Sam Goodchild takes the helm of the Leyton Multi50

Sam Goodchild, Leyton skipper © Maxime Horlaville / polaRYSE / Leyton

Sam Goodchild is an Offshore racing specialist who has achieved significant success with multihulls and monohulls, both with a crew and solo. He has a strong Sailing background and his extensive experience has been acquired over many years.

A Leyton Sailing Team member since 2019, he was the Class40 co-skipper during the Transat Jacques Vabre (second place with Fabien Delahaye) and Sam performed extremely well at the helm of the Leyton Figaro in 2020.

Barely even home from his attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy alongside Thomas Coville on Sodebo, the British skipper takes the helm of the Leyton Multi50 for the upcoming season. The high point of this will be the Transat Jacques Vabre in October. Sam replaces Arthur Le Vaillant with whom Leyton commenced its sailing sponsorship programme. Arthur sailed under Leyton's colours for three seasons and finished fourth at the Route du Rhum in 2018.

Leyton is extremely motivated by the current dynamism of the Multi50 class and has confirmed its involvement in this until the Route du Rhum 2022. Sustainable performance is at the core of Sam Goodchild's sailing ambitions and the programme will allow the international consulting firm, which specialises in economic, environmental and social transition, to experience sailing onboard an exceptional boat. In both France and abroad, Leyton's purpose is to successfully implement a long-lasting sponsorship programme until 2028.

Caroline Villecroze, Marketing and Communications Director, Leyton Group: "In just two years, Sam Goodchild has integrated perfectly into our team, sharing both our human values and our vision of performance. His dual nationality is also a plus for us as it will help embark the group's employees on this adventure - not only those from France and the UK but also many others from the South of Europe and from North America.

Leyton started its sailing sponsorship programme thanks to, and alongside, Arthur Le Vaillant. He introduced us to the world of sailing and he has passed on his passion and enthusiasm to us. His commitment, his talent, his environmental-friendly attitude and his urge to compete have allowed us to bring the project towards an ever more sustainable performance. We are very proud of the work we've accomplished with Arthur and we thank him sincerely for representing Leyton in such a fantastic manner."

Sam Goodchild, Leyton Multi50 Skipper: "After a great season in the Figaro, Leyton made me an offer to stay part of the team. I accepted without hesitation because I am closely aligned with Leyton's values and I also find their sailing ambitions very exciting.

I have been extremely impressed by all the work Arthur has accomplished and I am very proud to be his successor. Racing multihulls offshore is an incredible sporting challenge, which demands hard work and commitment. I've been lucky enough to be part of the crew on several different multihull teams including Spindrift and Sodebo. These have been incredible experiences that will help me on a daily basis onboard the Leyton Multi50. The Class is growing significantly and I will be racing against many extremely experienced skippers. I am very proud to have this opportunity which will corresponds completely with my desire of performance and pushing the limits."

Find out more at leyton.com