Giancarlo Pedote delighted to rediscover mild conditions again

Marked by the retirement of Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) on Saturday evening, he reminds us of the importance of staying vigilant right the way to the finish in Les Sables d'Olonne. "The temperatures have risen and I took off my T-shirt 5 minutes ago, which is a real high point! It’s 20 degrees aboard the boat and we're back to human temperatures, which is really something to celebrate. We still have a little bit of a short swell, but we’re coming out of the low-pressure system to the north so we’re getting some sunny spells with higher temperatures and the wind is starting to ease. Conditions are great. In the low-pressure system, we’ve had some upwind sailing, which was annoying because it was slamming quite a lot, but the reaching tack we launched onto at the end went well. With regards to Isabelle, I was in contact with her and I am so upset for her. It's hard to see her being forced to retire. She’s put so much energy into the race and, despite all the problems she’s had along the way, she never gave up. I'm very sad because she has given her absolute all to her project. We have to be careful all the way to Les Sables d'Olonne. We could hit a fishing boat 10 miles from the finish and everything could come to an end. What happened to Isabelle was bad luck because a mechanical part failed. To finish this race, you do need some luck on your side and you must be on top of your game the whole time, because the slightest lapse of concentration can lead to a problem. I always say that you can go from laughing to crying in a second. You must always remain calm with your feet firmly rooted to the boat.