New Sailing Record for Gitana 13 - Hong Kong to London

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.

Gitana 13 left on August 14th for this route, which transited the weather systems of three continents and both hemispheres.  The hot, near-calm conditions at the start were juxtaposed to the cold headwinds the crew has been facing along the European Atlantic, and the nearly constant tacking necessary at times over the last few days made for a final challenge for the crew of seasoned pros.

Although the previous Tea Route sailing record was held by Philippe Monnet for over 18 years, none are surprised by the latest record for the Gitana team - after all Gitana 13 has smashed 7 out of 7 world record attempts in the last nine months.  Our YachtPal, Skipper Lionel Lemonchois, spoke of his teams success as he stepped ashore in London: “This project was a real challenge for me! More familiar to racing single-handed, I was looking forward to driving a crew like that of Gitana 13. The seven records gleaned are clearly a great satisfaction but I am particularly proud of the human success story that has come about as a result of this long record campaign. We relished the idea of bringing some maritime routes, which have a real historic value, back into favour. I hope that the times set throughout the year will inspire others to revive these routes which are positively brimming with history.”  

Gitana 13’s Tea Route Crew

• Watch No1: Lionel Lemonchois (Skipper / watch leader / helmsman) / Olivier Wroczynski (trimmer /head of computers and power)  / David Boileau (Bowman /  head of deck fittings)
• Watch No.2: Ludovic Aglaor (watch leader / helmsman) / Laurent Mermod (trimmer) / Ronan Le Goff (Bowman)
• Watch No.3: Pascal Blouin (Watch leader / helmsman) / Ronan Guérin (trimmer) / Léopold Lucet (No.1, head of supplies and doctor)
• Outside the watch system: Dominic Vittet (navigator)

Statement from the Gitana team about Skipper Lionel Lemonchois:

"Lionel Lemonchois will be leaving Baron Benjamin de Rothschild’s ocean-racing stable at the end of 2008 for new sporting challenges more suited to his talent. It was a difficult decision for the owner of the Gitana fleet to take in, especially given his great friendship and respect for this exceptional sailor. Through his stunning victory in the Route du Rhum 2006, Lionel has definitively marked the history of the Rothschild family’s fleet of boats, but rest assured there are some fine pages yet to be written…"

Read more about the catamaran Gitana 13:

• Gitana 13 Home Page (News, Crew Blogs, Photos, and Sailing Videos)
  
• Gitana 13 Scrapbook
• New Sailing Record - New York to San Francisco - Gitana 13
• YachtPal on Gitana 13 - San Francisco Bay
• Life Aboard Gitana 13 - YachtPals Below Decks on the Maxi-Catamaran
• Gitana 13 Smashes San Francisco to Yokohama Record!
• Gitana 13 Yokohama Japan to Dalian - Crew Blog
• Gitana 13 Tackles the Tea Route
• Sailing Photo of the Week - Gitana 13

Video: Skipper Lionel Lemonchois and his crew aboard the Gitana 13 ready to break another speed record on their round-the world journey.