Born in Cervia in 1968, Simone Bianchetti graduated from the naval institute of Cesenatico and became a merchant marine captain in Venice. After two years in the Italian Navy he turned to sailing.
He entered the 1994 BOC Challenge aboard Town of Cervia but retired during the second leg. He went on to the 1995 Mini Transat (10th), the 1996 Transat anglaise, the Québec-Saint-Malo and the 1998 Route du Rhum (26th).
In 2000-2001 he sailed the Vendée Globe and finished 12th. He then bought Aquitaine Innovations, renamed Tiscali, finishing 4th in the IMOCA class of the Fastnet Race, before selling it and moving to Catherine Chabaud's former Pingouin, also named Tiscali. He finished 3rd in the 2002-2003 Around Alone.
He died of a ruptured aneurysm on 28 June 2003 aboard his boat in the port of Savona. He also wrote two books and helped introduce land sailing to Italy.
