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Sailing: Samantha Davies also gives up at the Vendee Globe

2020-12-07T07:18:57.095Z


She had tried everything for three days, but the damage to the boat was too severe: Samantha Davies has to give up the Vendée Globe - but later wants to continue the route for a good cause out of competition.


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Samantha Davies

Photo: LOIC VENANCE / AFP

Samantha Davies started the Vendée Globe with great ambitions, so her disappointment is all the greater: The 46-year-old British woman had to give up what is probably the toughest sailing regatta after about a third of the route.

A collision with an unknown drifting object had damaged her yacht too badly - after three days of attempting to repair it did not go on.

In the current edition of the Vendée Globe, hers is the fifth boat that had to give up prematurely.

Davies was the most experienced of only six women among 33 participants who started the one-handed circumnavigation.

Some had given her a place in the top three - in its 30-year history so far, only one woman had succeeded in 2001 with Ellen MacArthur, also a British woman.

For Davies it was the third Vendée participation and also the second failure.

After finishing fourth in 2008/2009, she had to give up in 2012/2013 with a broken mast.

This time, during the night in rough seas, she had collided with an unknown object - this could be a whale or containers floating below the surface.

"It was like ramming a rock," she said, as the boat slowed from 20 knots to zero.

Everything, including her and the dinner, flew forward in the boat.

"When that happened to me, I thought I was going to die." After the first shock, she would have thought about giving up sailing, but then again thought: "This is stupid, this is nonsense to stop, I don't want to do that."

However, she quickly noticed that there was something worse about the boat: there were cracks on the keel.

Water penetrated inside.

You have now assessed the damage, she said in a video message.

"Unfortunately, I was forced to choose the task." She could not carry out the necessary repairs without help and it was "very sad that the Vendée ends for me like this."

Davies has now entered the port of Cape Town and wants to have her boat repaired there.

If the condition of the boat then allows, she wants to continue the circumnavigation despite the disqualification - then out of competition, because outside help, even for repairs, the skippers at the Vendée are not allowed to accept.

"I would like to continue my journey around the world to help even more children." With her commitment, Davies is promoting the 1 click = 1 heart campaign, which funds essential operations for children with heart disease.

According to the campaign, 28 children were helped during the race.

In the current edition of the Vendée Globe, Davies is already the fifth skipper to give up prematurely.

Before her, Nicolas Troussel (broken mast), Kevin Escoffier (shipwreck), Alex Thomson (broken rudder) and Sebastien Simon (wing and rudder damaged) were eliminated.

On average over the past editions, only a little over half of the boats managed to successfully complete the regatta.

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Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2020-12-07

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