The Vendée Arctique race came to a thrilling conclusion last night as Ambrogio Beccaria (ITA) on Allagrande Mapei snatched victory from the clutches of the longtime leader Sam Goodchild (GBR) on MACIF Santé Prévoyance in the very final stages of the race from France to the Arctic Circle and back.
Offshore racing can be a cruel sport – and surely nobody knows that better this morning than Goodchild. After leading from the very first night of the nine-day race from Les Sables d’Olonne to the southern limit of the Arctic Circle, the British skipper found himself trapped in a band of light winds blocking his path to the finish line.
In the latest PlanetSail video Matt Sheahan chats with British IMOCA skipper Sam Goodchild about what's new and happening in the high-tech ocean racing class as the top teams prepare for the next Vendée Globe race in 2028.
Last week I made a ‘trains, planes, and automobiles’ round trip to attend an update presentation on Giovanni Soldini’s Ferrari Hypersail project at the spectacular all-new North Sails loft in Genoa, Italy.
