Sam Davies
Sam Davies is expected in Les Sables-d'Olonne on Friday. The Brit ended her third Vendée Globe participation after being eliminated early due to a collision outside of the classification, but after a brilliant performance she can still expect a stormy reception. And a particularly warm one at that. The 46-year-old skipper of the "Initiatives - Cœur" heralded it the evening before by sailing a huge heart into the Bay of Biscay. What a beautiful gesture from the British woman who inspires a charity project for children with heart disease and who, in her own way, is one of the hearts of the Vendée Globe.
Sincerely from Sam Davies
SamanthDavies had big plans for her third climb to the summit. After the sensational fourth place at its premiere in 2008/2009 and the mast break in the seventh Vendée Globe Edition 2012/13, before the start of the current edition it was one of the expanded favorites, was considered a contender for a place in the top five and the strongest of the six participating skippers in the field of a total of 33 boats. But SamanthDavies' dream was broken after less than a month at sea. In a collision with a whale on the evening of December 2nd, her Imoca yacht was so badly damaged that Davies had to officially give up and call at Cape Town with cracks in the laminate of her keel box. In the South African port she was able to repair her boat within two weeks and decided to finish the race outside of the classification.
Yacht designer and very experienced sailor: Sam Davies on board her "Initiatives - Cœur"
More than 900 nautical miles behind the last boats in the fleet, Samanth-Davies continued her course undaunted. But it wasn't as easy as it sounded at sea. The optimist struggled with loneliness, severe pain due to broken ribs and the dream of a collision. "In the beginning, every time the boat sailed faster than 15 knots, all I could think of was the crash. And then I also worried about my boat, which had just gone through an extensive repair, theirs We couldn't test the result before I sailed into the Southern Ocean. There were always these doubts: Did we miss something?"
Rarely to be overlooked in the red "dress": Sam Davies' Imoc "Initiatives - Cœur" is already ten years old, but has been heavily revised and equipped with modern foils
On the way to Les Sables-d'Olonne and with the circumnavigated world in the stern water, Davies mused shortly before her return: "I love sailing and I love my boat. I thought it would be cool to cruise the world. But actually it was more of a really lonely affair. " Knowing that she was the last boat in the fleet for a long time made it even more difficult for Davies: "If something happens, I could help others, but there was no one behind me …" Davies didn't stay away from other technical problems either spared, had to fix her keel in the Atlantic, almost lost her rig, had to climb into the mast and finally sail on without wind instruments. But nothing could stop them from finishing their extraordinary race. On the way to the finish, she was busy making repair plans in order to be able to take part in the Transat Jacques Vabre in autumn.
Herz was and is her trump card: Sam Davies
See each other again on February 26th for the first time since saying goodbye on November 8th: Sam Davies and her partner Romain Attanasio
At the finish they will be expecting their partner Romain Attanasio and their son Ruben. Attanasio had successfully completed the race on "Pure - Best Western Hotels and Resorts" in 14th place. Davies also painted her big heart in the sea for her two boys. Davies is also received in Les Sables-d'Olonne by Isabelle Autissier, Isabelle Joschke, many other sailors and children from her heart campaign. Children, as Davies put it, "whose lives were saved by this Vendée Globe."
Romain Attanasio and Sam Davies: a couple on land, on the water as soloists and competitors