Giancarlo Pedote: “We’ll need to be careful”

Currently approaching Good Hope, the first of the three major capes of his epic round the world journey, Giancarlo Pedote is preparing to undergo a dramatic metamorphosis in terms of the sailing conditions. As such, he is poised to take on one of the most feared and fascinating chapters of his race: the Southern Ocean. The skipper of Prysmian is familiar with these climes having had his first taste four years ago, so he is preparing himself to enter a unique area, where there is an endless string of depressions rolling through, which generate powerful winds and gigantic waves at times. It is a brutal yet strikingly beautiful universe, which he is thrilled to get the chance to rediscover, albeit with a great deal of humility.

Though the start of this 10th edition of the Vendée Globe race has generally enjoyed rather mild conditions, there is about to be a distinct change of tone now. Having already picked up the pace significantly at the weekend, the bulk of the peloton will slowly but surely lengthen its stride still further over the coming hours. “In the rear-view mirror we’ve got a depression homing in on us. All the wagons in my section of the train are making headway towards the Cape of Good Hope. We’re going to have to keep an eye on the sea state and the wind as we make this rounding,” Giancarlo Pedote warns us already. Indeed, in addition to the 30-35 knots of wind generated by the zone of low atmospheric pressure, which will be kicking at his heels from tonight, he’ll also have to be careful of the Agulhas Current, which is one of the strongest and most regular surface oceanic currents on the planet.

Deftly juggling with the Agulhas Current
“It runs counter to the wind and picks up a swell and waves that sometimes reach Dantean heights. This can even be dangerous at times,” explains the skipper of Prysmian, who is approaching this first rather bracing depression in his adventure with both caution and serenity. “In principle, it’s not a big storm but we’ll need to be very careful, listen to the way the boat’s slamming and naturally study the sea current charts to pass through the areas where we can reap the benefits,” added the Italian sailor, who has already anticipated the change in pace and life aboard the boat as best he can. “I’ve had to do some repairs over recent days but the boat is in good shape now, even if I’ve got a sail that has ripped across a 4-metre section, which will require a major repair at some point. She’s been very well repared and it’s important to continue in that vein to ensure we have a boat that works, which is the key to success,” Giancarlo reminds us.