The former Roxy is currently moored in Port la Forêt, but she will not be staying there for much longer. Sam Davies hopes to complete the sale of her beloved monohull in the coming days and we are likely to see the boat lining up at the start of the Barcelona Race in the hands of another skipper.

Sam, I imagine you’ve had some really great times aboard Roxy?
Yes, of course, but there’s no point in looking back and I’m pleased for her, as she is going to embark on some new adventures. If I was setting off again on Roxy, I wouldn’t feel quite the same way. Now, I’ve made the break, which is something I had to do, as now I know that I am capable of performing well, if I have a good boat and a good team, which was the case last time around. Roxy can no longer be a serious contender in spite of all her qualities.

How are your projects moving along?
I had dreamt of building a new boat, but for the moment it’s not that easy to get the funding together. That was particularly so last year, when it was really hard to interest sponsors. The time limit I set myself to start work on a new boat was 15th July, so now I’ve switched to the second option, which is to set sail aboard a good second-hand boat. I have found some investors, but we haven’t yet got the final budget together. We’re talking about a project with several joint sponsors and I’m looking for some more. I’ve got a few ideas and I hope they will work out in the next couple of months.

How are you preparing for this?
I set up a structure with Xavier David, who was previously the Roxy project director. I’ve had a lot of meetings and have been sailing a lot too: the Round Britain Race with Aviva, the Transat Jacques Vabre with Sydney Gavignet on Artemis and the Transat AG2R with my partner Romain Attanasio. All that keeps my bank manager happy and means that Xavier has been able to spend al his time looking for partners.

So what boat are you looking at for the 2012 Vendée?
I’m not the only one, but I’m looking at the new Foncia, which is due to be launched in the next few days. She is bound to be the most expensive of the lot, as she will be the only boat from the latest generation that is up for sale. Apart from her, I’m looking closely at the first Foncia, which will be back on the market after the Barcelona. Things worked out well last time with one of Mich’s former boats (Editor’s note : Roxy was in fact PRB, the winner in 2000 and 2004), so I’d quite like to buy one of the two Foncias. All of the good boats that will potentially be up for sale are currently lining up for the Route du Rhum or the Barcelona World Race. Even if I find the money tomorrow, I won’t be able to start sailing until next spring. So this winter I think I’ll be training on a Figaro or a 40-foot boat. That will make it easier to get through this waiting period.

For more info, visit www.vendeeglobe.org