Giancarlo Pedote: “Giving our all during the winter refit”

Returning in late November from Salvador de Bahia, the finish venue for the Transat Jacques Vabre, Giancarlo Pedote took receipt of his 60-foot IMOCA in the colours of Prysmian Group in mid-January. Indeed, the cargo ship transporting his steed and the bulk of the Coffee Route fleet only made landfall in Lorient at the start of the year, after several days at sea being tossed around by the vagaries of the weather. “We picked up the boat a little later than scheduled. As such, the start of the refit kicked off with a slight delay to the programme we’d initially set ourselves”, explains the Italian sailor, though he’s retaining his original date for relaunch of 18 March. “We’ll do our best to stick to the deadlines”, promises Giancarlo who, like all his shore crew, is sparing no effort in this Vendée Globe year. “Our aim is to make the boat increasingly reliable, repair any damage linked to our collision with a UFO (unidentified floating object) during the Jacques Vabre, as well as review all the boat’s parts, from the deck fittings to the mast, the running rigging, the standing rigging as well as the electronics and electrics. We’re hoping to undergo the most precise maintenance possible so we can overhaul as much of the boat as possible prior to the next scheduled refit this summer, which will be the last one before the round the world”, explains the skipper of Prysmian Group.