some 10 big oceanic races – three of them played solo in six months – some sort of a hierarchy has emerged. The VG’s favourites include Charlie Dalin, Thomas Ruyant, Jérémie Beyou, Boris


56 SEAHORSE


Herrmann, Yoann Richomme and Sam Davies. They all have a lot of experience in deep water ocean racing (only Yoann is a VG rookie) and each races a latest-genera- tion Imoca, supported by strong teams, which allowed them to be on the podiums and finish in the top five in the Imoca championships over the last two years. Boats launched since 2022 have bene-


fited from all the lessons learnt during the last VG and as a result the newer boats have a clear supremacy in speed in certain condi- tions. It is difficult, however, to make pre- dictions because the round-the-world is a race dotted with pitfalls and the level of competition intensifies with every edition. Last time no one would have bet on the


victory of Yann Bestaven and yet he is the man who won onboard Maître Coq, his already old Verdier design. Louis Burton, in third, was rewarded for his tenacity despite the numerous problems he encountered. Michel Desjoyeaux sums up the VG nicely: ‘every day is a pain in the ass’.


The other Sam Sam Davies is among the favourites, but there is another British skipper, also named Sam (Goodchild), who has been doing rather well on the old LinkedOut


(2019 Verdier design) previously skippered by Thomas Ruyant, his teammate. Both boats, the new one of Thomas, designed by the trio Finot/Conq/Koch, and the old one, bear the same name, Vulnerable, in the Vendée Globe. Sam has followed the French pathway


to train for offshore racing, although he started his career with Alex Thomson’s team and then continued alongside Mike Golding. In 2010 he joined the Artemis Offshore Academy, which was established to launch young English sailors. He sailed several seasons in the Figaro OD then evolved via the Class40 to the Ocean Fifty where, on Leyton, he won the 2021 Pro Sailing Tour – a very impressive result. In 2023 he decided to start in Imocas


and to compete in the Vendée Globe, join- ing Thomas Ruyant’s team to qualify by gaining the necessary miles and experi- ence. Sam also participated in The Ocean Race on Holcim PRB, following which he joined Thomas Ruyant Racing as a full- time skipper. On the Imoca circuit he sailed double-handed with Antoine Koch in the TJV (third) and finished the season on a high as he was crowned champion of the Imoca Globe Series 2023! With the assistance of Thomas and


CHRISTOPHE FAVREAU


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