The only woman to compete in the last Vendée Globe is getting ready to set off around the world again, but this time with a crew and with stopovers in the Volvo Ocean Race. Sam Davies (above left) will be lining up at the start in October aboard the Team SCA monohull with the first 100% female crew to take part since the 2001-02 race. She will be back with her fellow Brit, Dee Caffari (above right). The race starts from Alicante on 4th October.
Among the seven crews taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race, Team SCA is certainly one to watch. It is the first time for more than ten years that a crew entirely made up of women will be competing in the round the world race with stopovers. Back in 2002, the American crew on Amer Sports Too, skippered by Lisa McDonald, finished in eighth place. This year, seven teams are attempting to follow in the winning footsteps of Franck Cammas’s Groupama 4. Among them, a new women’s team in which we find a famous Vendée Globe racer, Sam Davies. The British sailor has competed on two occasions in the non-stop solo round the world race. In 2008-09, Sam came in fourth after 95 days of sailing. On her second attempt in 2012-2013, she was forced out early in the race after dismasting.
“A lot of ups and downs”
Sam Davies will be setting off from Alicante on 4th October at the start of her third round the world race, her first with a crew. On board, she will be alongside Dee Caffari, who completed the Vendée Globe in 2008-09. The women on Team SCA were able to see what many of their rivals can do when five out of the seven VOR65 one-design boats lined up in the Round Britain and Ireland Race. Although they set the new women’s record for the course, Sam and her fellow sailors came in behind her future rivals. But things could be very different tomorrow. Sam remains confident, although understanding that the big adventure that is the Volvo Ocean Race is well known for being difficult.
“We have the advantage of having prepared well and have a solid team, but that also means that our expectations are high,” she said. “It is not easy to live in a confined space with other people. It’s already quite a challenge. Everyone has to learn how to deal with the ups and downs in life. And in the round the world race, there will be a lot of ups and downs. This race makes me dream, but it’s not merely because we’re a 100% female crew.”
Courtesy of www.vendeeglobe.org
