British skipper Sam Goodchild is celebrating his first win in the ultra-competitive IMOCA class after guiding MACIF Sante Prevoyance to victory in the Course des Caps – a full-blooded 1,800-nautical mile dash around Britain and Ireland.
Goodchild took the lead near Fastnet Rock off the southwest tip of Ireland and never let go, completing the race in six days, one hour and 10 minutes, with French co-skippers Lois Berrehar, Guillaume Combescure and Charlotte Yven for company.
MACIF Sante Prevoyance crossed the line two-and-a-half hours clear of second-placed Elodie Bonafous on Association Petits Princes-Queguiner.
“It was intense, non-stop,” Goodchild said at the finish in Boulogne-sur-Mer. “We started with no wind and finished with too much. It was kind of what we anticipated – a proper ride.”
France’s Bonafous, racing her first IMOCA event, finished 46 minutes ahead of third-placed compatriot Nico Lunven on Holcim-PRB, staking her claim as a serious contender in the class.
“During the race, I got it into my head that a podium finish was possible,” Bonafous said.
“Even mid-race, I felt like crying. I told myself ‘this is so cool, we’re having such a great race.’ So I stayed really calm because the race was still long and anything could happen,” she told the IMOCA class website.
The route served up the full British Isles menu: shifty winds, sail changes on repeat, and a drag race down the North Sea.
“We really had it all,” said Goodchild, who was standing in for Charlie Dalin as the Frenchman is taking a break from the sport due to ill-health.
“On the first day, we hoisted every sail we had. And even over the past three days, we haven’t stopped changing sails, changing conditions – changing everything. We truly got a full range on this race.”
For Goodchild, a former IMOCA Globe Series champion who finished ninth in the last Vendee Globe, this win adds another line to a growing CV – and confirms he is now one of the men to beat on the IMOCA scene.
The IMOCA class is a fleet of high-performance 60-foot monohull yachts built for solo and short-handed ocean racing, best known for marquee events like the Vendee Globe.
The Course des Caps marked the launch of the 2025 IMOCA Globe Series.
Next up is the 100th anniversary of the Rolex Fastnet Race later this month, the Ocean Race Europe (August 10 to September 21), Defi Azimut-Lorient Agglomeration in September, and the Transat Cafe L’Or double-handed race from Le Havre in France to Martinique beginning in October. REUTERS
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