Here’s Theta…

This Friday morning, as he makes headway downwind level with the Azores having just left the island of São Miguel around 70 miles to his east, Giancarlo Pedote is preparing to gradually pick up the pace over the course of the day. The reason for this is that the first signs of tropical storm Theta are beginning to make their presence felt by the skipper of Prysmian Group. “We’re preparing for a few quite lively hours”, quips the Italian sailor who, like his fellow competitors, has no other option than to round to the west of this weather phenomenon to avoid ending up close-hauled in boat-breaking seas. “We’re all carving out a wake that is kind of gull wing-shaped in a bid to avoid the worst of it”, explains the sailor. Even so, the end of this week will be boisterous for the competitors in the Vendée Globe, with winds potentially gusting in excess of 50-60 knots to deal with. “We’re going to have to hunker down. Once it’s passed us by, I hope that we’ll finally be able to make the most of the trade winds and that we’ll have a gentler descent of the Atlantic”, comments Giancarlo, having managed to get a good dish of pasta embellished with artichoke sauce inside him to recharge his batteries. “The negotiation of the North Atlantic is always a hefty chunk of the race, especially so with the passage across the Bay of Biscay. Sometimes, after what is always a tricky passage around Cape Finisterre, you manage to very quickly hook onto the famous trade wind and other times, as is the case for us right now, the situation is more complicated and you need to work longer hours to finally benefit from the regular north-easterly breeze. That’s the way it goes. You have to be able to stay focused, cope well with the fatigue and handle the boat as carefully as possible. That’s the name of the game!” concludes Giancarlo.