A complicated night. 

Yesterday afternoon, Kevin Escoffier, then in 3rd position in the Vendée Globe, set off his distress beacon (Mayday call). Jacques Caraës and the Vendée Globe Race Management team requested Jean Le Cam, Boris Herrmann, Yannick Bestaven and Sébastien Simon to reroute to provide the skipper of PRB with assistance.
Informed of the situation by his shore team, Giancarlo was kept up to date with operations to rescue Kevin Escoffier. For the past 24 hours, Giancarlo PEDOTE, has put his race to one side in the knowledge that he too may be able to provide help to the sailor in distress. At around 02:00 UTC, Giancarlo was informed that Kevin was safely inside Jean Le Cam’s boat. It is with great relief that he has since managed to relax. “I’ve been thinking a great deal about Kevin, his family, his team and all the people following his progress on shore. As I waited for a reassuring text message from Race Management, I could no longer think about getting the boat making headway. Like all the competitors in the Vendée Globe, I was ready to reroute for Kevin, but I was some 150 nautical miles from his position. It’s reassuring to know that back on shore, we have guardian angels watching over us day and night. The Race Management team is dependable and professional. Learning that Kevin ESCOFFIER had been rescued was a relief, even though I know that statistically these incidents do happen in the Vendée Globe, following them from the sea takes things to another level altogether.”