After her first offshore training session on Savéol - A 600-nautical mile race with five other Vendée Globe contenders - Sam Davies admitted it had been physically tough on her. But she is not the only one who suffered. « My hands and my fingers are swollen and sore! It was great but very physical, too. I was afraid I had been the only one to find the session difficult but then I talked about it with François (Macif) and I realized his hands were just like mine. He told me he had found it really hard too even though I know he was very well-prepared. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I haven't been sick at all this time even though I usually feel terrible during the first few hours I spend at sea every year », the English yachtswoman explains on her website.

Samantha Davies had a great time sailing on Savéol, a monohull that is more powerful than her previous yacht. « This boat is more physical to operate, everything is heavier, including the sails....  We have discussed this with Erwan (my boat captain) and we need to find a way to optimize my life on board: How am I going to sleep? Where? How can I stay dry? We may even change the galley's location! I really wanted to go through that training in solo conditions so I can analyze everything as accurately as possible. I'm very satisfied, even though it was physically demanding. I've realized I am able to operate everything on the boat, and that makes me feel great. » Hopefully, she can pass the great feeling on to her boyfriend Romain Attanasio, who is starting the Transat AG2R-La Mondiale on Sunday. « Sometimes I just need to go back to being a skipper's wife », she says. There is definitely no time for Sam Davies to rest.

Jean-Pierre Dick and Virbac-Paprec 3 are safely back from their first offshore training session, which is good news since others haven't been that lucky. Jérémie Beyou's Maître CoQ lost its mast and Vincent Riou's PRB hit a whale. Just like five other future Vendée Globe participants, the Larmor-Plage-based yachtsman competed in a 600-nautical mile offshore race earlier this week and the outcome was more than encouraging. « The goal of this training session is to become totally familiar with the boat operation. Right now I'm in great shape and I have faith in the boat's potential. Things have gone really well despite some tough conditions,  the "2011 yachtsman of the year" writes on his official website. We have made some little changes which, all put together, make the boat more reliable and easier to operate. It is very important with the Vendée Globe coming up soon. I am particularly satisfied with how fast Virbac-Paprec 3 has been, it is such an amazing yacht! » That is serious warning for Dick's future opponents...

The group of five is back on land. After a 630-nautical mile training race completed in 55 hours, Samantha Davies (Savéol), Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec), François Gabart (Macif), Armel Le Cléac´h (Banque Populaire) and Vincent Riou (PRB) touched port on Friday morning in Port-la-Forêt. The only missing skipper was Jérémie Beyou, whose boat lost its mast off the coast of Arcachon on Wednesday night. Vincent Riou was the first to talk about the very close race. « It can't get any closer. On the first mark, the 200 nautical miles one, you had four yachts in one single mile. 200 miles later, it was still the same! It's even closer than a Figaro race, the field is very homogenous and the level is getting higher and higher. One single little mistake can cost you a lot. When sailing IMOCA, a single error can cost 10 miles », the PRB skipper said on Friday morning. He was quite happy with his performance even though he had to face a setback when PRB hit a whale north of Spain, which damaged the leading edge, the keel and a centerboard. « Nothing was structurally damaged, it's just superficial things », said the winner of the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe.

While six skippers are attending a training session at the Finistère Offshore Racing Team, competing in a 600-nautical mile test since Tuesday, Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) is preparing by himself in southern France. 

The Herault-based yachtsman is currently in the region of Camargue to prepare for a trans-Mediterranean sailing that will take him all the way to Algeria and back. This is a project he developped with his sponsor, Groupe Bel, in order to « know where he stands » and to « train by himself » before the Vendée Globe. With seven months to go until start day, Kito de Pavant intends to enjoy the time that is left to prepare his non-stop, non-assisted round -the-world race because, as he says, « Time goes by so fast, it's crazy and next thing you know, it's going to be November and we won't have seen it coming. »

The six yachtsmen competing in  a practice race to Cape Finisterre in quasi-solo conditions have had a tough night with a 25-knot wind. Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq), Samantha Davies (Savéol), Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec), François Gabart (Macif), Armel Le Cléac´h (Banque Populaire) and Vincent Riou (PRB) have been forced to navigate visually in a very humid atmosphere. Guillaume Le Brec, on board with Jean-Pierre Dick, shared his experience on the skipper's official website: « The first night on board is always about getting used to being at sea, you have to get familiar with everything and dress, sleep and eat like a skipper. It's been difficult, we haven't had warm food yet. These are trivial things that become really important when the environment is so humid and you have a hard sea and a 25° list!!! For now, we're headed to the Gascogne Gulf in a 16 to 23-knot downwind. We always have the same yachts around us but the options linked to sails choice are starting to make a difference! Everything is fine on board! » The six skippers of the Finistère Offshore Racing Team should be back in Port-la-Forêt by Friday afternoon.

Can you dream of a better coach than a two-time Vendee Globe winner for a first official training session? That is what Sam Davies got during the spring inshore training last week in Port-la-Forêt, as Michel Desjoyeaux, who won the Vendee Globe in 2000-01 and 2008-09, gave her advice on her very first day of practice on Savéol. « I had a great coach on board: Michel Desjoyeaux. It was a true rite of passage for me as I had to learn things on my new boat (which rigging to use and when, the sails setting, operating and maneuvers, etc.) and, simultaneously, race against skippers who have had their yachts for two years already!!! Mich's presence on board was a huge help and I'm quite proud of my first solo gybe with 20 knots of wind! », the English yachtswoman wrote on her official website. Sam Davies is currently attending a training session featuring a 600-nautical mile race that started on Tuesday night, along with Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq), Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec), François Gabart (Macif), Armel Le Cléac´h (Banque Populaire) and Vincent Riou (PRB).