Sam Goodchild is the first British skipper home in the Vend\u00e9e Globe, finishing an impressive 9th in his first attempt at the solo round the world raceLES SABLES D’OLONNE, FRANCE – JANUARY 25, 2025 : VULNERABLE skipper Sam Goodchild (GBR) is celebrating with flares after taking 9th place in the Vendee Globe, on January 25, 2025 in Les Sables d’Olonne, France – (Photo by Anne Beauge \/ Alea)British solo skipper Sam Goodchild today finished the Vend\u00e9e Globe in an impressive 9th place, and first Brit home in the solo around the world race.
\nIt was a hugely respectable performance for the \u2018rookie\u2019 skipper, who only joined the IMOCA class two years ago, with Goodchild and his previous generation IMOCA Vulnerable duelling with experienced French contender J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Beyou on Charal for 4th place until the very last days of the race.
\nSam Goodchild (GBR) finishes in 9th place in the Vendee Globe, on January 25, 2025 in Les Sables d\u2019Olonne, France. Photo: Jean-Marie Liot \/ Alea
\nSadly for Sam and British fans, the mainsail on Vulnerable split in a 54-knot storm just days from the finish, which ended his battle with Beyou and allowed four more boats to overtake while he made substantial repairs.
\nHe finished after 76 days, 02 hours, 01 minutes and 45 seconds of racing, which put him 11 days, six hours and 38 minutes behind race winner Charlie Dalin of France.
\nImpressive rookie performance
\nGoodchild\u2019s first Vend\u00e9e Globe got off to an incredible start, leading for much of the early stages in the North Atlantic despite being on a boat which was four years older than most of the front-runners.
\nEver sanguine, he told\u00a0Yachting World in the first of a series of exclusive weekly video blogs, that he knew he \u2018wasn\u2019t going to lead all they way\u2019. Nevertheless, he managed to hold on to an impressive top five position as the fleet rounded the Cape of Good Hope, despite losing an autopilot at an early stage.<\/p>\n
Once the fleet entered the Southern Ocean his previous generation boat \u2013 which team mate Thomas Ruyant had sailed in the 2000 Vend\u00e9e Globe as LinkedOut \u2013 was outpaced by some of the newer foiling designs, but he rounded Cape Horn in a top 10 position.
\nHe chipped his way back through the fleet on the return South Atlantic leg, maintaining a high work rate and taking some smart inshore routes.
\nBy the time he passed Fernando de Noronha, he was locked in a duel with Beyou off the coast of Brazil duel \u2013 at its most intense the pair were just 3 miles apart as they passed the latitude of the Canary Islands, while a major front brought 7m-plus waves and 50-knot winds that the leaders had to pass through in the final week.
\n\u201cA squall came through, I was sailing with 2 reefs and a J3, and in a big wave the stern got picked up and thrown to one side into a gybe. The pilot did its best to catch it, but unfortunately wasn\u2019t quick enough. Because I was dead downwind the main did a quick gybe \u2013 broke all he battens around the backstay \u2013 and then when it gybed back again it just split it two.\u201d
\nGoodchild diverted east, sailing goose winged under twin headsails, and began a mammoth 48-hour repair, using over a dozen tubes of glue and sikaflex to patch the split sail together with a rigid panel in the luff. Despite having to contend with waves washing down the deck while trying to glue the panels, he was able to rehoist his sail and continue sailing to finish within the top 10.<\/p>\n
Sam Goodchild\u2019s Vend\u00e9e Globe
\nSpeaking after today\u2019s finish he said: \u201cToday again, I knew that even if [the sail] broke again, I could finish. So, I gave it everything I had, and it held up.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s true that [the damage] happened when I was competing for the Top 5, but in hindsight, I\u2019m satisfied.
\n\u201cMy goal of doing this Vend\u00e9e Globe has very much been achieved. I\u2019ve been dreaming of this race for 20 years, it\u2019s shaped my life. It\u2019s why I live in France, why I have a French family\u2026 Everything revolves around the Vend\u00e9e Globe, it\u2019s the common thread of my journey.
\n\u201cSo losing a place isn\u2019t so bad compared to what this adventure represents for me.\u201d
\nSeveral times throughout the race he commented on how he was pleasantly surprised by how much he was enjoying the race \u2013 his longest period of sailing solo by many multiples.
\n\u201cOf course, there were difficult moments, but \u2018cracking up\u2019 is not my style. And I just would not complain.
\nSam Goodchild\u2019s Vulnerable given a fantastic reception in Les Sable d\u2019Olonne after finishing 9th. Photo: Anne Beauge \/ Alea
\n\u201cDoing the Vend\u00e9e Globe is a privilege. Complaining about sailing around the world on these incredible boats is just unimaginable for me. My goal was not only to complete the race, but also to have fun, to enjoy every moment. When it was tough, I remembered all the work I had done to get there, and it gave me energy.\u201d
\n\u201cI was lucky to have excellent preparation, especially with The Ocean Race on Holcim-PRB and on Thomas Coville\u2019s Ultime Sodebo. So a lot of things were not completely unknown to me.
\n\u201cOn the other hand, I didn\u2019t expect to enjoy it so much. I thought it would be harder, longer, more monotonous. In the end, it went very well, except for the last three days, when I found the time a bit interminable.
\n\u201cWhat I found the hardest were the technical issues. These boats are so complex that there are always problems, big or small.
\n\u201cYou have to constantly arbitrate: how far can you push the boat? When should you stop to repair? This constant technical aspect, look after the boat was the real headache. Sometimes, I climbed the mast just to check that everything was okay. That\u2019s clearly what I found the most trying in this Vend\u00e9e Globe.\u201d
\nBest British performance
\nGoodchild, who turned 35 during the race, is British born, though for much of his childhood his family lived aboard his parents\u2019 cruising yacht, including spending time in the Caribbean island of Grenada.
\nHe was one of the star graduates of the Artemis Offshore Academy, which was created with the aim of finding young British talent who could excel in the French offshore racing world. Having proven himself in the Figaro class and Classe 40 fleets, he skippered a very competitive Multi 50 campaign and also crewed for Ultim trimarans such as Sodebo.
\nAs part of his IMOCA preparations Sam Goodchild sailed with Holcim-PRB in The Ocean Race, finishing fourth, and also scored a consistent clutch of 3rd places in short-handed IMOCA events with his own Vulnerable. \u00a0The Vulnerable program was unique as a two-boat campaign with Goodchild and Thomas Ruyant, sailing a newer Antoine Koch-Finot Conq design, who finished 7th.
\nHe will surely be a strong British candidate for the 2028 Vend\u00e9e Globe on the back of his impressive performance an experience gained in this race.
\nThe post Sam Goodchild finishes first Brit in Vend\u00e9e Globe with impressive 9th appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sam Goodchild is the first British skipper home in the Vend\u00e9e Globe, finishing an impressive 9th in his first attempt at the solo round the world raceLES SABLES D’OLONNE, FRANCE – JANUARY 25, 2025 : VULNERABLE skipper Sam Goodchild (GBR) … <\/p>\n