Sam and Sidney hug each other as Artemis Ocean Racing crosses the finishing line off Costa Rica. Image copyright Artemis Ocean Racing.
by Artemis Ocean Racing media
Sam Davies and Sidney Gavignet sailed Artemis Ocean Racing across the finish line of the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre, off Puerto Limon, Costa Rica at 05:50:10 GMT (23:50:10 local time) today (Saturday, 28th November). The race took 19 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes and 10 seconds with the final 25 miles proving slow and tricky in the approach to Puerto Limon. The Artemis duo raced a total distance of 5317 miles at an average speed of 13.17 knots.
It was a difficult and testing race for the duo who overcame adversity many times to finish the major race of the IMOCA calendar this year. Out of 14 IMOCA 60s that started the race on the 7th November, only 10 finished, with four of the boats falling victim to the strong Atlantic conditions that battered the fleet in the early stages of the race. The winners of the race, Safran, may have finished over three days ago but since midday yesterday the remaining seven boats completed the course, with Artemis Ocean Racing finishing just 18 hours after 5th placed W Hotels. It is quite incredible that after thousands of miles of full-on racing, it came down to just a few hours, in some cases, just minutes, separating these duos. Sam and Sidney have done themselves and Artemis proud demonstrating their sheer tenacity and determination to finish the race against the odds: “It has been a great race, rich in experiences, challenges, learning (sometimes the hard way!). And most of all a pleasure to share it with an amazing co-skipper Sidney Gavignet...”
From Sam and Sidney:
Sidney Gavignet:
“I am very happy we made it. That was the first goal. The second goal was performance and this time it was not so good. But that is sport, you can’t win all the time but we learned a lot about the boat and hopefully we can make some improvements.”
Sidney picks up Sam. Image copyright Artemis Ocean Racing.
Sam Davies:
“The finish was pretty straightforward really because we knew there were no more places to gain so it was just a matter of getting there. Weather-wise it was not too bad but in the final few hours we were going through a few rain squalls and shifts into the finish which was a bit tricky and we had quite a lot of tide against us.
“We managed to have enough diesel because we knew that in the last day we would have quite light winds, and when it’s light and shifty then you need to use the keel a lot and that is the thing which uses the most electricity on the boat. We had saved enough diesel to be able to charge enough to use the keel in the last 12 hours. We had really sailed ‘blind’ for a few days before in order to have diesel at the end! We literally turned everything off, even the instruments… We had a little swinging compass and just steering by feeling during the day to save energy.
“I would not have gone north [risking the 60-knot Atlantic storm] with this boat. No regrets there at all, especially when you see that one boat pretty much sank. We had never sailed with three reefs and when we did we discovered we needed four. We could not take the risk of going somewhere where there was no escape if things had gone bad. I definitely have no regrets there at all.
“It was really great to see the shore team again! It was a bit weird as the prizegiving was going on so not many people from the organisation were there but lots of local people which was really nice, especially given it was midnight local time.
“We are tired but pleased to be here at last. I’m really happy, I loved it! Whether it is hard or not, it has been fantastic and I am really sad that it is over - that is always a good sign that it has been a fantastic race!
“For me, personally, this race has allowed me to learn so much for my next Vendée Globe so it has been an incredibly rich experience. And sometimes you have to learn by making mistakes and we made mistakes… It wasn’t just the fault of boat or the mechanics, we made a few errors as well and that actually makes you stronger for the future.
“In one way it’s frustrating not to have a better result but in another way it’s almost a victory for future races for both of us, especially to have learnt so much together and for the boat as well. We had the time to think about how you could improve the boat and make her more manageable and we’re looking forward to providing all of that technical feedback between now and the end of the season.
“The most memorable part was when we were in the strongest winds, blowing 50 knots, and it was fantastic! That was a highlight for me. Another one was a few days ago when we were sailing downwind in strong winds and I was helming - Sidney was asleep - and the boat was out of control! I couldn’t deal with it so I called Sidney as I needed help. But just before he came on deck, the boat did a huge nose dive and a wave came over the coach roof and into the cockpit, and totally over my head… I was really scared because the boat was out of control but Sidney was just laughing, saying “You look like a drowned cat!” It was just one of those moments when it is really nice to be double-handed because if you were on your own, you would never even get to that stage. So it’s good to be able to push yourself to the limits, and even push a bit further, when you are racing with someone who is really good.
“It was great a partnership with Sidney especially when things were not going how you wanted them to, quite often that can strain relationships, especially ones that are quite newly formed. We haven’t known each other long so it was a real pleasure to discover we had a good sense of humour and patience. We managed to get through the difficult moments by keeping positive and laughing a little bit.”
Sam and Sidney are interviewed after arriving in Costa Rica at the end of the TJV 2009. Image copyright Artemis Ocean Racing.
Key moments in the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre race
Day 1, 7.11.09:
At 14.30 CET today [7.11.09] Sam Davies and Sidney Gavignet, started the dash across the Atlantic from Le Harve, France to Costa Rica in the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV). Artemis got away cleanly, crossing the line in 7th or 8th place, and were soon in good company sailing alongside race favourite Foncia and Veolia Environnment. BT, Foncia, Mike Golding Yacht Racing and Veolia hoisted their spinnakers whilst the remainder of the fleet, including Artemis, stuck to gennakers.
Day 2, 8.11.09:
Nearly twenty-four hours into the Transat Jacques Vabre race from Le Havre to Costa Rica, Artemis Ocean Racing is heading west out into a dangerous Atlantic: “Looking at the weather ahead there is quite a serious depression coming through,” reported Sam Davies to her shore team this morning. “The files show there could be 50 knots and although our ideal route takes us through that depression, it is not something we really want to do because it could be real boat breaking conditions. So although it’s the optimum route we’re looking at the weather to see what our other options are.”
Day 4, 10.11.09:
Ski goggles and full oilskins for Sam Davies and Sidney Gavignet as Artemis Ocean Racing powers south on Day 4 of the Transat Jacques Vabre. 30-knot winds and big seas are making it a wet ride onboard Artemis Ocean Racing. Sam Davies described the third night at sea as, “someone has left the washing machine on the cold rinse cycle!”
Day 5, Friday 13.11.09:
The storm-force conditions (55 knots of wind and boat breaking seas overnight) have inflicted further damage to Artemis Ocean Racing. Sam called the shore team at 1030 GMT this morning to report: “We have lost a mainsail batten (third down from the top) which flew out of the sail, the third reef pin on the boom has gone and our main Iridium satellite phone handset is broken – either water-logged or from the shock of the boat pounding through the waves.” None of the damage is terminal but the loss of the mainsail batten will compromise their race performance, and with 75% of the race remaining, Sam and Sidney considered making a pit stop at either the Azores (300nm upwind) or Madeira, 400nm to the south-east. However, Sam called the shore team at 1700 GMT this afternoon and confirmed Artemis Ocean Racing would not stop.
BT suffer severe damage to coach roof, boat awash, skippers air-lifted to safety. Three days later Hugo Boss retire after a collision bringing the total number of retirements to four including Brit Air and DCNS.
Day 9, 17.11.09:
Day 9 of the Transat Jacques Vabre and Artemis Ocean Racing is currently in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, around 2800 miles from the finishing line in Costa Rica. The formidable pairing of Sam and Sidney, sees the duo pursuing their objective of staying in the race to the finish! The sun has finally come out for Sam and Sidney but there’s no let up for the duo. Currently in tenth position overall, this morning Artemis Ocean Racing is sailing at 12-13 knots. The leading trio of Safran, Groupe Bel and Mike Golding Yacht Racing, hotly pursued by Foncia, have managed to make gains by sailing into stronger winds. However, Artemis Ocean Racing has remained a constant distance from nearest rival Akena Verandas, and with a high pressure set to bring lighter winds for the front-runners there could yet be some compression across the fleet.
Day 15, 23.11.09:
Into the third week of the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre, Artemis Ocean Racing and 1876 remain the only two boats to pass through the West Indies and into the Caribbean Sea, but they should do so later tonight somewhere close to St Vincent and the Grenadines: “We’re hoping for a little duel with 1876 but they are still miles ahead of us at the moment, but it is looking like they are quite slow and we are quite fast…” Diesel provisions run low.
Day 19, 27.11.09:
“We’ve only got 120 miles to go now, and still have some good wind in our sails”, said Sidney Gavignet. Expecting to be in Puerto Limon tonight, Sidney was glad to point out, “We won’t be very far behind the 5th crew in terms of elapsed time, which is positive and puts things into perspective even though the end result is obviously not what we had hoped for.”
Day 20, 28.11.09:
Sam and Sidney sailed Artemis Ocean Racing across the finish line of the Transat Jacques Vabre, off Puerto Limon, Costa Rica at 05:50:10 GMT (23:50:10 local time). The race took 19 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes and 10 seconds in total with the final 25 miles proving slow and tricky in the approach to Puerto Limon - arriving just 18 hours after 5th placed W Hotels. The duo raced a distance of 5317 miles at an average speed of 13.17 knots.
Artemis Ocean Racing
Transat Jacques Vabre
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