Giancarlo Pedote jumps into the Multi 50s

Giancarlo Pedote challenges himself. Now it’s the trimarans’ turn. We all hoped to see him at the next Vendée Globe, but we will have to “settle” for him. Faithful to the discipline of ocean sailing, he pushes into a larger dimension: that of Multi50 trimarans and does so by partnering with Erwan Le Roux, winner of the last Route du Rhum. After a Mini 6.50 that saw him winner last year of all 5 regattas in which he participated, undisputed protagonist of the last Mini Transat, author of the important MAP Trophy record and winner of the Champion de France titles 2013 and 2014; after shining for a memorable 30-position comeback at the last Route du Rhum on Lanfranco Cirillo’s Class 40 “Fantastica,” which began with a breakdown that forced him to a technical stopover, Giancarlo Pedote teams up with Erwan Le Roux, first in the Multi50 rankings at the 2014 Route du Rhum, for the 2015 season, which will culminate with the Transat Jacques Vabre departing at the end of October.

THE BIRTH OF THE PROJECT
The idea to partner in this 2015 season was born at the Paris Motor Show, during the Route du Rhum awards ceremony. Giancarlo Pedote and Erwan Le Roux are sitting next to each other. They know each other by their career paths. They know that they entered the world of sailing later than the norm, without having had experience on Optimists as children and each in an almost random way. They recognize each other by some common characteristics, and the possibility of doing a season together in Multi50 comes almost naturally. After three months this idea becomes reality.

A GOAL FOR PROGRESS
“I am overjoyed with this project. Sailing on a multihull has always been a goal for me, especially now that the latest technological developments have led these boats to be increasingly prominent in competitive sailing, both ocean and in-shore racing,” says Giancarlo Pedote, who is new to this type of boat. In fact, this is the first time the Italian sailor has raced on a multihull. A choice that represents a major questioning of himself.

“Facing a new season in Mini would have meant not exposing myself to any risk and seeking an ‘easy’ way. I needed a new challenge, to expand my knowledge. I like completeness, and in my profession I am very fascinated to be able to do a project where intellectually I have to make an effort to learn new mechanisms and synchronisms. Multihull is an opportunity to learn how to sail again, on a new format. Being able to accomplish this thanks to the support of Prysmian Group, which has been following me for years, and a new sponsor such as FenêtréA is a source of great enthusiasm for me and a desire to improve my skills across the board so that our sponsors can make the most of their investments,” continues Pedote, who about his season partner states:

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“Erwan is a serious navigator who knows multihulls very well. He won the last Route du Rhum and two editions of the Transat Jacques Vabre, in 2009 with Frank-Yves Escoffier and in 2013 with Yann Eliès. This unquestioned knowledge of the craft will give me the opportunity to be able to make a rapid progression in running a boat so complex and different from a monohull, a boat I am looking forward to discovering. I have been following Erwan’s path for years, he is a sailor I respect, and I have always wondered if one day our paths might cross. He, like me, entered sailing in a “nontraditional” way. Perhaps it is because of our shared values that we are on this medium and with this program today. I am sure that I can learn a lot from Erwan.”

A STORY TO TELL
“Giancarlo and I understand each other well. I have full confidence in him, I know that he is well prepared technically and physically, but most importantly I know that we have values in common, and that is crucial. Together we have a great story to tell. A more interesting story than we could have written each on our own,” says Erwan Le Roux, who is particularly excited to start a new Multi50 season. “The Multi50 is a medium that Giancarlo is not familiar with today. In the weeks and months ahead I will accompany him and help him acquire the level needed for a victory in the Transat Jacques Vabre. These aspects of training, quote-unquote, and passing on experience are a new challenge for me. A challenge that promises to be interesting. “It is very close to my heart to be able to share with Giancarlo what I know about my boat so that he can also fall in love with it,” says Le Roux, who for the past 3 years has been leading the Multi50 trimaran now named “FenêtréA-Prysmian.

THE BOAT.
The Multi50s are a perfect speed machine built with the latest technology. They are 2- or 3-hull boats of 50 feet long (15.24 m) and maximum 50 feet wide. The boat on which Giancarlo Pedote will sail is the trimaran “FenêtréA-Prysmian,” formerly FenêtréA-Cardinal. It consists of three hulls connected by carbon arms and a net for skippers to move around. The central hull is larger in size and houses the only interior cabin, in which nothing is superfluous. Because of the reduced wetted surface area and the absence of ballast, the performance of a trimaran is superior to that of other sailboats: speed averages can be close to 30 knots. By joining this project, Giancarlo Pedote confirms his choice to stay aboard a competitive boat that can allow him to grow and engage in a campaign that will bring as much visibility as possible to his sponsors.