| Age | 35 (11/19/89) |
|---|---|
| Top performance | IMOCA Champion 2023 |
| Joined Imoca on | 2011 |
| Team | TR Racing |
| Base | Lorient (FRANCE) |
| Partners | Advens |
| Commitment | VULNERABLE - a campaign to change our perception of vulnerability |
He was only 18 years old when the British sailor sailed down the famous channel in Les Sables d'Olonne with Mike Golding, who set off for his first Vendée Globe. It was then that he decided that one day he too would sail around the world single-handed on an IMOCA boat.
Sam Goodchild grew up on a boat with his family until he was 7 years old. For the next 20 years he specialised in ocean racing, sailing on both solo and crewed projects. In 2005, he joined Alex Thomson's team, then Mike Golding's.
In 2010, he joined the Artemis Offshore Academy, which was created to launch young British sailors. He is now doing his first Figaro season. This British sailor often changes supports, from Class40 to Ultim, from Figaro to Ocean Fifty. It is on this last support that he posted some great victories and made his place in ocean racing, notably on Leyton, where he won the Pro Sailing Tour 2021. During the last Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, he injured himself on the column of his trimaran and quickly abandoned.
In 2023, Kevin Escoffier called him to participate in The Ocean Race on Holcim-PRB. So Sam took part in the first three legs, from Alicante to Itajaí via the South Seas, the equivalent of three-quarters of a round-the-world race. The experience gained was enormous for the British sailor who was just starting out in a 60-foot boat.
Just a few days after returning from Brazil, Sam Goodchild launched his IMOCA "FOR THE PLANET", ex-LinkedOut. The skipper, who intends to line up at the start of the Vendée Globe in 2024, is putting all the chances on his side, as in parallel to the stages of The Ocean Race, he will also be taking part in all the double-handed races, this time on his boat, with Antoine Koch.
2022: Route du Rhum - Withdrew due to injury (Ocean Fifty)
2022: Dhream Cup - Winner (Ocean Fifty)
2022: 1000 milles des Sables - Winner (Ocean Fifty)
| Name | VULNERABLE - GOODCHILD |
|---|---|
| Sail number | FRA 100 |
| Architect | Guillaume Verdier |
| Construction | 2019, Persico Marine, Italie |
| Former names | LINKEDOUT |
| Length | 18,28m |
| Beam | 5,85m |
| Draught | 4,50 m |
| Weight | 8 tonnes |
| Mast height | 29m |
| Mast type | Wing mast |
| Foils | Yes |
| Sail area max. | |
| Upwind | 320 m2 |
| Downwind | 430 m2 |
The Doldrums might cause a big shake-up at the front of the fleet and watch out for Charlie Dalin are two of the key messages from Simon Fisher as this fascinating Vendée Globe reaches the end of its 10th day.
•••You can see why Sam Goodchild is mulling over the issue of pacing himself in his first Vendée Globe.
•••The 2024-’25 Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race has not only attracted the largest ever field – with 40 skippers on the startline – it also promises to be one of the most competitive races in the history of the event…
•••
