Update
a foil-assisted design. Others will be less fortunate – to race the VG today without foils will require great resilience as you will never be near the front. I am very happy with my project; at this stage I am also staying involved in every little detail... which is very impor- tant when there are technical issues in the race. Later on I hope I can delegate more! SH: So a typical day… GP: Family apart, I only manage the project, the relationships with the sponsors and suppliers. I of course work closely with the shore team, I assemble and dismantle things on the boat. They are long and tiring days, it is a ‘young’ project. For now we are a bit like with the Mini 6.50s, in the future I will have to change my approach and focus 100 per cent on the ‘athletic’ preparation and the sailing. Difficulties must be experienced first hand if you want to understand how, when and how much to ask of others. SH: In Italy you are a well-known navigator. In France? GP:Here I perceive myself as a European sailor. I do not think that the concept of nationality exists too much in this world of ours, although the Anglo-Saxon world does not yet know me very much! SH: Let’s talk a little more about you, and those other skills which may be rather helpful in the Vendee Globe… GP: I come from combat sports, boxing and full contact, I was a super-lightweight and then a welter weight. In Florence you can’t sail – boxing asks you to go beyond yourself all the time, your fears and your adversary. It’s very instructive especially when it comes to character. Then I practised a lot skiing, parachuting and also basketball. Today I spend a lot of time distance running. I like sports where you have to be working correctly with your heart and your head as well as your body. I have a degree in philosophy, but I chose not to be a professor…
Aristotle and all Greek philosophy, Indian philosophy, Descartes, Kant, the Empiricists, confronting these minds leads to a more thoughtful view of life, structure and logic that allows you to calmly analyse problems scientifically and methodically improve. My introduction to sailing took place in the early 1990s in the Gulf
of Follonica in Tuscany with windsurfing. I was sailing just for fun but I had no money for racing on the board, much less on a boat. Soon I became a windsurf instructor, from there I switched to keelboats, deliveries and local IMS regattas, initially for club races, then as a crew on much more serious yachts up to the Maxis. But coming from individual sports, the idea of racing singlehanded came to me automatically. (I also wrote two books on sailing technique!) I have always tried to deserve the trust of my sponsors, Prysmian
Group, and also the technical sponsors including Helly Hansen and Gottifredi Maffioli. I have never taken their support for granted, and I thank them for always remaining by my side. The first Mini was no626, a borrowed Pogo 2, then the Figaro, chartered, the Mini 747 and the Class40, which was also lent to me by the owner. My one and only new boat was the inflatable boat I just bought
for the Imoca! Giuliano Luzzatto
q SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
After designer/skipper David Raison’s easy win in the 2011 Mini Transat his breakthrough Mini scow passed to Giancarlo Pedote who is seen here at the start of the next solo transatlantic race in 2013. Pedote finished this race as runner-up but the following year the pairing would win every race on the Mini 6.50 calendar
18 SEAHORSE
l Nothing…left to say... l Jeanne Socrates…what a name l Has become…the oldest person to sail non-stop and unassisted round the world after 330 days at sea l Jeanne Socrates…. is 77 l And British…god dammit!!! l Rock on…or is that quartet for strings… l With…22 early birds now paid up there are on paper only six Golden Globe places left in the Suhaili division l While…Les Sables is celebrating an economic benefit of US$10million from GGR host venue status last time l Which… dear old GB Plc let slip through its fingers (again) l Really rock on…Grant Dalton became a dad again at 62 l Striking…justifiable fear into his Cup challengers l Two…out of three l Is…very bad indeed, actually l As both…USA Olympic sailing chief Malcolm two-golds Page and COO Greg Fisher both quit their roles at US Sailing l Pastures new…or just given up? l Either way…that leaves just development director Leandro Spina trying to steer a very compromised vessel away from the iceberg l The good doctor…Ian Ward, one of the original founders of foiled sailing, has launched his latest creation, the Nikki foiler, specifically to get ‘little people’ out on the water... and in the air l We know what…you’re thinking l But…you’re wrong this time l Prices…for the Nikki start at AUS7,000 (US$4,750 in real money) l Talking loot…Clipper Ventures declared a profit of £3.5million on a two-year turnover of £25million l Who says…there’s no money in sailing? lMighty… the 2019 New York YC invitational was a very different beast from the first event, with some teams admitting to substantial training programmes with well-rewarded coaches before heading to JFK l But…a great event all round, though l Fair play… Ergin Imre’s Provezza went to great lengths to recover the remnants of their broken TP52 rig from the bottom of Palma Bay l Literally…clearing up their carbon footprint l Oops…the top 2m of Maxi72 Bella Mente’s latest mast also went awol during training in St Tropez l Reason…unknown (as they say) l That too…was rescued l Oops oops… Corentin Douguet sailed his Figaro 3 Habitat straight into the unlit Paupian buoy while on a delivery l She… sank. But fortunately her skipper is still afloat l Dig deep…the UK America’s Cup team suffered a delayed launch of boat 1 which proved too deep for the ancient dock at their base l As we said…deep(er) l Ran ran… or not. Not only did Niklas Zennström’s once unbeaten Fast40 Rán 7 lose a race or two last month, but dipping into the J/70 fleet wasn’t an overpowering success either – 51st in the worlds l Silver…lining? l We hope so…Rhum winner Paul Meilhat has admitted defeat in his search for a backer for the 2020 Vendée Globe l But…is turning his attention to a project for The Ocean Race l Fingers crossed…notre ami l Incroyable… five new Imoca’s really did launch in the space of six weeks in July-August l AC75 battens cannot be inflatable…‘so there’s a lot of money for batten manufacturers to make this time’ – happy batten manufacturer (anon!) l Farewell…this month to the god of 505 and foil builders (and other speedsters) Mark Lindsay l And…to Don Pye, of eponymous yacht designers Holman & Pye l But... huge props to the Sharp Hospice Benefit Regatta in San Diego, which raised $400,000 in just one weekend (sic) l Also to…the Anarchist Master l For…Division 2 was indeed won by Sailing Anarchy founder Scott Tempesta on the A4 l Now to business… l RaceboatsOnly… and
eurosailnews.com l Get your… ar*se over there
BENOIT STICHELBAUT
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