LETTING THE FOILS DO THE TALKING (FINALLY!)

At the latitude of Salvador de Bahia, a city that will obviously remind him of a whole bunch of memories associated with the Transat Jacques Vabre or the Mini Transat, Giancarlo Pedote is contending with an ESE’ly wind of between 13 and 18 knots this Friday. “We’re on a reach and the sea is rather smooth. It’s a pleasant point of sail and the boat is powered up nicely”, commented the skipper of Prysmian Group who can (finally!) exploit the true potential of his foils. “The idea is to make the most of the current conditions to make up as much ground as possible in relation to my playmates in front, who have latched onto a little more breeze than me in recent days. It would be good to be able to play catch-up. I hope the fleet will squeeze together with the doldrums so I can reduce down the separation a bit between Boris (Herrmann), Damien (Seguin) and the leading group”, added the Italian sailor, who is lying in 8th place at the moment some 183 miles shy of the leader. Within this context, some 3,900 miles from the finish, the die has certainly not been cast yet, as Giancarlo confirmed during an exchange with his team, and even if the fatigue is weighing heavily after two months of racing, the skipper is in good physical shape and his mood is relatively stable, “with some little highs and little lows”, as he says. As far as determination is concerned, that remains very much intact!