Initiatives Cœur finishes sixth in Transat Jacques Vabre Imoca class

by Transat Jacques Vabre on 21 Nov 2017 Tanguy de Lamotte and Samantha Davies, on Initiatives Cœur, have finished sixth in the Imoca class of the 13th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre after crossing the finish line in the Bay of All Saints in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil on Monday, November 20, 2017 at 20:15:39 (UTC), 15 days, 07 hours 40 minutes and 39 seconds after leaving Le Havre, Normandy, France.

Initiatives Cœur covered the theoretical course of 4,350 nautical miles at an average speed of 11.85 knots but actually sailed 4,744 nautical miles at an average speed of 12.90 knots. It finished 02 days 00 hours 03 minutes and 53 seconds behind the winner, St Michel-Virbac.

De Lamotte and Davies, the popular duo, who finished fifth in 2015, and were both making their fifth participation in this bi-annual, double-handed Route du Café, fought back hard in this competitive fleet. They prospered, relative to their other captives in the Doldrums, as their easterly strategy paid out and they gained two places.

Davies, who grew up sailing on the Solent and has an engineering degree from Cambridge University, will now inherit from the De Lamotte, the Initiatives Cœur campaign and the powerful 60ft monohull for the 2020 Vendée Globe. The successful campaign supports the Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque charity, which enables children around the world to undergo cardiac surgery. The boat is a 2010-generation, but one that has been significantly upgraded with foils (it was Jérémie Beyou’s boat which finished third in the last Vendée Globe).

After celebrating with de Lamotte, her partner on the water, Davies will be back on the pontoon to see in her partner in on land and life, Romain Attanasio on Famille Mary – Étamine Du Lys, who is due to finish on Wednesday, November 22.