After a long season at the top of the IMOCA fleet that featured three race wins, Great Britain’s Sam Goodchild is for the second time in three years the IMOCA Globe Series Champion.
The 36-year-old skipper of MACIF Santé Prévoyance, who hails from Falmouth in Cornwall, started by winning the season-opening fully-crewed Course des Caps. He followed that by sailing as navigator on all but one of the five legs of The Ocean Race Europe on board Paul Meilhat’s winning boat Biotherm.
Then, alongside French sailor Loïs Berrehar, Sam Goodchild won the Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération 48 Hours, before concluding a busy year with third place in the Transat Café L’OR – Le Havre Normandie, again with Berrehar.
It’s been a stunning all-round performance and it leaves Goodchild nearly 29 points clear at the top of the 2025 IMOCA Globe Series with 383.75 points. In second place is the Transat Café L’OR winner and skipper of Charal, Jérémie Beyou on 355 points, with the Rolex Female Sailor of the Year, Justine Mettraux of Switzerland, skipper of Teamwork-Team SNEF, in third with 319.50 points.
Goodchild’s performance has been all the more remarkable when you consider the fact that at the beginning of this year he had no programme, as he looked for his next move after finishing ninth in the Vendée Globe. But then MACIF and its management team, MerConcept, asked him to fill in for Charlie Dalin who has been taking a break from sailing after being diagnosed with cancer, and Goodchild never looked back.
A naturally competitive individual and a former champion in the Ocean Fifty class, Goodchild sails uncompromisingly hard and fast. A consistent performer, he thrives under pressure and seems to have few weak spots, excelling in both boathandling and navigation and tactics. With an immaculately-prepared and fast state-of-the-art foiler designed by Guillaume Verdier in his hands – in MACIF Santé Prévoyance – he has been the man to beat all season.
“I guess this is the sign of a good year,” said Goodchild of his second IMOCA Globe Series title, having won it in 2023 – his first season in the Class – with a handful of podium finishes. “Considering where I was at the beginning of the year, at the end of the Vendée Globe with no project and trying to get things going again, to end up here is unexpected. But it’s been an exciting year when I’ve learned lots and sailed with some cool people on some great boats.” He pinpointed the Course des Caps – a clockwise sprint round Britain and Ireland – as a particular highlight when Goodchild and his crew produced a dominant display, taking the lead of the 11-boat fleet on the way to the Fastnet Rock, and never being headed from there. It was the British skipper’s first victory in the Class.
“It was all very short notice, it was unexpected and with nice people on a great boat,” reflected Goodchild. “And it all went as planned and fluidly. And it’s always nice to start a project in that sort of manner, even if I had no idea what it was to become.”
In The Ocean Race Europe, Goodchild played a key role alongside skipper Paul Meilhat in a Biotherm crew that produced an impressively dominant display in a tough five-leg race. “That was another highlight – joining Biotherm and Paul and knowing we had the tools to do a decent job and give some of the top guys a hard time,” explained Goodchild. “And then it just never stopped getting better really, which was not what we thought would happen, and it was amazing and good fun to be part of it, again with a bunch of good people on a great boat.”
From then on, the season featured Goodchild paired with Loïs Berrehar in the Défi Azimut 48 Hours and then the Transat Café L’OR. The partnership proved effective and enjoyable for both men who are set to compete against each other in the coming seasons, with Berrehar in a new boat of his own.
“He’s obviously got a real passion for IMOCA racing and learning as much as he can until his new boat comes on line,” said Goodchild. “He’s hungry and that comes across as someone who is keen and has energy, and we spent a good time on the water and not only had good results but also enjoyed each other’s company.”
Despite all his success in recent years Goodchild remains a modest individual still grateful for the opportunities that have come his way. “On a personal note, the lesson this season has been the lesson of my whole career – you never know entirely where the next opportunity is going to come from, but if you keep your head down and keep working as hard as you can in the direction you can, then something normally happens,” he said.
And this time something spectacular has come his way as MACIF and MerConcept have chosen Goodchild as the skipper of their new Verdier-designed IMOCA being launched in 2027, with the Englishman engaged for the 2028 Vendée Globe and up to 2030. “It’s unbelievable – incredible really,” he told the Class.
“Even when MACIF phoned me to fill in for Charlie this year, I never thought they would ask me to continue with them, but it’s gone well, we’ve got on well and we’ve appreciated working together. I’m just amazed that they’ve asked me to continue for the next five or six years. I mean, a contract of this kind in the sailing world is unheard of and I’m incredibly fortunate and, in any case, I intend to make the best of it and do my best job.”
The Vendée Globe is still the big target after a first go in the 2024-’25 race that saw Goodchild lose places in the closing stages with mainsail damage. Next time he knows the pressure will be on. “When MACIF calls you, they’ve won the Vendée Globe twice and finished first across the line three times, with François Gabart and Charlie, so there is no hiding what the aim and objective will be with a new boat and a new campaign,” said Goodchild. “So it puts the pressure on a bit and changes the perspective a bit, from being an underdog with an old boat to being in a brand new boat with an amazing sponsor. But the goal remains the same.”
Finally, we asked Goodchild to comment on Jérémie Beyou’s season, which ended with a resounding win alongside Morgan Lagravière in the Transat Café L’OR. “Jérémie is always impressive,” he said. “He’s always been there and he’s finally got the first win in his new boat which is great to see. He’s someone I’ve admired since I moved to France in 2011 to do my first Figaro when he was dominating the circuit, and I have followed him closely and admired him since then. So to be anywhere near him, in any sort of ranking, has got a bit of a nostalgic feel to it and it’s a proud feeling to be in the same ballpark as him.”
And on Justine Mettraux in third place: “Sailor of the year and the fastest women around the world with a brand new boat coming on line and aiming for the Vendee in 2028, Justine’s been a dangerous competitor for a while and she’s only going to get more dangerous!”
Ed Gorman
