Born in England into a family of sailors, Sam Davies spent her childhood on the water. With a degree in engineering from Cambridge University, she began her racing career at the age of 24, with her first crewed round-the-world race. With 5 circumnavigations and numerous transatlantic crossings to her credit, she is one of the most experienced sailors on the circuit. She embodies determination, daring and passion. At the helm of her new IMOCA Initiatives-Cœur, built in 2022, Sam uses every race to raise funds for children with heart defects. Her dedication to this noble cause makes her a sailor with a big heart, combining sporting performance with solidarity.
Each race is the occasion for a major awareness-raising campaign during which the boat's sponsors use their donations to fund operations on children suffering from serious heart malformations by donating €1 to Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque for each new follower of the project's Facebook and Instagram pages.
With its "Les Chocolats du Cœur" brand, Initiatives offers sales of solidarity chocolates to associations, schools, companies, CSEs and individuals. These fine chocolates have been made near Orléans by the Alex Olivier chocolate factory since 1927.
France's leading manufacturer of aluminium joinery, the Vendée-based company K-LINE (LIEBOT Group) designs, manufactures and markets custom-made sliding windows and entrance doors for all types of architecture, both new build and renovation.
VINCI Energies is speeding up the environmental transition by implementing two major changes: digital and energy. Its teams deploy customised technologies and multi-technical solutions, from design to construction, operation and maintenance, at the heart of their customers' energy choices, infrastructures and processes.
With Initiatives-Cœur, Sam Davies is sailing to support the humanitarian organisation Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque. This association enables children with heart malformations to be operated on in France when this is impossible in their own country due to a lack of technical or financial resources. They are accommodated by volunteer host families. To date, 363 children have been treated and saved since 2009. The aim is to reach 500 children saved by the end of the Vendée Globe 2024.
