Davies aims to impress as first group of SCA hopefuls set sail - Volvo Ocean Race 2014 - 15

Volvo Ocean Race - 4 Feb 2013
Team SCA are putting together the first all-female team to take part in the Volvo Ocean Race in over a decade and competition for places is fierce. The first candidates are sailing from Southampton to Lanzarote on a training leg and we caught up with Britain's Sam Davies to find out a little more about how the process is going.

 

Davies has an outstanding track record, having finished fourth in the Vendee Globe in 2008-09 before a second attempt at victory in the latest edition was cut short by a broken mast.
Her next challenge is to win a place on SCA, backed by the global hygiene and forest products company -- and that means making the most of an opportunity to learn from Volvo Ocean Race veterans including Sweden's Magnus Olsson and Brazilian Joca Signorini, who are acting as coaches for the team.

"This is an amazing opportunity for me and for women's sailing in general, especially for women ocean racers," said Davies before joining her team mates on board the repurposed Mar Mostro, the team's training boat while they wait for their brand new Volvo Ocean 65 to be completed.
"There hasn't been an opportunity like this since 2002 so it's fantastic.

"It's critical that we use the experience as much as possible, that's the fastest way to learn. It's great that these guys have agreed to come and coach us and teach us and hopefully we'll learn fast and not get too frustrated. We're really lucky because we have so much time before the start."

For Davies and the rest of the candidates, the selection process is as much about convincing themselves that they are right for one of the world's greatest human challenges.

"It's a two-way process for us," said Davies. "The managers are looking at all of us and we're testing it out to see if it is really what we want to do.
"I'm not the only one wondering if i'm capable of sailing the Volvo Ocean Race and if you want to do a project like this well you've got to be 100 percent convinced."

Team SCA, crew trial candidates, group one of two: Annie Lush (Great Britain), Carolijn Brouwer (Netherlands), Jeanne Gregoire (France), Klaartje Zuiderbaan (Netherlands), Liz Wardley (Australia), Sam Davies (Great Britain), and Stacey Jackson (Australia).