Sam Goodchild_ the Vendée Arctique is not a race to be taken lightly

Sam Goodchild: the Vende Arctique is not a race to be taken lightly With four wins in the last five races, just about everything Sam Goodchild touches in sailing right now turns to gold.

But as the IMOCA Globe Series defending champion prepares for the third edition of the Vende Arctique-Les Sables DOlonne, what is striking is how focused he is on continuing to improve his game and maintain his level of performance. Speaking to the Class as he prepared for the race to the Arctic Circle and back, which starts from Les Sables dOlonne on June 7th, the MACIF Sant Prvoyance skipper talked about honing his basic skills that most recently saw Goodchild sail to a convincing victory in the 2026 season-opening 1000 Race.

For me, the Vende Arctique is about getting back into single-handed sailing again which, on these boats, is a fairly tall order, Goodchild said. And obviously we started the year well with the 1000 Race, and the aim is to finish it well with the Route du Rhum, and there is no reason not to do the same thing in the middle with the Vende Arctique. The Vende Arctique has a fearsome reputation after the first two editions in 2020 and 2022 that both featured wild weather.

Its a race that takes the IMOCA skippers - in this case a high quality fleet of nine boats - into largely unchartered territory, to a latitude in the northern hemisphere that is 10 degrees nearer the North Pole than Cape Horn is to the South Pole. This time the race officer has set an intriguing course which simply requires the skippers to cross the Arctic Circle at 66 degrees North and then return to Les Sables dOlonne.

Goodchild is certainly not under-estimating the challenge as he tackles the Vende Arctique for the first time, one of seven skippers in the race in that category. Its a race that goes into areas we dont sail in very often and that comes with its risks as well.

I think its a race not to be taken lightly&going that far north, he said. In terms of the meteorology, Goodchild compares the Vende Arctique to the opening of a transatlantic race constantly repeating itself: You are cutting across the weather systems, so its going to be very much like the start of a transatlantic race, but for eight-to-10 days in a row.

Its not like the Route du Rhum or the Transat Caf LOR, where you have a hard first 48 hours and then you are aiming for the Trade Winds, so normally within the first two or three days you get some sort of respite. This one could be relentless. The fleet features some of the most talented newcomers to the IMOCA ranks as they continue their build-up to the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe in November and the next Vende Globe in 2028.

Among them are Corentin Horeau on MACSF, Elodie Bonafous on Association Petits Princes-Quguiner, the sistership to MACIF Sant Prvoyance, Violette Dorange on Initiatives-Coeur, Ambrogio Beccaria on Allagrande MAPEI and Francesca Clapcich on 11th Hour Racing. There are also two veterans of the last Vende Arctique in Manuel Cousin on Coup de Pouce and Arnaud Boissires on April Marine-Recherche Co-Partenaire.

Arnaud Boissires is sailing the 2015-vintage VPLP Verdier former Hugo Boss and he says the Vende Arctique is a vital step for him on his way to the Vende Globe for a sixth time, having finished four previous editions, including 15th place in the last race in 2024-25. For sure there are three or four steps to the Vende Globe and the Vende Arctique is one of them, said the 53-year-old skipper who is based at Les Sables dOlonne.

The Vende Arctique is the first step perhaps and the second one will be the Route du Rhum. But it is a very important step to demonstrate to myself that I can go and do a very fast race and good race. Boissires was forced to retire from the last Vende Arctique not far from the finish line of a shortened course off Iceland.

He wants to put that behind him and talks of the new race as a chance for revenge. And its interesting to hear him talk about his boat preparation for this challenge. Its a long race and a very difficult one with very strong winds, he explained.

When you do the Vende Globe you have a lot of time with 50 knots of wind, but in the Vende Arctique it can be 50 knots either upwind or downwind, so this time I have prepared my boat not for the Vende Arctique but for the Vende Globe - its a good lesson based on experience. For Boissires starting from his home port makes this a special race and, as he continues his search for a new main sponsor, a strong finish inside the top-six would be ideal. I think the best way to find a new sponsor is to do a race, to show your boat to other partners and to other sponsors, he said.

And he spoke too about what keeps driving him after all these years, having first competed in the Vende Globe back in 2008. And I love pushing my limits in single-handed sailing when you have a boat that is a lot of fun to sail and with a good history. Ronan Gladu / Initiatives CSur Marin Le Roux / 11th hour Racing Goodchild, meanwhile, will be starting the Vende Arctique as the out-and-out favourite as he looks for his second consecutive victory of the season.

But that doesn't stop us asking the good questions because that's what offshore racing is - trying to do it better.

France 96 Sam Goodchild: the Vende Arctique is not a race to be taken lightly - - With four wins in the last five races, just about everything Sam Goodchild touches in sailing right now turns to gold.