Transat Jacques Vabre: Sam Goodchild in the challenger's seat, and he loves it
by Agence TB Press 27 Oct 2023 07:42 PDT
29 October 2023
Sam Goodchild at Transat Jacques Vabre 2023 © Sam Goodchild
Currently ranked 1st in the IMOCA Class season ranking, Brit sailor Sam Goodchild takes on the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre from Le Havre to Martinique with excitement, and with the inner jubilation of a man in capacity to break every odds in a race promised to the new IMOCA designs.
His FOR THE PLANET 60 ft IMOCA, current title holder in the hands of Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière in 2021, has kept a steady pace of constant improvement and evolution, and Sam, under the wise and gentle guidance of his co-skipper, French sailor and naval architect Antoine Koch, been quick at learning the tricks and uniqueness of his 2019 Verdier design. Insatiable, Sam started 2023 with The Ocean Race, achieved three podiums in as many races with FOR THE PLANET, and now looks at two major transatlantic races, the double handed Transat Jacques Vabre and his grand début as a solo IMOCA sailor, in the return race from Martinique to Brittany immediately following the Jacques Vabre!
A fast learner, Sam Goodchild can rely on an experienced co-skipper, Antoine Koch, a renowned ship designer. Together, they belong to TR Racing, Thomas Ruyant's offshore Team. Two boats, four skippers, working together and sharing datas and experiences. What a better way for Sam to move up the ladder of IMOCA extreme sailing. The Transat Jacques Vabre fits right in the Bristol born sailor's program towards his ultimate goal, the 2024 Vendée Globe, a non stop solo round the globe race. Sam's story is one of choices and commitments:
"I made the decision to move to France to learn my trade. It's no accident. The reason behind that was to become a professional sailor.
A British sailor has a different way of seeing things. I have sailed on many British campaigns. They have different way of seeing things. But in offshore sailing, the French are ahead, so it made sense for me to come to France to learn from the best.
We have a good boat and a great race ahead of us. There are 40 boats here, so one thing for sure is that we will not be on our own along the 5 400 miles voyage. We're not going to be bored with so many people around. Some great sailors on great boats and some great sailors on slower boats. We fit in the middle. We've had a good start in the season, so if we could continue like that, it would be great. We do not put any pressure on ourselves. We're going to sail as we did since the beginning of the season, sail tidy, and clean.
A lot of miles ahead. The "back to base" race at the end of November will be my first transat single handed. The end of the year is going to be intense. Its going to be very exciting. We want to do a decent race on the Jacques Vabre, and then concentrate on learning to sail the boat single handedly. An exciting way to end the year.
I don't feel any pressure of being N degrees1 ranked in The IMOCA Class. The biggest pressure comes from myself, wanting to do things properly. There is no pressure sailing the former winner. I just try to keep things simple. On a technical front, yes, we stand where we want to be. We have done everything to learn the boat. We're as ready as we're supposed to be. With Antoine, we have quickly learned to know each other as well, it was not complicated, quite easy I should say. On the performance part, it is hard to say where we stand, with 40 boats around. Its the best event of the season and everyone is showing up in their best form, looking for the best result.
The idea is to enjoy those two weeks of intense sailing. This is the heart of our job, sailing long distances offshore. We work hard to be here. We'll have to work as a team. Double handed is stressful. We have to take care of each other. We'll have to dig deep to maintain a high level of competition. The race will be won by the sailors who make the least mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes and you pay for them. We'll have to make less.
We'll keep an eye on Tom and Morgan. We're part of the same team. We work together all year around. We want them to have a good result. And make sure we have no incident with them."