A clean getaway for the Vendée Arctique Les Sables d’Olonne!

This Saturday afternoon, off Les Sables d’Olonne, the 20 solo skippers competing in the first post Covid-19 IMOCA race, set sail on a long looped circuit of the North Atlantic. The course will take the sailors up to Iceland and then down to the Azores before returning to Les Sables d’Olonne to cross the finish line. For the skipper of the boat Prysmian Group, Giancarlo PEDOTE, this first race of 2020 will be an opportunity to familiarise himself with his boat in her latest configuration whilst conveying a positive message of solidarity through the NGO Électriciens sans frontières. Spending time aboard Giancarlo Pedote : “The race is an excellent way to validate all the latest configurations and improvements made with a view to the Vendée Globe. The choice of sails, electronic instruments, on-board food and the means of communication with land are integral to my overall vision to complete a Vendée Globe. However, this race is also and above all a way to confront some boisterous weather conditions: 25 knots of westerly wind and 3 to 4m waves. I’m itching to get going as it’s a real journey of discovery to climb so far north. During my life as a sailor, I’ve sailed up to Fastnet (southern tip of Ireland) several times but never around Iceland. I’m keen to see the colour of the sea, the rays of sunshine and the birds up north. Furthermore, I think the passage will be useful for validating the hats and gloves I’ve decided to take on the Vendée Globe.” The race -    Saturday 4 July at 15:30hrs (French time) – Start of the Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne -    Passage of a UNESCO waypoint between the south of Iceland and the tip of Greenland -    Passage of a waypoint offshore of the Azores -    Finish at the Institut Pasteur buoy off Les Sables d’Olonne Duration of the course between around 10 and 15 days