World-class Fleet Embarks on Thrilling Journey as the 2025 IMOCA Globe Series Championship Commences

Excitement is in the air as the 2025 IMOCA Globe Series Championship is set to begin this weekend, marking the very first step in the quadrennial journey to the 2028 Vendée Globe. The curtain raiser is no less than the enthralling Course des Caps, a non-stop sprint that sets the sailing enthusiasts off from Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais on June 29th, and then circumnavigates the British Isles via the northern tip of the Shetland Islands.

Participating in such a significant event is a prestigious fleet comprising 11 IMOCAs, all helmed by a group of four sailing maestros, including at least one female sailor in each team. An Onboard Reporter, or OBR, is also onboard each IMOCA, responsible for documenting and broadcasting the thrilling narratives of their adventures.

The Course des Caps is renowned as one of the classic racetracks in world sailing, presenting a formidable 2,000-nautical mile challenge. With fluctuating coastal weather, headlands, and tidal gates for sailors and navigators to tackle, the route is perpetually engaging. The North Sea adds a daunting aspect to the competition, with oil and gas rigs, wind farms, commercial shipping traffic and exclusion zones at key headlands complicating pathways.

Brittany-based British sailor Sam Goodchild is making his debut as skipper on a fully crewed IMOCA during this race, taking over the Verdier-designed MACIF Santé Prévoyance from Vendée Globe winner Charlie Dalin who is presently on a health leave. Goodchild shares that what makes this race exhilarating is the ceaseless encounter of challenges be it tides, shifting winds or the course going over 60 degrees North.

In another notable story, Sam Davies is leading a team on Initiatives-Coeur that involves the emerging French star Violette Dorange. Davies, who has raced multiple times on this track and holds the record for a female crew when she led Team SCA in 2014, warns of heightened difficulties as the North Sea sees continuous wind farm construction.