Vendée Globe: one month until the big day
by Giancarlo Pedote 8 Oct 2020 17:07 BST
8 November 2020
L'IMOCA Prysmian Group © Jean-Marie Liot
On 8 November 2020, in exactly one month's time, the 33 competitors signed up for the Vendée Globe will set sail on this legendary race around the world.
An adventure, a voyage, as well as one of the most complicated competitions in offshore racing, the Vendée Globe really gets the imagination going. For the Italian sailor Giancarlo Pedote, it's also the result of a long history with Prysmian Group, which began some 13 years ago with the Mini 6.50.
A mixture of impatience and doubt
Giancarlo Pedote's IMOCA is now thoroughly reliable. Fourth in the last Vendée Globe in 2016, with Jean-Pierre Dick, the boat has been made even more reliable for her Italian skipper in a bid to instil confidence going forward: "With one month till the start, I'm feeling in good shape. It's quite strange, because I've been imagining this moment for a number of years and the closer I get to the start, the keener I am to get out there and grow in stature. I'm looking forward to crossing the start line and setting off on the Everest of the Seas!" Though Giancarlo Pedote, who graduated in philosophy in Florence, loves voyages and discovering new horizons, he's also a born competitor. A former boxer, he'll be taking the start of the Vendée Globe with the aim of slugging it out with the world's best sailors: "I don't feel stressed or all worked up. I'm just focused on satisfying the main goal I've set myself: to complete the Vendée Globe and feel like it's a job well done."
Safety is entrusted to a new official supplier: Raymarine
Giancarlo Pedote and his team have been working with a series of objectives throughout the year. The issue of safety is a hot topic for the Prysmian Group team, which is now relying on the collaboration of a new technical supplier: Raymarine "Since 2019, and the start of the Vendée Globe 2020 campaign, I've been lucky enough to work on and build up a good relationship with our technical sponsors. Certain issues like safety and comfort are crucial during a singlehanded round the world race, i.e. the comfort of the clothing (Helly Hansen), the dependability of the energy produced by the engine (Lombardini) and the reliability of the lines (Gottiredi Maffioli). Through sharing, passing on experience and being a part of this upcoming adventure around the world, Raymarine is taking on the role of technical partner, and in that capacity we've studied solutions, which are primarily linked to safety.
In this way, the Imoca Prysmian Group is now equipped with an extremely effective radar and control screen (Quantum 2 and Axiom), which enables her to navigate the globe in complete safety. These two instruments will warn me of all the boats in the vicinity, even those which aren't using AIS. Being able to rely on a tool that is on constant look-out is essential on these Formula 1s of the seas.
Moreover, the radars also enable me to pinpoint any icebergs, which will be very useful in the deep south. In a bid to improve the level of comfort, I've kitted my boat out with two cameras, which will enable me to trim the sails in the quest for enhanced performance.
To my mind, this Round the World race is a great opportunity to work on the reliability of the products sold to countless sailors with the aim of further developing and improving them". "The precision, innovation and above all the passion for the sea which Giancarlo instils in this company fully reflect the values Raymarine subscribes to. That's why we're very proud to be on board Prysmian Group as her technical partner and to be able to support the only Italian in the race in the upcoming Vendée Globe", says Carlo Baj, Country Manager of Raymarine Italia.
Racing for a good cause
The Vendée Globe is a singlehanded race of course, but first and foremost it is a human adventure: "To my mind, these boats are a symbol of maritime technology. They enable a circumnavigation of the globe in 'competition' mode in 80 days". The media exposure from the Vendée Globe will also serve as a way to shine a spotlight on environmental or societal causes. "For this reason, we're promoting the project '1 click = 1 metre' on our social networks." Thanks to this project, Prysmian Group is committed to providing 1 metre of cable to the Électriciens sans frontières (Electricians without borders) association for each reaction (like, share, comment) from Internet users on one of the publications associated with the project's Facebook pages and Instagram.
In this way, three projects will be supported during Giancarlo's Vendée Globe on Prysmian Group:
- An educational project: enabling the Saint Charles secondary school in Senegal to have access to electricity
- A health project: supplying the Farafangana hospital in Madagascar with electricity
- An educational project and training in Togo: bringing light to the schools of N'grouli and Bawelessi
This approach has been made possible thanks to Prysmian Group's commitment alongside Giancarlo for the past 13 years.