She’s the schools’ favorite sailor. Aboard her new Imoca Initiatives Cœur, Samantha Davies will take the start of her fourth Vendée Globe with the same mission: to save children by raising funds for the charity Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque. After a promising third place in The Transat before the summer, the British sailor is also hoping to shine in what could be her last solo round-the-world race.
At 50, the Lorient-based mother of a 13-year-old son is one of the outsiders behind the favorites Charlie Dalin, Yoann Richomme, Jérémie Beyou and Thomas Ruyant. After a superb 4th place in 2008 on Roxy, Sam Davies was forced to retire in 2012, before being forced to retire. disqualified in 2020 for stopping ashore. In 2024, it’s with a vengeful spirit and a brand new boat specially designed for her that the Englishwoman will take the start. To hear her tell it, it could be her last.
Samantha, will this really be your last Vendée Globe?
This will be my fourth start. I’d really like it to be my last. Because you don’t want to do this all your life. These boats are violent. I’d love to be able to walk when I’m 60! This race isn’t the kindest thing for the human body. Right now, I feel fine. But I tell myself that if I keep doing it, I might get bored. I’m thinking I’d like to do a super Vendée Globe and move on.
Have you already made up your mind?
No. When you’re preparing for the Vendée Globe, it’s hard to think about the future. It’s a big trap to think too much about what’s next, because often it’s the Vendée Globe that decides what you do next. It’s so hard that if you start too early, you burn yourself out. I don’t think too much about that. I’d so much like to be able to save lots of children with Initiatives Cœur. I don’t have time to think about what’s next.
Is the desire to sail still there?
Of course! At the start of my career, I always said: I love sailing so much that I never want to get up in the morning and say I have to go. Today, I’m 50 and there’s not a day when I don’t want to go. I want it to stay! I’m not sure I’ll want to do another Vendée Globe after this one, but I’m not going to stop sailing either. There are other races, crewed races for example. I love the Imoca class, so I’d like to keep sailing in it, but maybe leave my place in the Vendée to someone else. But that’s hard to think about.
Especially as you’re sailing your boat for the first time, an Imoca designed for you…
Yes, it’s the first time. When I started out, I felt very attached to my first boat (PRB, now Roxy, the only boat to have won the Vendée Globe twice, in 2000 and 2004). I had the impression that it was the boat that was taking me along, because it had already done two. When I didn’t know what to do, I just let him do it, because I knew he’d been through it all. Today, it’s the other way around, I’m the one who has to take my boat around the world and guide it. It’s another stage in my career. I’m going to teach him a few things.
In particular, have you sought to improve onboard comfort (a little)?
It was very important for me to optimize life on board. As we’re going faster, comfort is reduced, so we’ve fitted out the interior to withstand the violence of speed. We’ve developed a new steering chair, which allows you to sit on a shock absorber. It’s not a luxury, but you’re safe. I broke two ribs in the last Vendée Globe when I was thrown into my boat.
This one, it’s even more powerful, more modern. It’s stronger, but it’s also stiffer. She goes through the sea very well with very long and powerful foils. It makes her go faster, but it also puts a load on her. Since then, I’ve been wearing a helmet, several in fact, which are different, and I’m really careful with my movements so as not to injure myself.
How do you prepare physically to be at sea for so long?
When I’m on the boat, it’s so hard that I’m tense all the time, to the point where I sometimes have trouble swallowing food. We’re so sheathed with deep muscles that we’re constantly squeezing to hold on and not fall over. Holding on like that for ten days or so is fine, but for two and a half or three months, it’s impossible. To prepare, I do a lot of weight training and stretching. I often do pool sessions, sometimes a bit of cycling, pilates sessions. I like being outdoors, so I’m learning to wingsurf. I surf too, even though I’m not very strong. They make great physical preparation sessions! When it’s calm, I go on long hikes with my girlfriends at the weekend. It’s my pleasure sport. It’s part of my mental preparation.
You have a 13-year-old son who will be on his own for three months. How will he live while you’re away?
He’ll go to school and do his homework. His friends are taking care of him. His dad also sails (Romain Attanasio, who will also be at the start of the race). She’s a friend who comes to live with me. She’s like his nanny! Well, maybe that’s not the right word, because he’s 13 now. But at each Vendée Globe, he’s had a very sociable life, with everyone coming to see him or welcome him. Friends, family… He’s always invited to friends’ houses! And fortunately so. Because it’s really hard to think about your child when you’re racing. My other child is my boat. If I want to perform well, I have to be able to leave with peace of mind, knowing that he’ll be well looked after, without us, despite anything that might happen to him.
Is it hard to leave him at the start?
If I say no, people will think I’m a horrible mother (laughs). But I’d say no, because I try to organize everything so that the moment of departure isn’t hard. Otherwise, I wouldn’t leave, I wouldn’t be right in the head. Afterwards, when it’s time to say goodbye, we’re certainly sad when we know we’re leaving for two and a half months. We made the choice to say goodbye beforehand, between ourselves. The atmosphere at the start of the Vendée Globe is a bit heavy emotionally. It’s a bit boring to be there on the pontoon on the day of the start. During the last Vendée, we didn’t want to go through that, so we said goodbye three days before and he watched the start on TV. That’s part of mental preparation, and it’s essential to anticipate it.