Sam Goodchild has almost surprised himself by leading the Vendée Globe after two days at sea
by Agence TB Press 13 Nov 2024 06:19 NZDT
12 November 2024
Sam Goodchild - Vendée Globe © Pierre Bouras / TR Racing
Two days into his first Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race, the British skipper Sam Goodchild is leading the record-setting 40-strong fleet, but says he's trying to keep it simple and is almost surprised to be at the front.
Speaking from on board his IMOCA yacht, VULNERABLE, while sailing down the Portuguese coast at a position about 110 nautical miles due west of the Portuguese capital Lisbon, Goodchild said he has enjoyed what has been an interesting start to the race.
"We've had a little bit of everything from the light drifty start and then we eased into it on the first night," he said of the first few miles after setting sail from Les Sables d'Olonne on Sunday. "Last night was quite hard work to be honest - a bit stressful - but I managed to get through it without any major issues, and now it's starting to get nice. The sun is out and it's not too cold or too hot - perfect!"
Goodchild, 34, from Falmouth, who sails alongside Frenchman Thomas Ruyant as one of two entries in this race by the Thomas Ruyant Racing team, was always in the top echelon crossing the Bay of Biscay. He tracked the early leader at Cape Finisterre, Charlie Dalin of France on Macif Santé Prévoyance, and then moved ahead as they began heading downwind off the Spanish coast.
"I took the lead south of Finisterre," said Goodchild. "I kind of made the choice to continue going down the coast while the others went offshore looking for wind again. I was kind of thinking the sea state was better where I was."
Right now Goodchild is over 20 miles ahead of Dalin in second place, with Ruyant, also on VULNERABLE, another 16 miles back in third position. Then comes Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa), Jérémie Beyou (Charal) and defending Vendée Globe champion Yannick Bestaven (Maître-Coq) in sixth place.
These sailors, who are all sailing newer boats than Goodchild, are now all heading west, or south of west, as they hunt for more wind to the north of him. The Frenchman Nico Lunven on Holcim-PRB was the first to take that option and headed due west even before he reached the Traffic Separation Scheme off Finisterre. Goodchild knows they will all be looking to hunt him down over the next few days.
"I don't think I've got that much of a lead, if any really, because already the offshore boats are going to come south pretty quick. Honestly, the fact that I'm leading is a complete coincidence and it's not really the aim at the moment. I'm just trying to keep it simple."
The British skipper, who was the IMOCA Globe Series Champion last year, is covering the boats behind him. "Yeah I'm heading west so we'll see in the next position report how I come out on the others. In theory I've got a better 'west' now than they had earlier. But the question is, have they got a better 'south' now than I had earlier." he said.
Goodchild said his boat is in good shape after some heavy winds and big seas around Finisterre. His right hand, which he damaged when falling off his bike five days before the start, is not causing him trouble, but he said he is having difficulty keeping plasters on the wound. However, sleep has been in short supply.
"I haven't had much," he said. "It was a bit full-on last night with all the gybing in 35-40 knots of wind and the fishing boats and shipping, so there wasn't much chance to sleep, but I managed to catch up this morning, so I'm alright now."
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