Update November 24: Sam Goodchild is in third place in the Vendée Globe race. It is estimated to last until the last week of February or the first week of March.
Sam Goodchild’s background is far from conventional.
He was brought up by British parents on a 35-foot wooden boat in the Caribbean, alongside his sister and brother.
Apart from a couple of years in the Isles of Scilly and five years in a house in Grenada, Sam’s childhood was mostly spent on the waves, and that’s still where he feels most at home.
“I was always outdoorsy; some might say obsessed! I remember a careers teacher at school explaining the various degree courses I could choose from, and I told him that a company wanted to employ me to do sailing: I was hell-bent on becoming a sailor.”
Sam spent weekends and holidays doing odd jobs on various boats, from painting hulls to helping move them to new moorings.
Having become part of the British Keelboat Academy, he heard that established sailor Alex Thomson was looking for two youngsters to join him on round-the-world sailing trips for clients of his sponsor, Hugo Boss.
Sam applied, secured one of the places and took his first trip from Portsmouth to Canada.
“After that, I did a lot of project hopping, getting opportunities and experience, doing everything from terrible jobs for free to great projects that were paid. I was young with no overheads, so it was all about getting experience.
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Vendée Globe preparations
“At the end of 2010, aged 20, I came to France for training, and joined an academy supporting youngsters to get into offshore racing. Then in 2012 I joined Alex Thomson again as he trained for the Vendée Globe.”
France has since become home for Sam, who has learned French, married a Frenchwoman, Julie, and become a father.
He worked his way up from being a shore-side assistant to skippering his own campaigns on the ultra-competitive solo Figaro circuit, then gathering open-ocean racing experience in the Class 40 and Ocean Fifty classes.
In 2022, he was a favourite to win the Ocean Fifty class on the solo Route du Rhum, but after equipment malfunction led to injury, he was forced out of the race. However, in his debut year, he achieved five consecutive podium finishes in his first five races.
He is sponsored by cyber security firm, Advens, whose motto ‘Embrace your vulnerability’ inspired the name of his boat: Vulnerable.
The Vendée Globe is his biggest challenge yet.
“It will be a huge,” Sam admits.
“Listening to those who have already done the Vendée Globe, the mental experience is probably the toughest aspect as you’re spending three months alone. So far, the longest I’ve spent alone is 12 days.”
In the weeks leading up to the start, the 34-year-old spent time with the team learning how to make repairs on the boat if anything breaks, and working with a sports psychologist, sleep specialist and nutritionist.
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Setting off around the world
Mr Goodchild arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne on October 20 for his last-minute preparations before setting off around the world on November 10 at 13:02.
“Once you set off, you can’t touch land or go above the high water line. No one else can come aboard to help or make repairs, so the more you know about your boat, the stronger your chances of overcoming whatever might arise.
“Because you can’t stop, you have to grab sleep using an autopilot with an alarm system connected to hundreds of captors set to certain parameters: wake me up if this or that happens.
There’s so much to do, you have to prioritise speed or sleep or getting past the weather: choosing the right priorities is probably what makes a good offshore sailor.”
Competitors have to be extremely driven to take on this sort of challenge, he admits.
“Things can’t always go to plan, so you learn to push through the hardships. My whole life has been dedicated to this. I've wanted to do the Vendée Globe for about 20 years, gradually following the steps to get here, and between the highs and lows, it’s the highs that you remember more.
“I’m extremely lucky to have a job in a sport that I’m passionate about. It’s taught me a lot of life lessons, and I love sharing it with people, especially those who don’t know anything about the world of sailing.”
Sam is a spokesperson for ‘Team for the Planet’, a collective that harnesses the power of top-level sport to fight climate change.
He posts regular updates on the race, and celebrated his 35th birthday with readers on November 19 from the mid-Atlantic.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge and some people ask why on earth anyone would choose to put themselves through it.
“I’d say that it’s like the Everest of offshore sailing: sailing round the world on your own, it’s crazy, impossible but it’s also the pinnacle - I’ve got to do that!”
Follow Sam on Facebook at facebook.com/samgoodchildracing/ or Instagram via @goodchildsam.
FACT FILE: SAM GOODCHILD
DOB: 19/11/1989
Family status: married, two daughters
Based in: Lorient
Favourite music: chilled
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
BOAT DETAILS
Name: Vulnerable
Architect : Guillaume Verdier
Construction : 2019, Persico Marine, Italie
Launch date : 07 Juillet 2019
Length : 18.28m
Beam : 5.85m
Draught : 4.50m
Weight : 8t
Mast height : 29m
Upwind sail area : 320m2
Downwind sail area : 430m2
