The Vendee Globe Italian Skipper close to finish

by Philippe Jeantot on 9 Mar 2001 BIANCHETTI DUE TO ARRIVE THIS WEEKEND
PARLIER AGAINST DOCTOR¹S ORDERS
The Vendée Globe is not over for some skippers yet, and Les Sables d¹Olonne is stirring again, preparing for the arrival of the first Italian skipper, Simone Bianchetti (Aquarelle.com).
Situated a few miles off Cape Finisterre and 460 miles from the finish itself, Bianchetti is due in this weekend.

When he does cross the line, Bianchetti will become the first Italian skipper to have accomplished a solo, non-stop circumnavigation. Simone has had to slow his pace up recently
because of a problem with longitudinal movements from his keel. He prefers to bring his boat home safely: 'A few days from the finish, it doesn¹t bare thinking about, having to
abandon the race so close to achieving my dream.'

Half of Italy is decamping to Les Sables d¹Olonne tomorrow to welcome Simone in on Saturday afternoon ­ including inhabitants from his home town of Cervio. 'I¹m not really thinking
about the finish, for me it¹s the end of one story and I shall start from zero again. It will be like a new start. I have so many things I want to do! But I have cut my hair and shaved ­ for
my mother! I¹m starting to tidy the boat up too.'

Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) is bending round the Azores anticyclone, between Madeira and the Canaries right now. 'Beautiful weather out here, summer temperatures, blue
sky, puffy white clouds.' This has given him time to reflect on the important things in life: 'I¹ve come up with a dream menu for my arrival: foie gras with a glass of Sauternes, steak and
chips with a fine drop of Saint Emilion or Medoc, a green salad, cheese platter, summer fruit, some fondant fancies, and then one bar of Lindt chocolate and one of Côte d¹Or with
hazelnuts.'

Dr. Chauve, the Vendée Globe¹s official Doctor, however, advised Yves on the radio chat to start with a more dietetic meal in order to rehabilitate his stomach from that of a Castaway¹
to a normal digestive state. Parlier didn¹t want to listen to the good Doctor, however, and he promised that he would describe in detail his daily menus of fish and seaweed from the last
few weeks, whilst eating the menu of his choice to all who could stomach it.

The other Italian still racing, Pasquale de Gregorio (Wind) should take secondary honours in a couple of weeks, as second Italian and second Open 50 to finish. Unable to sail on the
direct route yet, he is making steady progress, but tacking his boat at the mercy of the shifting winds: 'Today the option was to go about the eastward possible until I would have
found favorable winds. By noontime though, the dying NE wind forced me to tack back, squeezing us into a bare 0 degrees heading.'

ETA

Simone Bianchetti (Aquarelle.com) ­ 10th March between 1500 ­ 2100hrs French time
Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) ­ 16th March


Latest Ranking* polled at 0745hrs (UT):

Psn Boat Skipper Lat Long Headg Av. Speed** DTF***
1 PRB Michel Desjoyeaux Finish: 10 February 2008hrs 32 sec
2 Kingfisher Ellen MacArthur Finish: 11 February 2036hrs 40 sec
3 Sill Matines & La Potagère Roland Jourdain Finish: 13 February 1713hrs 33 sec
4 Active Wear Marc Thiercelin Finish: 20 February 1248hrs 49sec
5 Union Bancaire Privée Dominique Wavre Finish: 22 February 1858hrs 12sec
6 Sodebo Savourons la Vie Thomas Coville Finish: 22 February 2335hrs 0sec
7 Team Group 4 Mike Golding Finish: 28 February 0833hrs 0sec
8 Voilà.fr Bernard Gallay Finish: 1 March 0818hrs 11sec
9 EBP - Défi PME - Gartmore Josh Hall Finish: 1 March 1159hrs 2 sec
10 Nord Pas de Calais - Chocolats du Monde Joe Seeten Finish: 5 March 0857hrs 50 sec
11 VM Matériaux Patrice Carpentier Finish: 5 March 1643hrs 48 sec
12 Aquarelle.com Simone Bianchetti 43°13'N 11°11'W 47 6.76 446
13 Aquitaine Innovations Yves Parlier 30°24'N 34°28'W 33 6.79 1796
14 DDP - 60ème Sud Didier Munduteguy 09°03'N 31°38'W 352 7.39 2751
15 Wind Pasquale de Gregorio 19°30'S 35°53'W 10 5.66 4458