“I am what I am thanks to this quest for the Vendée Globe.” says Sam Goodchild the British skipper of Vulnerable.
Goodchild discovered the race in 2004 and since then has harboured a dream of competing on the famous solo non-stop around the world race.
He was only 18 years old when he 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.
Along the way he has made sure he has become the ‘complete’ solo skipper, sailing in a multitude of different classes and events including the Figaro Beneteau, Class40, Ultim and the Ocean Fifty.
At the beginning of 2023 Sam joined the TR Racing team, alongside Thomas Ruyant. And his 2019 Guillaume Verdier IMOCA Vulnerable is Ruyant’s former LinkedOut.
Sam explains that . . . “There have not been any major changes, but the team have tried above all to make it reliable to do things properly and maximize the tool. Also improving it ergonomically and in terms of comfort. In the end, we worked on a lot of details that mean that today on board it’s more like my home than someone else’s.”
And virtually since stepping into the IMOCA class he has finished on the podium in all the races he has participated in (Guyader – Bermudes 1000 Race, Rolex Fastnet Race, Transat Jacques Vabre and Retour à la Base).
Indeed he was so consistent he won the 2023 IMOCA Globe Series.
Last June on the New York Vendée – Les Sables d’Olonne race the skipper of VULNERABLE was dismasted but he bounced back quickly and came back to his preparation even more determined than ever.
He has experience of the Southern Ocean, most recently on The Ocean Race, but so far it has always been in a crewed, team environment.
Pragmatic, tough and talented and armed with a well proven, race winning IMOCA which was formerly Thomas Ruyant’s LinkedOut he hopes to be able to overhaul some of the favourites.
Sam sums-up his philosophy for the Vendee . . . “My general philosophy is to complete the race. I am not going to put pressure on myself and worry about being dropped before the equator and thinking ‘oh god the race is a failure’ It is about staying comfortable and enjoying myself.”
By finishing on the podium so often in his races over the last two years, Goodchild has clearly established himself as one of ‘outsiders’ to watch.
What are his ambitions for the race? “I want to be proud of what I have done at the finish. Yes I am an outsider and my role is to shake up the favourites.”
“We will see how it goes but I try not to let my ambitions for results take up too much head space. First of all, we will have to finish and therefore not explode in flight beforehand.”
Sam is a man of challenges, and in 2024 he’s preparing to take on his greatest challenge yet.
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