Nicolas Raynaud's blog

After a stopover in Japan for almost a month, to within one night, we’re going to ‘miss’ our first earthquake! Lionel, Zolive and the two ‘newcomers' aboard, namely Jean-Baptiste Levaillant and Antoine Mermod, wondered which position it was best to adopt whilst their bed, situated on the thirteenth floor of our hotel, began to shake at around two in the morning. Level 3 on the Richter Scale according to a sober announcement on the CNN news. As regards the rest of the crew, including your humble servant, the sandman had us in his grip… to their deep regret!

This Pacific crossing will end with an objective reached: that of considerably improving on the current record time. Of course, the time we’re going to set will be broken someday, but it certainly won’t be easy. It is worth pointing out that this crossing cannot be sailed along the great circle route, that is the shortest distance between San Francisco and Yokohama (4,482 miles). Due to the roundness of the earth, this theoretical route would shave the Aleutians, a string of islands which separate the Pacific from the Bering Sea.

Prepared for the storm, prepared for the home straight. Before the wind gets too strong, that is over 35 knots or so, we've stowed the downwind sails in the gangway. Between here and Yokohama we’ll no longer be able to make use of them as there will be too much wind and too big a sea. Rather than leave them on deck – which is always a source for potential worries even when they’re firmly attached to the platform, better to place them where they will be the most effective, that is down below to lower the boat's centre of gravity as much as possible.

We thought we’d avoided it, we were delighted to have come out of it relatively unscathed, and then it landed right on top of us when we really weren't expecting it. I’m talking about the flat calm and the windlessness, one of our worst enemies, if not the worst. It was at the end of last night, at the point where others in France were savouring the last light of what would doubtless have been a great Sunday. Here the darkness was even darker than usual and the lightning, which was illuminating the sky without a sound all around us, blinded us for long periods.

At 0951 UT, but 2151 local time, we crossed the international date line under gennaker and full mainsail. There are smooth seas and starry skies and we've just finished rounding the volcanic arc of Hawaii. On crossing this symbolic line where you switch over from west to east, we have to reset our watches. We’re going straight from the evening of Friday 4th to the evening of Saturday 5th, so as to stay firmly in touch with the reality of our world. The difference with the Greenwich meridian, which was increasing all the time, is that it will now begin to decrease.

The miles are rolling by and the sheets are heating up on the winches as easing them has become necessary to control Gitana 13, which is climbing high up into the air. With the large gennaker, full mainsail and at times the genoa staysail, which we furl in or unfurl on request, there is over 1,000 m2 of sail area, pulling us towards the goal. The ‘NEE'ly’ wind, as we often call it, shifty both in strength and direction, jumps from 23 to 30 knots without any problem, oscillating between 50 and 80°.