We left her two years ago, out of the race of course, but happy as hell to have still completed her Vendée Globe, after having come close to disaster in the third week of racing off Africa. Samantha Davies is back for a new challenge, at the start this Sunday of the Route du Rhum, aboard a brand new boat. His Imoca (60-foot monohull, or 18.28 m to be precise) was launched in August, and this transatlantic race which links Saint-Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre, in Guadeloupe, should serve as a gallop of test for the next Vendée, which will take place in 2024. This does not prevent the English sailor from leaving with great ambitions, quite the contrary.
“It’s the first time I’ve had a boat made for me. I’m not the strongest of skippers, but we adapted the boat to my size and my strength, so that I could be as competitive as possible, explains Samantha Davies, who was the guest last week on our Twitch show “The Crusaders you know”. We’re still in the testing phase, I don’t know exactly how the boat will react, we’ll find out all that during the race. But I know he’s going super fast, and if I don’t have any technical problems and I cross the line, I should be well placed. »
The 48-year-old sailor, who has been living in France since the early 2000s, would really like to see Guadeloupe. During her first participation four years ago, she suffered damage just a few days after the start. A memory that is still special, since it was his first solo race in the colors of Initiatives-Coeur. Because beyond performance, Sam Davies also runs to save lives. Literally. Her shopping is used to publicize and finance the action of Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, of which she is the godmother. This association’s mission is to enable children with heart defects from underprivileged countries to have surgery in France when they cannot have it in their own country, due to a lack of technical or financial means.
A film retracing his last Vendée Globe
During this Route du Rhum, as in previous competitions, the sailor’s three partners (Les Chocloats du Cœur, K-Line and Vinci) will donate one euro (or sometimes more, depending on the day) to the association each time a web user will subscribe to the Initiatives-Coeur Facebook page or Instagram account. When the sum of 12,000 euros is reached, it is a financed operation. Thus, thanks to the last Vendée Globe, 102 children were able to have surgery. “It’s really a source of pride for me to be the skipper of a boat that is both efficient, because we want to be competitive on the water, and united. These two aspects are also important to me, and being able to combine them is fantastic,” she appreciates.
Icon of sailing, as much for her track record as her committed personality, the granddaughter of the British Navy commander wanted to go even further in her commitment. On Wednesday, November 9, a feature film, “Alone around the world”, will be released in theaters, which relates her last Vendée Globe. Seduced by the idea of producer Edouard Mauriat, she let herself be tempted, despite the enormous work to be provided in addition to navigation since she had to film herself in length.
“In a race like this, there are moments of doubt, fear, great emotion. It’s hard because in these cases you don’t want to turn on the camera. So I forced myself a bit, ”she says. In the end, she only saw the good in it. This experience allowed him to open up more than usual. “The videos we send during the race are quite short, and then our competitors can see our videos, so we filter a lot. It’s a bit of a shame, because we hide our real difficulties, our real emotions, which is also part of a very long race like the Vendée Globe, says Sam Davies. This film was like a gift for me, I took my time, I could speak in English if I couldn’t find the words in French, I was able to share everything I wanted. Coming from a sailor like her, the result has to be worth a look.