Giancarlo Pedote in the Vendée Globe: "The Vendée Globe is a very complex adventure"
by Giancarlo Pedote 29 Jan 2021 11:43 GMT
29 January 2021
Since crossing the Vendée Globe finish line this Thursday 28 January at 12:02 UTC, Giancarlo Pedote now forms part of just a handful of skippers to have completed a singlehanded, non-stop, unassisted round the world; a group that is far smaller than those who have conquered Everest or been into space!
As a result, the skipper of Prysmian Group has fulfilled his remit, overcoming the numerous pitfalls dotted along the 24,365-mile course, surmounting the elements, sorting out all his technical woes, pushing back his limits as far as possible, preserving his steed as best he could and racing in the leading group from beginning to end.
Ultimately, he was the 7th boat across the finish line in Les Sables d'Olonne, though the final ranking will likely show him to be in 8th place after the arrival of Jean Le Cam, who has been credited with a time bonus of 16hrs15 after his involvement in the rescue of Kévin Escoffier offshore of South Africa back in November.
With this spot in the Top 10 on his first participation in the event, the Florentine has certainly posted a very fine performance - the finest ever achieved by a transalpine competitor in the race - a feat reinforced by the success of the inclusive '1 click - 1 metre' operation, which will enable the realisation of the three Electriciens sans frontières projects supported by his partner, the global leader in electric power transmission, telecommunications cables and energy systems. As such, the adventure rounds off in the most wonderful of manners for the Italian sailor, who has unquestionably passed a very important personal milestone, whilst affirming that he is an extremely determined, committed and robust sailor.
Giancarlo Pedote, skipper of the 60-footer Prysmian Group: "This return to land after a circumnavigation of the globe and 80 days at sea is obviously something very special. My greatest joy is naturally to join back up with my wife, Stefania, and my children, Aurelio and Isabella. They are what I missed most during this Vendée Globe. When I crossed the line, I saw these boats around me, but I didn't recognise my family straightaway because of the masks. The first of them I really saw was my son, who waved hello to me and that was a particularly emotional moment. In the end, I've finished the race with a strange sentiment: that of having competed in a local race. I don't know why. It's as if my mind has suddenly gone blank, perhaps to forget all the hard things about these past two and a half months. This Vendée Globe really is a crazy thing. It's an extraordinary adventure. To my mind, it's also the realisation of something huge after years of sacrifice, hardship, scrimping and saving... I'm really very happy to have come full circle because it's not a trivial affair. A solo round the world is a very complex adventure where you also need a bit of luck on your side. I tried to always strike the right balance in the right place. I realise that I could have attacked harder when I look at how Louis (Burton) or Yannick sailed, but they already had experience of the Vendée Globe. For my part, I picked up my 60-footer a year and a half ago. I set sail on the race without expecting anything. I set off with a blank page in a way and my conclusion, on the spot, is that during such an exercise you experience everything very intensely. The cold, the heat, the humidity, joy and sadness: you feel everything in its rawest form. With regards my result, I'd hoped to be able to finish ahead of Damien (Seguin) and there was very little in it at the finish. I'm a bit disappointed about that, but I haven't forgotten the fact that if I'd been told that I'd finish in the Top 10 within 24 hours of the winner prior to the start, I'd have signed up immediately because it was reasonable for me to target the Top 15 at the start. I've managed to come full circle in my circumnavigation of the globe and to race throughout with a fairly reduced budget and a small team who hadn't experienced a Vendée Globe before. That's a source of satisfaction for me."
Francesco Zecchi, Prysmian's MID Director for Southern Europe: "We are absolutely delighted and very proud of what Giancarlo has produced in this Vendée Globe. He managed to hook onto the leading peloton from the start of the race and remained there right the way to the finish. He has managed his circumnavigation of the globe very wisely and found the right balance and the right pace in the Deep South, which were unknown waters for him. He stuck to the strategy he'd outlined even prior to the start, namely to preserve the boat until he rounded Cape Horn. Back in the Atlantic, he was then in a position to attack more and that's just what he did. We're very happy with the way he sailed the race. He has demonstrated a great deal of maturity and professionalism, just as he did in the run-up to the event where he prepared himself well both technically and psychologically. Ultimately, we have grown together in this adventure, us as a company and him as an offshore racing professional. We have conveyed a very fine message through this project and with Electriciens sans frontières alongside us. The "1 click - 1 metre" operation has undoubtedly been a great success. We have far exceeded the objectives we set ourselves on that score. The response from our followers has been very enthusiastic and through their involvement we have managed to provide the association with all the many metres of cable necessary to complete the three projects announced. It's a formula which had already been tried and tested before the Vendée Globe and something we're certainly going to try to develop further during future races. This project is a very interesting device because it serves as a great platform for conveying messages and for getting our audience involved in the broad sense of the term. Furthermore, the performance our skipper has just posted is massive for us. We weren't expecting such a stellar result. Finishing in the Top 10 is remarkable for a debut participation. It's a project that has certainly required a great deal of energy, particularly on the part of Giancarlo, but today it has come to fruition in the best possible way. We're eager and hopeful for what comes next. We'll rapidly take stock with Giancarlo to consider what those next steps will be and continue to make plans for moving forward in Class IMOCA."
Hervé Gouyet, President of Electriciens sans frontières: "We feel a sense of great admiration and pride with the way Giancarlo has faced up to the various hurdles and elements that have made up his circumnavigation of the globe whilst flying the flag of Electriciens sans frontières. His round the world adventure, his performance and his commitment have been a fantastic source of motivation for the association's 1,200 volunteers, enabling them to move forward with the projects we're supporting, and in particular the three projects supported by the Ocean Prysmian Group project within the context of the '1 click - 1 metre' operation. Conversely, the actions of our volunteers have also been a driver in Giancarlo's motivation for overcoming various trials and tribulations and, as he's explained, the solitude. We will remember this 9th edition as a wonderful experience for every one of us, especially the end of the race, which has been quite incredible with the top eight skippers finishing within 24 hours of one another after 80 days at sea that have been action-packed right to the last! Thank you Giancarlo and Prysmian Group who, in addition to giving us help and support, have taken us on a thrilling journey."
127,000 metres of cable obtained through the "1 click - 1 metre" operation
Throughout this ninth edition of the Vendée Globe, Giancarlo Pedote and his trusty partner Prysmian Group, who are committed to an approach coloured by solidarity, have been continuing their "1 click = 1 metre" initiative designed to provide precious support to Electriciens sans frontières, an NGO geared around championing international solidarity, which is committed to combatting inequality with regards access to electricity and water around the world.
In total, thanks to the 127,000 'likes', shares and comments posted by internet users on the social networks (Facebook and Instagram) for the Prysmian Ocean Racing project, all 6,775 metres of the cable necessary for completing the three projects linked to this circumnavigation of the globe can be supplied to the relevant establishments, namely Saint-Charles Lwanga secondary school in Ziguinchor, in Senegal, the Farafangana hospital in Madagascar and the N'grouli and Bawelessi schools in Togo. To further expand on this good news, the industry's global leader in electric power transmission, telecommunications cables and energy systems has already announced that it will provide as many metres of cables as clicks, which equates to 127,000 metres, with the surplus being used for other ongoing and future projects with the aim of bringing electricity to disadvantaged areas and making the power grid more reliable in countries all over the world.
A few figures:
- Race time: 80d 22h 42min 20s
- Time behind the winner: 18h 57min 34s
- Time behind the previous competitor: 44min 00s
- His passage times:
- Equator (outward): 13th on 19/11/2020 at 18:24 UTC after 11d 05h 04 min of racing
- Cape of Good Hope: 10th on 02/12/2020 at 12:48 UTC after 23d 23h 28 min of racing
- Cape Leeuwin: 10th on 14/12/2020 at 14:37 UTC after 36d 1h 17 min of racing
- Cape Horn: 9th on 05/01/2021 at 01:12 UTC after 57d 11h 52min of racing
- Equator (inward): 7th on 17/01/2021 at 09:13 UTC after 69d 19h 53min of racing