Congratulations to Samantha Davies who, with her boyfriend Romain Attansio, has finished 4th in the Transat AG2R from Brittany to St Barths in the Caribbean.

The race is big in France, although not well followed outside, and competition is fierce. The pair were unfortunate to miss a podium place by a mere 26 minutes, but it’s a great performance by the duo in a one-design fleet full of France’s top shorthanded ocean stars.

They were pipped at the post by Armel Le Cléac’h and Fabien Delahaye in Brit Air, who took 3rd place, but they beat big names such as Vendée Globe stars Bernard Stamm, Jean Le Cam, Yann Elies and Kito de Pavant.

When quizzed about what it was like racing so intensely for 22 days with her boyfriend, Sam Davies tactfully batted away the question. “At sea, to be honest, it doesn’t change much. First and foremost, we’re sailors. And a two-handed transatlantic involves a lot of sailing alone, but with Romain not far away.”