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Route du Rhum : Giancarlo Pedote tenth Class40 in Guadeloupe

vendredi 21 novembre 2014Redaction SSS [Source RP]

At 4:26 42 seconds AM on Friday 21 November, Giancarlo Pedote has crossed the finish line of the 10° Route du Rhum Route du Rhum #RouteDuRhum onboard the Class 40 Fantastica by Lanfranco Cirillo. 18 days, 14 hours, 26 minutes and 43 seconds for a tenth position that has passionate for the numerous vicissitudes :

- the explosion of the hook of the staysail on the first evening of navigation, which requested the Italian sailor to climb in the masthead with over 20 knots and rough seas to release the sail ;
- a problem with the mainsail that prevented to give third-hand of Reefing while blew 40 knots of wind and that forced Fantastica and its skipper to a 5 hours long technical stopover at Roscoff. Five hours that are actually 12, if we count the trajectory changes for reach and leave the port ;
- the recovery of approximately twenty boats in about 40 hours.
- the damage of AIS to the passage of Finisterre ;
- the overcoming of other 10 boats, that took Giancarlo Pedote to the ninth position on the morning of Friday, 14 November ;
- the retrieving of the big spi fallen in water due to a ruptured lascing occurred Monday, November 17 at noon ;
- the outbreak of the same spi that, the same night, divided itself into two parts because of the big efforts ;
- the damage of the antenna of the fleet, that forced Pedote to sail without weather data or information relating to the fleet from Monday night until Point-a-Pitre ;
- the subsequent fight with Damien Seguin, made more difficult by other incidents that occurred just before the approach to the island.

A ruptured sheath of spi has made this wing useless just when it was most needed (during the difficult weather conditions of the night between Wednesday and Thursday) and has forced Giancarlo Pedote to hoist the gennaker but got stuck and could not be lowered when needed.

A moment that came quickly : off the Islands, on the morning of 20 November, a big and heavy algae tree was stuck in Fantastic keel, making it ungovernable.

Giancarlo Pedote could release the keel Class 40 only on the evening of November 20, when taking advantage of a drop in the wind due to the proximity of the Earth, could cut the gennaker halyard and then finally lower the sail redoing two piombe halyard. An operation that lasted three hours after which the Italian skipper could do reverse and vacate so the keel by taking at least three knots.

Recovered his pace, Giancarlo Pedote could not longer be traced back to ninth position and cut the tenth goal of this first Route du Rhum Route du Rhum #RouteDuRhum after outbreak of a pulley in front of Basse Terre (the sheet of spi was stuck in the pulley that the skipper had to take a hammer to free the top).

Upon arrival in Point-a-Pitre has told his race :

"At first, the morale was not exceptional. I had a problem with the staysail, then one at randa (the inability to give the third hand of Reefing – Editor’s note), and then I had to stop. Then I rebooted, exhausted, with the battery to zero ... Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to recover physically because when I came to Roscoff was hypothermia and 5 hours were not enough to ...

Also mentally it was a beating, because when you stop you know that six out of the chance to play at 100 percent. It is possible to recover a stop at Vandéé Globe, but not at the Route du Rhum Route du Rhum #RouteDuRhum . However, I continued my race and I managed to recover. It was fantastic. I spent some moments, when I saw that my efforts were rewarded.

I saw thatI had the speed, though I have made many mistakes in manoeuvres because I did not know the boat well. Normally with a result in this position are not happy, but at least I made a good comeback. When I left Roscoff was last ... Every day I chose to overcome the skipper and I thought : now is him, then he will be ... I have given small goals that allowed me to gradually refit. I missed only Damien Seguin, (ed.) "

Despite the difficulties linked to the short time for preparation and getting to know the boat, Giancarlo Pedote has demonstrated, even outside of the Mini 6.50 circuit which this year won all the races in which he participated on his proto Prysmian ITA 747, not to lower the guard and not to give up gradually each reacting as expected ("the difficulties are : arrive, resolve or assume, and it goes beyond " he said after discovering that you have something caught in the keel).

This tenth edition of the Route du Rhum, her first ocean race on a Class 40 is a project born suddenly this year that Florentine skipper could face in full by September.

"I think I’ve demonstrated two things in this race," said Pedote always upon his arrival."To go fast and go in the right side. The problems are derived from the fact that it is not possible to prepare a race of this magnitude in two months and a half ... The experience on the boat makes big difference. Approaching a Route du Rhum from the beginning of the cycle (a season of Class 40 4 years hard-ndr), allows you to carry out numerous doubles races that give the opportunity to make mistakes and figure out how to resolve them and prevent them in two. The consequences are so minor, the lessons faster and when you arrive at the Route du Rhum you already clear how to avoid several drawbacks and how to make the maneuvers and life on board with small arrangements and solutions developed over time. All details that in more than two weeks of navigation makes the difference. I have honestly made many mistakes and I had to deal with them alone. I invented new things about new things and I tried to do, during the main race of the circuit, what you should do during workouts or races of children. And this you pay. Anyway I’m glad I could participate in the Route du Rhum, one of the most important races for a solo sailor. For me it was an unexpected gift received by Lanfranco Cirillo, whom I thank with all my being. Not only Lanfranco has provided me the boat, the means to prepare the best possible and the resources to be able to take part in this race ; not only has shown me great confidence and freedom while remaining always by my side throughout the preparatory phase : during the regatta, encouraged me almost every day. I was encouraged, prodded and pushed or mitigated so that I could express my skills. I would like to thank warmly even Prysmian Group, which accompanies me always for many years with renewed confidence and that after the season in a Mini, to be born of this project, has decided to participate. Know who was with me in this experience, it was important for me. The Route du Rhum is a mythical Regatta and have participated has certainly expanded my knowledge and I was somehow drawn to boats of larger size ".

Lanfranco Cirillo owner of Class 40 where Giancarlo Pedote raced and Owner of the year 2013, is known not only for its important international architect profession and its unique owner-regalante path that went from one to 100 Swan Melges 32 and finally to the Finn, but above all to be probably the only owner-Italian patron, an individual who provides practical help to young talents of Italian sail, in which he believes and gradually decides to invest, without hidden agendas if not support real sailing.

"For me the essence of this sport is represented by the Olympic sailing and the ocean" – said recently. "The challenges I’ve always liked and I decided to use my entrepreneurial approach in the management of a sailing team with ambitious targets. One of these is surely to bring Rio’s 2016 Olympics sailors will go to medal and on this we are working on. The other is that aimed at achieving a result of international prestige in ocean sailing, with an Italian boat and with an Italian sailor. I met Giancarlo to sailor of the year awards last March. He was named sailor of the year, I as a boat of the year. I heard on stage and in a couple of minutes I decided that he the sailor to whom to entrust the Class 40 Fantastic for the Route du Rhum 2014. "


Voir en ligne : Press info www.giancarlopedote.it



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