Gitana 13

As the Vendée Globe fast approaches, Loïck Peyron is preparing his 60 foot yacht Gitana 80 on the pontoons of Les Sables d'Olone for what will be her maiden voyage around the globe. Loïck is no stranger to circumnavigation; this will be his third time traversing the world by yacht, and his second participation in the Vendée Globe.

London, UK - The maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 sailed past the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge on the River Thames Thursday, setting a new sailing reference record on the Tea Route with a time of 41 days 21 hours 26 minutes 34 seconds from Hong Kong to London.  Lionel Lemonchois and his nine crew sailed over 15,312 miles at an average speed of 15.23 knots on their trusted boat, and the joy on their faces as they arrived in the early hours of the morning clearly showed they were proud of their stellar performance.

Yvan Zedda has taken some incredible photos of the huge catamaran Gitana 13, but this is the YachtPals favorite.   No wonder the world class crew of this amazing sailboat has smashed every record they have set their sights on in the last several months - just watch that yacht fly!

Hong Kong - Lionel Lemonchois and the crew of Gitana 13 have cast off the docklines for yet another record attempt. This time, it's the old clipper route from Hong Kong to London known as the "tea route," a 14,000+ mile marathon that will give the crew a chance to think of days of old as they cover the same shipping route that connected East and West for centuries. It looks as though Gitana 13 is the first Maxi (certainly of its class) to attempt this record, currently held since 1990 by Philippe Monnet.

We have received more photos in from the crew of the maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 in Yokohama Japan. As you have read here at YachtPals.com Gitana 13 added the North Pacific crossing to its list of conquests this week by sailing the 4,482 theoretical miles from San Francisco to Yokohama in just 11 days 12 minutes and 55 seconds.

Lionel Lemonchois hours after beating the world sailing record San Francisco to Yokohama on Gitana 13

11 days 12 minutes 55 seconds, what do you think of your new time?
“It’s a great time and we’re really happy. Given the weather conditions before we set out, I told myself that if we did it in 12 days it would be a good performance already. And, to look at our average speed over the actual distance covered is very honourable.”

Just in: Gitana 13 has reached Yokohama with a time of 11 days 12 minutes 55 seconds, smashing the previous record from San Francisco, and setting the bar very high for future challengers.

We're in touch with the Lionel and the crew, and will have more on the historic trip once they've had a chance to get through the fanfare and have a rest.

Our congratulations to the crew, both those onboard and those in support. We hope you're not getting bored with all this record-breaking!

YachtPals.com was honored to be invited aboard Gitana 13 to meet her skipper, and watch as the catamaran was rigged to break the world sailing record from San Francisco to Yokohama. Watching the crew ready this world record sailboat is a rather humbling experience. The size of the catamaran and her massive sails is far beyond what most of us are familiar with, and watching her rigged with ease is truly an amazing sight.