Top South West sailor Sam Goodchild unveils 'Team Plymouth'

(l to r) Nick Warren from N9 Design (boat graphics), John Sadgrove from Brooks Macdonald, Jason Schofield from Sutton Harbour Holdings Plc and Destination Plymouth, Dave Young from The Una Group & Sam Goodchild © Sam Joseph

With 100 days to go until 40 of the world's top offshore sailors arrive in Plymouth's Sutton Harbour, local yachtsman, Sam Goodchild is announcing that he'll be racing this year thanks to a group of city companies. The 24 year solo sailor will be competing on a boat called 'Team Plymouth'. Sam's hoping to promote around 10 local businesses and is looking for interested industries, many have already jumped at the chance to come onboard.

Jason Schofield, Sutton Harbour Holdings Plc / Director of Destination Plymouth: "We are very much looking forward to welcoming Sam Goodchild in Team Plymouth into Sutton Harbour this summer when La Solitaire du Figaro arrives in Plymouth. Sam already berths with us in Sutton Harbour Marina so providing support for him to compete in this challenging race was a natural extension of our relationship. We feel that Team Plymouth provides a fantastic opportunity to put the spotlight on Plymouth, Britain's Ocean City, to those in the sailing world in both the UK and France."

David Young, The Una Group: "We're delighted to be supporting Sam this year, as well as building Plymouth's profile as a great City to visit. We offer an unrivalled sailing venue for events such as the Amercia's Cup World Series, the Rolex Fastnet and others, which all help showcase our wonderful city. Sam is one of our top offshore sailors with a very exciting future ahead of him and we'll do everything we can to help him achieve his ambitions."

Sam's first race of the season is the Solo Maitre Coq that starts in Les Sables d'Olonne on 13th March. This is a warm-up for the main event of the season, the iconic La Solitaire du Figaro - a month-long, 4-leg race that will coming to Plymouth for the first time in the history of the race.

Sam Goodchild, 'Team Plymouth': "I can't wait to race into Plymouth's Sutton Harbour in June. This is one of the toughest races for offshore sailors and is incredibly popular in France. The sailing world is going to be focussed on Plymouth and I thought it was a great opportunity to promote the city and its businesses by having a local boat. I'm incredibly grateful for all the support I've had already and I'm hoping to add a few more supporters before I race here in a few months time."

The Una Group, Sutton Harbour Holdings Plc and Destination Plymouth are supporting Sam already. Sam's also had help from N9 Design who are working on the boat's graphics. These companies will join Sam's existing sponsors: adidas, adidas eyewear, Artemis, Brooks Macdonald, Pol Roger, Southern Ropes and Lifedge.

In last year's Solitaire, Sam achieved the best British result since 1975 after finishing in 11th place. He'd really love to finish inside the top 10 this year as he works towards his ultimate ambition, the Vendee Globe race in 2016. If you'd be interested in supporting Sam please email him and you can follow Sam throughout the season at www.samgoodchild.com/news