The Vendèe-Globe is a regatta for sailboats which consists of a complete circumnavigation in solitary, without the possibility of docking or external assistance (under penalty of exclusion). This is one of the most difficult challenges ever as the participants are forced to make a tour of the globe by boat starting and finishing in Les Sables-d'Olonne, in the French department of Vendèe. The route to be traveled develops in the Southern hemisphere, crossing the Antarctic seas, subjected to strong winds and adverse weather conditions, including the cold.
The competition has a four-year recurrence and the last edition started on 08 November 2020. The fastest sailors finished the race after 80 days, time in which no docking or communication with the outside is allowed, under penalty of exclusion. . The participants therefore during the almost 3 months of the competition are completely alone, and cannot ask for help even in case of difficulties of any kind, under penalty of exclusion from the competition.
It is therefore possible to imagine how difficult it is to participate in an event like this: to give a good idea in the world there are fewer navigators who have made a Vendée Globe than those who have conquered Everest or made a journey into space. Among the brave participants of the regatta, there is also the Italian Giancarlo Pedote, one of the few skippers to have completed the solo trip around the world. Giancarlo, skipper of Prysmian Group, therefore won the bet with himself by overcoming numerous traps along the 24,365 miles of the route, facing the elements of nature and solving all the difficulties he encountered.
Many times he was tempted to abandon the competition but with great willpower he managed to keep calm and self-control, fundamental characteristics for spending a lot of time in the waters of the Antarctic Sea. It was fundamental to cling to positive memories such as his family, friends and the passion for this sport that no one can really convey to you but it is necessary to be in love with the sea and nature, as well as with yourself.
The Italian skipper, in addition to having achieved an excellent result by entering the top 10, 16 hours away from the first classified, is satisfied with the success of the solidarity operation "1 click - 1 meter", which will allow the realization of three projects of " Electriciens sans frontiéres "with the support of his partner Prysmian Group, world leader in the sector of cables and energy and telecommunications systems. An extra joy that of Giancarlo, that is to have contributed to bringing electricity to areas of the world still in the dark, a satisfaction as great as his success at sea.
The result obtained is not a point of arrival but a point from which to start again to try to always improve. Despite the long journey and the inclement weather, in addition to the most diverse emotions that followed one another during the 80 days, such experiences make you a different, better man. You appreciate silence and sounds, appreciate light and dark, appreciate calm and despair. Such an experience makes you a real man