Pedote and others are strong but–sponsors wanted!

Giancarlo Pedote won the Jacques Vabre and now dreams of the Vendée Globe. Michele Zambelli finished the Mini Transat as a top performer (silvers in the second and toughest leg and sixth place overall) and now wants to devote himself to larger projects. Andrea Mura (freshly awarded a medal of valor from the Navy) winner of Route du Rhum, Ostar and other great transatlantic journeys failed to fulfill the dream called IMOCA 60; Alexander Di Benedetto, a Vendée Globe behind him and, most importantly, the round-the-world record aboard the smallest boat (a Mini 6.50), is seeking funds to take part in his second Vendée.

THE “MANPOWER” IS THERE…
We certainly cannot say that there is a lack of “manpower” when it comes to Italian course au large. And our athletes have amply demonstrated that they can hold their own against the French in the ocean. Now it is time to find companies that believe in the Blue: To them we appeal. On the plate is the huge media return offered by the Vendée Globe: two million people in Les Sables d’Olonne for the start and finish of the race, 30 million videos viewed on Dailymotion and Youtube, and much more (in 2012 the event was more watched than the Tour de France and Roland Garros). We send our sailors around the world! There is time until July 2016 for pre-registration, not an impossible feat.

THE MORE TIME PASSES, THE MORE MONEY IS NEEDED: PEDOTE’S WORD
“But the more time passes, the greater the investment to participate will have to be, to catch up with other teams,” warns the wise Pedote. He adds, having just landed in Itajaì after the Vabre victory, “In Italy we still cannot sell ocean sailing well. I’ll give you an example: tomorrow in France L’Equipe (the most important transalpine newspaper) will devote ample space to the Jacques Vabre, from us the major national newspapers will probably not give the same weight to the regatta, even though an Italian won. Just when it would be the time to ride the season that Italian offshore sailing is experiencing instead.” How can you blame Giancarlo? He has experienced firsthand the myriad difficulties, especially economic ones, to be faced when pursuing a dream.

THE SELF-MADE SAILOR
The 39-year-old Florentine perfectly embodies the “self-made sailor” model: he comes from a middle-class family alien to the world of sailing. He took his first steps in windsurfing in the 1980s: not having the money to race, he had fun off the coast of Follonica. The opportunity for a long sail presented itself to him in 1998 (he is already a windsurfing instructor, a job he does to pay for his studies at the Faculty of Philosophy, in which he graduated in 2001), when he accompanied his cousin Piero, who works for a charter company, on a transfer of a cabin cruiser from Greece to Italy. Giancarlo understands that that is his path. He falls in love with offshore sailing, participates in many winter championships aboard boats of friends and acquaintances: but it is not enough for him. is a competitor: he boxed and kickboxed in his youth; he is someone who has taken a lot of “fronts.” He participated in four Giri d’Italia sailing races, a Transat des Alizees (Portugal-Saint Barth in 2001), prepared an Open 50 for the 2001 Jacques Vabre. By now he is an expert. To make himself known, he writes two sailing books, works as a tailer and bowman on monotypes, Maxi and IRC.

WHEREVER HE GOES, HE PUTS THE FRENCH IN TROUBLE.
In 2007 Giancarlo found a reliable sponsor in Prysmian. He bought his first Mini 626, with which he took part in the 2009 Mini, finishing in a surprising fourth place. But it is still too little. He moved to France and momentarily jumped on the Figaro, then in 2012 announced that he had bought David Raison’s famous round bow Mini. Closes on the place of honor in the 2013 Transat (victory fades by a whisker due to bowsprit breakage with 300 miles to go). Data in hand, he is the strongest Italian miner in history. In 2013, he won all the other Mini regattas, and the Transalpines elected him Offshore Champion of the Year. Abandoning the world of 6.50s, after a brief interlude on the Class 40 made available to him by Lanfranco Cirillo, with which he participated in the 2014 Route du Rhum, he devoted himself to multihulls, Moving to Multi 50 with Erwan le Roux. Here, too, he dominates all the selection races, and victory at the Transat Jacques Vabre is just the icing on the cake of a crazy season. Wherever he goes, rest assured that Giancarlo will give it his all because he is of the “either things are done well or they are not done” school. Now dreaming of the Vendée Globe: back to the call made earlier. The French respect and (probably) fear him. Do we really want to leave him on the ground?

Eugene Ruocco