Laughter is generous, bright, enlightening.
On the state of mind of Samantha Davies.
Fourth (174 miles behind the leaders this Wednesday) with Nicolas Lunven in the Transat Jacques Vabre, the most French of the British is standing up to boats much more recent than her old Initiatives Cœur.
A good performance and good morale, confirmed by the sailor during our discussion on Tuesday evening ...
Le Figaro. - Your fourth place should you particularly rejoice?
Samantha DAVIES.
- We're super happy. And if we had been told before the race that we would succeed in racing with “new” boats, we would not have believed it. The weather conditions meant that boats newer than ours were unable to exploit their higher speed. The first few days up to Cape Finisterre were very calm and my boat goes fast in light winds. And I am with a double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro. As the start of the race looked more like the Solitaire than a transatlantic ... Thanks to Nico (Lunven), we had a perfect trajectory. We were able to be ahead and widen the gap with our direct competitors.
Our duo works really well, we complement each other, we get along well, we laugh
Samantha davies
Suddenly, we imagine that you are full all the time ...
We always said before the start that we would be full even if we were rather aiming for places between 5th and 8th.
We could see from the start that the situation was complex and that the scenario was not predictable.
So the goal was performance even though we don't have the fastest boat.
We give everything, we live it like a sprint from the start.
And it works pretty well.
We will continue in this spirit by navigating in the present, thoroughly.
How is your association with Nicolas Lunven going, do you often yell at each other?
(She bursts out laughing). You know him well, it's complicated with him… No, things are going really well, communication is going well, as since the start of our sailing together last spring. He brings me his strengths, he's an incredible sailor. And it is an honor and a pleasure to sail with him. As I know my boat well, I am more on the settings and he more on the computer for the weather. Our duo works really well, we complement each other, we get along well, we laugh ...
It should make you happy to find yourself in the race in the match after your retirement in the last Vendée Globe, even if you had managed to complete the non-classification loop…
I have great memories of my first part of the Vendée Globe until my accident. It's very good to come back and be in the game. Nothing scares me anymore, I know my boat very well, which is reliable. I want our story to end well for our last race together.
Where are you in the construction of your new boat?
He is moving forward but I try not to think about it too much, even though the technical team regularly sends me pictures. It's super exciting. And I am very proud that the project continues and that we can save children with Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque. The launch of the new boat is scheduled for May 2022, which will leave enough time to sail before the Route du rhum.
How would you qualify this Transat Jacques-Vabre? A fun, confusing race…?
I would say interesting in terms of strategy, because the situation is not classic, which forces us to spend time on the subject.
It is also a pleasure to be at sea in calmer conditions.
As we bombard less than usual, we can stick our heads out and appreciate what is around us and the nights under the stars ...
I love the Doldrums for the lights and the photos I take there, even though being there is a bit stressful
Samantha davies
You are approaching the terrible Doldrums, is it an area you like or not?
The answer is different with each race. There are years I love and others I don't, but overall it has never been worse for me than for others. I never won or lost much. In any case, I have a lot of respect for the Doldrums, he is much more powerful than us. It has that part of magic, the unpredictable and that mystical side that we love in sailing races. And I'm a fan of clouds. I love the Doldrums for the lights and the photos I take there, even though being there is a bit stressful.
Have you had any technical issues since the start?
No, our only problem is that Nico forgot his T-shirts. He only has polars. So I share my clothes with him. It's a little more tight than for me. Suddenly, he will take care of the laundry (laughs). In any case, it's great to have two for the maneuvers. It makes you wonder how I get there when I'm all alone.
No fear on board otherwise?
Two days ago, the Oscar system (
which is supposed to detect unidentified floating objects
) saved us.
There was a lot of wind and sea, we were under spinnaker, so we couldn't see much and there was a small fishing boat hidden behind the wave.
Oscar rang and I was able to push the bar to avoid the accident very little ...
