Bio - April 2008

Samantha Davies is one of the world’s most talented female offshore sailors. Born in Portsmouth (UK) she now lives in Kerlin in Brittany, France, in Brittany, and trains at the prestigious “Pole France” in Port La Forêt – a top level solo racing squad. Thanks to her parents, who now live permanently on a boat, Sam was brought up on the water and was sailing before she could even walk!

From a very young age, Sam has been drawn by the ocean. In the wake of her Grandfather who was a submarine commander in the British Navy, from whom she inherited a St Christopher that she wears permanently around her neck, Sam developed a taste for the sea. The little girl who dreamed of being a ballerina quickly became an accomplished sportswoman, with the bonus of a good education. Graduated with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from St John’s College, Cambridge, Sam is a modern young woman. She worships sailing legend Peter Blake (wearing red socks to bring her luck, just as he did) and also is a fan of Jonny Depp. Her sporting heroines are the British athlete Paula Radcliffe (whose biography she recently devoured) and the French swimmer Laure Manaudou.

Sam stands out from the crowd in that she has managed to become a top sailor without sacrificing her femininity (she adores pink, and accessories) or her humour (she has a yellow duck which accompanies her on all of her adventures!)

At only 33 years of age, Sam has an impressive nautical CV. She has become a specialist in the Figaro Class, in which she made her mark as the “Belle Anglaise”. In 1998, Sam attempted the Trophee Jules Verne (non stop round the world record attempt) with an all female crew led by Tracy Edwards aboard the maxi catamaran “Royal and Sun Alliance”. Unfortunately, the voyage ended in a dramatic dismasting. In 2003, Sam completed her first transatlantic race aboard an Open 60 with Australian sailor Nick Moloney. Between a 92 foot catamaran and a 60 foot monohull, Sam Davies also sailed across the Atlantic in the legendary Mini Transat race, aboard a 21 foot (6.5 meter) nutshell.

After four intensive years in which Sam completed four Solitaires du Figaro and two Transat AG2R races, Sam left the Figaro Class to take the helm of the IMOCA 60 “Roxy” in 2007. With a pedigree of its own, the monohull “Roxy” is the two-times winner of the Vendee Globe (in 2000 with Michel Desjoyeaux and in 2004 with Vincent Riou) under the colours of PRB. Roxy has been specifically optimised for Sam style’s of sailing and re-looked.

Her first steps on the polka-dot boat were crowned with a world record. During the Calais Round Britain Race in April 2007, Sam and her all-girl crew of Jeanne Grégoire, Miranda Merron, Alexia Barrier and Sharon Ferris set a new all-female Round Britain record.

In Autumn 2007, Sam completed in the prestigious double handed Transat Jacques Vabre Race with her friend and colleague Jeanne Gregoire. As the only all-female entry in their class, the girls finished in tenth place, and first “old generation boat” in what was a particularly tricky race!

The race back from Brazil, the Transat Ecover B to B to Brittany, France, in December 2007, was Sam’s first single-handed transatlantic race onboard ROXY. This perilous passage across the Atlantic in mid-winter, Sam’s qualifier for the Vendee Globe, caused many gear failures for the competitors. Sam dug deep. Her exemplary management of the boat, her knowledge of the weather, the mechanics and her sheer pleasure for sailing spoke for themselves. Despite the fatigue and challenging weather conditions, she finished in a remarkable seventh place out of 20 competitors, including all the top names in solo offshore racing.

Sam is now concentrating on her next major objective: the Vendee Globe 2008. More than just a race, the Vendee Globe is a voyage of a lifetime. Known as the Everest of sailing, the predominantly French history of this race has fed the imaginations of generations since its creation in 1989. The circumnavigation is the race in which Ellen MacArthur made her name. On the 9th of November, Sam, one of the only two women of the 30 skippers entered, will cross the start line of this single-handed, round the world race, non-stop and without assistance. Total distance: 23,680 miles or 38,107km!

The course is as mythical as it is perilous, rounding the three great Capes (Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leewin and Cape Horn), crossing the dangers of the Southern Ocean (icebergs, roaring forties and screaming fifties) and the high-risk North Atlantic in mid-winter. With a view to the Vendee Globe, Sam and her shore team have fully optimized the boat, notably with an installation of twin daggerboards, modifications to the deck gear, amongst other refit work, and a great new paint-job that has given the most glamorous of the Open 60s a new look that is quite out of the ordinary!

As part of her preparation, Sam will compete in the single-handed Artemis Transat race, the oldest of all solo races previously known as the OSTAR in May, which will take many of the Vendee Globe favourites from Plymouth (May 11), UK to Boston, USA.

Summer 2008 will be devoted to training on the water and also onshore, improving Sam’s knowledge of meteorology, mechanics, computer software, electronics and first aid. In a race as long as the Vendee Globe, Sam must be capable of interpreting weather files into a race navigation strategy (outside help or weather routing is forbidden), repair everything on board, perfectly master all the electronics and computer equipment (everything from autopilots to video editing and transmitting by satellite)…..Physical fitness is also vitally important, due to the harshness and length of the three months race. All of the skippers must manage their sleep, food, recuperation, and be totally self-sufficient. Above all, Sam must listen to her intuition, feel her boat, define her limits, assess risks, and go as fast as possible without putting herself in danger.

Sam’s goal is to beat her boat’s race record: 87 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes and 55 seconds. This time will be engraved on the deck of the boat, to provide motivation throughout the race.