Cover Story Interview INTERVIEW WITH SELDÉN SPONSORED SUSIE GOODALL: The only female participant in the Golden Globe Race by Susannah Hart 2018 heralds the 50th anniversary of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's historic non-stop solo circumnavigation on his 32-foot yacht Suhaili. 2018 also sees the start of the Golden Globe Race to celebrate Knox-Johnsons' epic adventure. On the 1st July, 30 intrepid sailors will leave Les Sables d'Olonne, France to complete a 30,000-mile voyage, nonstop, alone and without outside assistance. Susie Goodall, aged 28, is not only the joint youngest skipper in the race she is also the only female following the withdrawal of Brazilian Izabel Pimentel. Susannah Hart caught up with Susie, who is sponsored by DHL and Seldén Mast, to find out more about this courageous young woman, what attracted her to the race and the challenges she faces. SH: You have been sailing with your family since you were a child but what is it that attracts you to sailing now? SG: I think it is that it is just so simple. You go out on the ocean and all you do is sail, life is just simple and straightforward. It's very in the moment. SH: Did you have a sailing hero or heroine when you were growing up that encouraged you to continue sailing? SG: I always admired Ellen McArthur. I was 12 or 13 I think when she came back after the Vendée Globe. She was so inspiring to me as there was this tiny woman who had just done this incredible thing. I just followed everything she did, so she was really my sailing hero. SH: What was it about the Golden Globe Race that attracted you as opposed to something like the Vendée Globe? SG: Well, I think I could relate to the Golden Globe because they are boats that I grew up sailing and I thought 'I know those boats, I'll just get one and off I go!'. You look at things like the Vendée Globe and it's probably like someone who drives a Skoda looking at a Formula One car – my boat's a Skoda and I've never driven a formula one car! I think I could just sort of picture [the Golden Globe] easily. SH: You are at an age where GPS and modern sailing technology has been around all your sailing life. How have you got used to the idea of not having this and coping with this challenge? SG: The way I grew up sailing, the boats I used to sail didn't have great technology so it was always paper chart and that sort of thing. Even in the last five to ten years it has not been ultra modern kit that I've been using and if I have tried to use it I am just totally lost, I'm not one for technology, I struggle with an iPhone. SH: So the lack of technology is less of a challenge than it could be? SG: From that point of view it would be more of a challenge if I had all the latest technology as I can't even turn the stuff on! So that was part of the appeal as well, it's simple. SH: How have your family reacted to your entry to the race? Was it difficult to tell them of your plans? SG: Dad's super supportive. He's the sailor. He will ring me up and say "Have you thought of this, what about this or that?" My Mum's the same, super supportive but it was hardest to tell my Mum because I am the only girl in the family. She wasn't so surprised but I didn't tell her everything at first though. I called her up and said I had been accepted into this race around the world. She was like "Oh right, OK". I told her when it was, but I didn't say it was non-stop and then slowly I drip fed the rest of the information so it wasn't such a shock. SH: What preparations are you doing apart from refitting the boat? SG: So training for it, when I got the boat I did a loop of the Atlantic to get to know the boat. Fitness wise the easiest way is to sail but with the boat out the water it is hours in the gym to be as fit as possible before the start. There are ways of keeping fit on the boat but it is never as good. Yoga is one of the best things. SH: For strength or for mental preparation? SG: For avoiding injury. If I do lots of yoga then I can do loads of weight stuff and not get injured so I am trying to bring that onto the boat to use throughout the race. It is one of my biggest fears, getting injured on the boat. SH: What do you see as the greatest challenge of the Golden Globe Race for you? SG: I think probably the mental side of it, as it's nine months alone. SH: What are you planning on doing to cope with the isolation? Susie Goodall © Susie Goodall Racing SG: Meditation and yoga are great for it, but I have seen a mental coach. She works with the rugby Seven's boys. This isn't something that she normally does. She is a trained psychologist but focuses on the mental side of [competitive] sport.We have basically gone through how the brain works, ways of coping under pressure and different mental techniques, tactics if you like, which has been super super helpful. Issue 7 >> 06
Cover Story Interview