Gitana 13 First Days at Sea
Gitana 13 skipper Lionel Lemonchois and his ten man crew are busy making the second record of their 2008 campaign: the North Pacific crossing (San Francisco - Yokohama).
This 4,482 miles long course record (great circle route) has been held since the 27th of April 2006 by Olivier de Kersauson and his crew aboard the maxi-trimaran Geronimo.
The time to beat is 14 days 22 hours 40 minutes and 41 seconds.
YachtPals.com had the opportunity to spend the day with Loinel Lemoinchois and the crew of Gitana 13 on the docks in Alameda on Saturday. A bunch of nice guys, and a truly incredible sailboat. Au revoir to our new YachtPals as they head for another world sailing record.
Click here to see all the articles and photos of Gitana 13
-- Gitana 13 First Days at Sea, San Francisco to Yokohama --
The weather, which reigned off California this weekend, won’t have given Lionel Lemonchois and his crew much of an opportunity to size-up their performance. Setting out on Saturday 29th March at 22h45’45 UT (15h45' in San Francisco) in a bid to break the record for the east to west crossing of the North Pacific, the eleven crew on Gitana 13 were caught off guard.
Initially surprised by the icy temperatures, which weren’t dissimilar to when they cast off from New York in January during La Route de l’Or, then by a NW’ly air flow, blowing up to 25 knots, causing big seas the minute they escaped San Francisco bay: “We were expecting the Pacific swell but we were really shaken about for the first ten hours at sea: under 2 reef ORC, soaked through despite our drysuits… There’s certainly nicer introductions! That didn’t last long though and things have calmed down gradually. The sea state over the first few hours forced us to drop a little further south than the start forecasts indicated, but nothing dramatic” explained Lionel Lemonchois the skipper of Gitana 13.
This start, which could be described as 'feisty', has not prevented Lionel Lemonchois and his men from racking up good speeds for this second record attempt, as the 480 miles covered during the first day bear witness: at the 0830 position report, the maxi-catamaran equipped by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild had clocked up an 185 mile lead over Olivier de Kersauson’s reference time. This fairly substantial gain is not that significant after just 30 hours of racing, but it's still a good morale boost for the crew.
Yesterday evening, as they completed their first day at sea, the men from Gitana Team were sailing in around fifteen knots of NE’ly and were able to round off their trajectory a little. This move has led to much more manageable conditions, particularly as the seas have become less messy: “Gitana 13 is flying along under full mainsail and large gennaker at over 20 knots; the pace easing off slightly over the past few hours. We're on the southern edge of a high and our first gybe is scheduled for 6 hours time (at the end of the night) as the wind clocks round to the East. After that we should be able to make good headway on port tack in our bid to hunt down a new cold front, which is forecast across our course in 24 hours time. For the time being though, things are fairly calm here; it's mid afternoon and the temperatures are gradually climbing thanks to the bright sunshine. Life onboard is beginning to take shape.”
--`The crew of Gitana 13 --
Lionel Lemonchois (Skipper / helm / watch leader)
Jacques Vincent (helm / watch leader)
Ludovic Aglaor (helm/ watch leader)
Olivier Wroczynski (trimmer /computer manager)
Nicolas Raynaud (trimmer/ Video manager)
David Boileau (N°2 / trimmer/ head of deck fittings)
Léopold Lucet (Bowman/ head of supplies)
Jean-Baptiste Epron (trimmer)
Stefan Fodor (trimmer)
Cyril Dardashti (trimmer)
Kojiro Shiraishi (trimmer)
-- Gitana 13’s watch system --
Lionel Lemonchois has opted to split his crew into three watches: two watches of four crew and one of three. The crew comprises eleven men then in this North Pacific crossing between San Francisco and Yokohama.
Watch No.1: Lionel Lemonchois / Olivier Wroczynski / David Boileau / Cyril Dardashti
Watch No.2: Ludovic Aglaor / Jean-Baptiste Epron / Nicolas Raynaud / Kojiro Shiraishi
Watch No.3: Jacques Vincent / Stefan Fodor / Léopold Lucet
Submitted By YachtPals on 31 Mar
catamaran, Gitana, Gitana 13, sailing records, Gitana13, sailing, sailboats, sailboat, sail, maxi-catamaran, ocean sailing, Gitana 13 sailboat, boats
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From Nicolas on Gitana 13
In the throes of a passing front
Clearly, any action has happened under cover of darkness since our departure. Like yesterday, here we are again with 30 knots of breeze in our sails, or what’s left of them at least: 2 reefs and ORC. However, this time the seas aren’t as big, which means less water on deck. To compensate for this and keep us occupied, the rain has joined in on the act, in a dense curtain of driving rain. It lashes at your face more solidly than the waves… It has to be said that we’re in the process of negotiating the warm front of the low and, in a few hours time, we'll have to negotiate the cold front. It is 1300 hours UT and in these uncomfortable conditions, sailing close to the wind with a change of tack on the cards, we’ll be kept busy for the rest of the day.
Fortunately yesterday enabled us to get back on our feet. The galley was going flat out and everyone settled back into the route, or discovered it in the case of the five newcomers. Although the first night was a bit difficult then, this second ink black night couldn't have gone better, despite the rotten weather. At the end of this little lot, the promise of tradewinds is certainly a big incentive. What has been most pleasing of all though, is knowing that time is on our side and that the chaotic course we're currently adopting will only serve to increase our lead over the previous record. A few little waves on the nose and the taking in of the odd reef are certainly proving to be worthwhile.
Nicolas Raynaud
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