News Around the World
that is some 700kg lighter, replacing the lost righting moment with a water-ballast system. The boat now weighs two tons less than four years ago! We redid the electronics (I am an ‘ambassador’ for Raymarine, so I constantly test their new products and suggest improvements). Also the hydraulic systems, the canting keel and the Lombardini engine were updated. All this work was carried out in Cagliari, Sardinia; I am based there and wish to support the local marine industry. I try to use a lot of ‘Made in Italy’: for example, my ropes are provided by Velamania and Bamar supplied the furling systems… which have been much admired here in France. SH: You are a sailmaker as well as a sailor… AM:I work a lot on my sail shapes. I employ an empirical approach; software helps me to find new solutions, but I prefer to rely primarily upon my experience, which is then validated by the software before proceeding with the construction of the sail – which I usually do personally. Basically, the boat in its new trim requires less power, being lighter, so my sail profiles are now generally flatter. SH: What next for your current boat VdS… AM:The Route du Rhum is my last race with this boat. I will be sorry to leave her but she is still quite competitive. There is a potential project to give VdSto the Caprera Sailing Centre, a sailing school founded in Sardinia by a group of naval officers at the Porto Arsenale at La Maddalena.
wanted the first Imoca 60 to be built in Italy to be mine. Actually, this is a complex and difficult build… the boat will weigh only 6,500kg and the builders must follow the lamination plan perfectly if we are to achieve that weight. But although this is the first Imoca 60 for Persico, I do not think they will have problems when you look at the boats they have built so far. SH: And the timeline… AM: It is currently well advanced. In March I will move to Bergamo to be close to the yard for the final build phase. The boat will go into the water in June to be fully prepared for the Transat Jacques Vabre in November.
Giancarlo Pedote has quietly been making a name for himself as one of Italy’s new generation of ocean racers. After tremendous success in the Mini 6.50s he is here training for the Rhum on his ‘borrowed’ Guillaume Verdier-designed Class 40 Fantastica
SH: Your new Imoca 60 will be a design by Verdier-VPLP, but we might have expected another Felci design… AM: In addition to being the designer of my current boat, I have shared a great friendship with Umberto Felci since our youth racing 470s, then continuing with Il Moro di Venezia where we both worked. I would have liked to have done an Imoca 60 with him, but with very little time we decided to play it safe. The boat under construction is an evolution of Macif, winner of the last Vendée Globe. Currently six Verdier-VPLP designs are building; and I tell you they already look very advanced compared to Macif! New waterlines, more innovative daggerboards shapes – a good step forward. In fact, I would say the beginning of a new era for the Imoca fleet. Ultimately, however, the difference will still be in the sailors… SH: How will the new Vento di Sardegnacompare to her design sisters? AM: There are some minor variations in the deck plan and elsewhere. The new class rules provide the one-design mast; you can choose from the traditional and the wing mast… which is my choice. Also, the yard is different from our French ‘sisters’: we have chosen Persico. It would have been easier to build in France but I expressed previously my position on Made in Italy and I
14 SEAHORSE
Giancarlo Pedote – Class 40 Fantastica SH: You come to your first Route du Rhum after a season in which you have won virtually every race in the Mini 6.50… Giancarlo Pedote: I’m quite calm now. But I did feel some pressure when I first agreed to take part in the Rhum project because I had already signed with my sponsor Prysmian for a full Mini 6.50 season… I had a lot more work than initially anticipated. Actually, the stress of trying to do both programmes did take their toll and I got quite ill during Les Sables-Les Açores. It has been a bit of a race against time for the Rhum, certainly compared to my Class 40 rivals who can spend two years just preparing for this one event. SH: What specific changes have you made to your Verdier design Fantastica? GP: First of all, we have a new mast built by Axxon and new sails by All Purpose. Then we configured the deck layout more for solo – rather than two-handed – sailing. I have also carefully studied the hull shape and ‘footprint’ in the water of my new boat in dif- ferent trims. Time spent out sailing with Guillaume Verdier proved to be very useful and, because I come from a Mini background, it prompted some interesting discussions between us! The biggest difference compared to the Mini is the loads which are so much bigger. Plus, of course, now I am allowed a computer onboard! SH: How did you hook up with Lanfranco Cirillo, owner of Fantastica? GP: We met at the Italian Sailor of the Year 2013 party, where he won Owner of the Year (Pedote was the Italian Sailor of the Year winner – ed); he took me by the arm and made me the proposal. I cannot thank him enough. He took over all the costs of the operation while my main sponsor on the Mini, Prysmian, also decided to back my Rhum project with some extra support. SH: So could Cirillo be a patron for a Vendée Globe programme alongside Prysmian? GP: We have not talked about that yet, though certainly I would like it! He has entrusted me with this project, so first I would like to reciprocate, then we’ll see. SH: Are you certain you’ll do the next Vendée? GP: No, it’s not at all sure at this point. It depends on sponsor- ship. I doubt I will be able to build a new boat but a charter of a good existing design is possible. However, it is too early to say. What I will say is that I will never enter the Vendée Globe just to make up the numbers…
Finally, a word from Giancarlo’s patron, Lanfranco Cirillo, himself a passionate sailor. ‘Giancarlo is a real professional sailor, a person who has dreamt of doing this sort of racing for his entire life. He never stops training… In Giancarlo’s eyes I can see his dreams and mine, and that is why he has earned my trust and support. Now it’s up to him to distinguish himself. I will follow him closely on the Rhum while I continue to train with my Finn – my personal passion. Then, after this race, well, we shall see…’ Giuliano Luzzatto
NEW ZEALAND
Attention in New Zealand’s annual 120-mile PIC Coastal Classic race inevitably focuses primarily on the big boats. This year was no different with Simon Hull’s Orma 60 trimaran Team Vodafone smashing its own record by an impressive 28 minutes and Karl
FRANCOIS VAN MALLEGHEM/DPPI
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