British, French, wife, mother, solo sailor extraordinaire. Fourth in the last Vendée Globe, Sam Davies (Savéol) discusses the difference of being the only mother in the fleet.
Davies, as the mother of a 13-year-old boy, Ruben, is as determined as she is thorough.
All the fathers who are skippers will tell you the hardest part about the start is saying goodbye to their families, how different is it for this mother?
“It’s naturally different. I’m not saying he (Ruben) needs me as a mother, it’s more of a maternal thing and I’ve already been away quite a few times for a couple of weeks this year. His nanny says that he’s a lot more cuddly with her and my mum said the same thing. Really, I feel more guilty for leaving Romain (Attanasio, her French husband) for three months alone with him.”
But she admits that one of the hardest things is that so tight has been been the budget for this campaign that she will not be allowed to make video calls with Ruben. The communication funds are one thing that have not been met in the late dash for a final sponsor. Time has been against her, for obvious reasons.
“It was always agreed because Romain was the one that really wanted kids and I was like; ‘well, I don’t know.’ So, I said: ‘if you want kids then you have to promise to look after them when I go sailing’, that was more of us joking together, but that is how it is. Romain knows that I am who I am and there is no way he would want to have me at home all the time because I’m just too horrible when I can’t go sailing (she laughs). He knows and he lets me go, it’s my passion. He’s seen that, we’ve done Transats (they came fourth in the 2010 AG2R) together and he sees how it’s part of my life and it can’t not be.”
Davies is the most popular skipper on the pontoon, that is perhaps not surprising given that she is a bridge between the east and west of solo sailing; France and Britain. She grew up on the Solent and yet is now part of the magic circle of French sailors at Port-la-forêt. That does not happen just because you are nice person. Davies has a degree in engineering from Cambridge University and according to legendary French navigator, Jean-Yves Bernot is “very good at the routing” which is as more about physics than geography these days.
This is the first Vendée Globe that where there is only one woman in the fleet. The first two editions had two and the last four have had two, most famously, Ellen MacArthur, who finished second in 2000-01. It means there is much attention on Davies and makes it even more surprising, given how credible as a sailor she is, that she does not have the best funded campaign here. Somebody in marketing suit has missed a trick somewhere. As a competitor who has always been determined to be judged on her sailing not her sex how does she balance that female focus on her.
“It would be horrible if I was doing it for the first time,” she says. “But because I’ve already come fourth to everyone public and other skippers and race organisers that I’m capable of doing just as well as the others and that once you’re on the water there really isn’t a difference. But it’s nice as well because you have so many people behind you.”
“It’s like a mini victory just to be in Les Sables d’Olonne with a great boat and fantastic sponsors. Sometimes you almost forget the challenges ahead of you because I it has been so hard to get to the start. I would have like to have more sailing time - two more years - than what I have had. Sometimes I’m really happy but sometimes I’m really frustrated because even though I’ve got the experience from the last Vendée Globe I don’t know my boat quite as well as last time.”
But being mother has also given her new perspective she says.
“If he’s not there it’s fine, like he’s gone home now so I’m 100 per cent on my boat, but if he’s around, even if Romain’s looking after him, I think there’s some kind of maternal thing that no one can control that makes you have to give some of your time to your child. That’s not a bad thing because sometimes your whole life revolves around the Vendée Globe and I think it can get to the extent that it’s not healthy anymore. Also, when you become a mum you become a hundred per cent more efficient.” And with that she is gone, Supermum is back on the boat.
From : Vendee Globe
Credit : V.Curutchet/DPPI/Vendee Globe
Davies, as the mother of a 13-year-old boy, Ruben, is as determined as she is thorough.
All the fathers who are skippers will tell you the hardest part about the start is saying goodbye to their families, how different is it for this mother?
“It’s naturally different. I’m not saying he (Ruben) needs me as a mother, it’s more of a maternal thing and I’ve already been away quite a few times for a couple of weeks this year. His nanny says that he’s a lot more cuddly with her and my mum said the same thing. Really, I feel more guilty for leaving Romain (Attanasio, her French husband) for three months alone with him.”
But she admits that one of the hardest things is that so tight has been been the budget for this campaign that she will not be allowed to make video calls with Ruben. The communication funds are one thing that have not been met in the late dash for a final sponsor. Time has been against her, for obvious reasons.
“It was always agreed because Romain was the one that really wanted kids and I was like; ‘well, I don’t know.’ So, I said: ‘if you want kids then you have to promise to look after them when I go sailing’, that was more of us joking together, but that is how it is. Romain knows that I am who I am and there is no way he would want to have me at home all the time because I’m just too horrible when I can’t go sailing (she laughs). He knows and he lets me go, it’s my passion. He’s seen that, we’ve done Transats (they came fourth in the 2010 AG2R) together and he sees how it’s part of my life and it can’t not be.”
Davies is the most popular skipper on the pontoon, that is perhaps not surprising given that she is a bridge between the east and west of solo sailing; France and Britain. She grew up on the Solent and yet is now part of the magic circle of French sailors at Port-la-forêt. That does not happen just because you are nice person. Davies has a degree in engineering from Cambridge University and according to legendary French navigator, Jean-Yves Bernot is “very good at the routing” which is as more about physics than geography these days.
This is the first Vendée Globe that where there is only one woman in the fleet. The first two editions had two and the last four have had two, most famously, Ellen MacArthur, who finished second in 2000-01. It means there is much attention on Davies and makes it even more surprising, given how credible as a sailor she is, that she does not have the best funded campaign here. Somebody in marketing suit has missed a trick somewhere. As a competitor who has always been determined to be judged on her sailing not her sex how does she balance that female focus on her.
“It would be horrible if I was doing it for the first time,” she says. “But because I’ve already come fourth to everyone public and other skippers and race organisers that I’m capable of doing just as well as the others and that once you’re on the water there really isn’t a difference. But it’s nice as well because you have so many people behind you.”
“It’s like a mini victory just to be in Les Sables d’Olonne with a great boat and fantastic sponsors. Sometimes you almost forget the challenges ahead of you because I it has been so hard to get to the start. I would have like to have more sailing time - two more years - than what I have had. Sometimes I’m really happy but sometimes I’m really frustrated because even though I’ve got the experience from the last Vendée Globe I don’t know my boat quite as well as last time.”
But being mother has also given her new perspective she says.
“If he’s not there it’s fine, like he’s gone home now so I’m 100 per cent on my boat, but if he’s around, even if Romain’s looking after him, I think there’s some kind of maternal thing that no one can control that makes you have to give some of your time to your child. That’s not a bad thing because sometimes your whole life revolves around the Vendée Globe and I think it can get to the extent that it’s not healthy anymore. Also, when you become a mum you become a hundred per cent more efficient.” And with that she is gone, Supermum is back on the boat.
From : Vendee Globe
